News
2009 Spring Newsletter
2008 Gardener's Crusaders Award
Guillermo Vasquez was awarded a 2008 Feeding the Hungry award by Gardener's Catalog. Find the full article here
March 29-30, 2008: Berkeley and Davis DQU
This weekend Ida, Jose, Cesar, Nikol, Lupita, Guillermo and Sergio visited the Edible School Garden, Berkeley's Farmer's Market and drove up to Davis DQU. The garden design was developed, we cooked a peaceful dinner, watched a movie and rested for the night to begin the next days work.
On Sunday, the IPP along with DQU residents began to work on the garden. Approximately 5 beds, and 5 flower beds were made changing the landscape tremendously from before and after. Tulip bulbs were planted as borders along the beds. This was a great opportunity to get hands on training for the students who plan on doing some garden work of their own. The goal of this program was to begin and improve coommunity sustainable farming and gardening projects
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2007 El Salvador
We have just returned from our recent Permaculture Training Course, held over ten days in the western state of Sonsonate, El Salvador. This year, we continued nurturing seeds of sharing, and made new friendships with our brothers and sisters there,who shared their inspiring work with the group.
For those who know or don't know, the landscape of El Salvador is very alive. the days can be unbearably humid and hot and the rains can be really hard. The climate gives life to a lush green landscape, dotted with banana trees, coconut palms, some other trees, and an abundance of birds, insects, and life.
Underneath this beauty is the grit -- the extreme amount of sweat most of the population puts out to make it on the other side of globalization. Much of the hard industrial work that we have outsourced is performed here, and it is not uncommon for a person to put in 10 hours of work a day for three to 5 US Dollars. This in a country where gasoline is the same price as in the United States.
The region we work in is a Nahuat Indigenous community located in a rural area. The majority of the people live very close to the land, and have done so for many generations. Indigenous community members are continuing to improve their quality of life. They are asking for investment and the development of tools to improve public health, nutrition, environmental protection, access to safe drinking water, and resources for youth. This year, we had not only local communities participating in the Training, but also groups from other states and countries, like Chalatenango, Morazan, Honduras, and U.S. - California.
Several projects were the focus:
- Efficient cooking stoves
- Composting toilets
- Rainwater Catchment
- Bio intensive Gardening,
- Reforestation (planting of fruit trees and medicinal plants)
These workshops gave the participants conceptual, and hands-on tools to bring these things back to their own communities. Tree planting has already begun in Morazan, and stove-building workshops are planned for the near future. A network of experts sharing their knowledge of appropriate technologies is growing. Our true objective is to create an interchange of information that will increase sustainability and strengthen self-sufficiency
2007 Pine Ridge Workshop
“He'cel un nipi kta 'ca wounjupi”, said Wilmer Mesteth of Pine Ridge, South Dakota and IPP Docent.
"It means We Are Growing Things for Life".
The
Wounjupi Project supports community food security through shared
traditional knowledge. Although most Lakota have not traditionally
farmed, people in the community recognize the value of farming and
recognize how lifeways must change.
In past years, IPP staff
in San Francisco have presented sustainable agriculture and water
conservation techniques to the community, helping start the three acre
garden/farm.
The new garden site represents commitment to healing
the Pine Ridge community. To develop the farm, basics were needed
were like seeds, a greenhouse and farming equipment. Building on that
were projects for water conservation like drip irrigation, and
demonstration of biodiesel vehicle operation.
IPP staff from San Francisco were fortunate to arrive at Pine Ridge just as the community was having a gathering and celebration, led by Wilmer. Dances were held and traditional games were played long into the night.
Beginning early the next day, we assessed available resources on
site, and what supplemental supplies were needed to 1) till and replant
the garden areas, and 2) complete the build of the greenhouse
(including repair of high-wind damage the previous year. Reminant of
last year’s plants were gathered to create compost. We began to
hand-till the garden area and gather plant starts.
To improve
the greenhouse, it was retrofitted with a hinged plywood wall on the
lower-half of one side, to allow proper air flow in warm weather, and
provide greater strength than the plastic covering which had been
ripped apart by winds. And to increase production, racks were
installed to allow four layers of vegetable and flower starts. A pipe
was laid out from the spigots to help improve water efficiency.
Starts were planted a few weeks after this work, waiting until after the end of the winter freezing season (Mid-May).
For next year, the plans are to:
1) terrace the side of the hill, adding to the farm capacity
2) facilitate watering the new fields by installing a well with a pump and water line,
3) create a root cellar to allow drying and storage of vegetables and herbs, and
4) support a part-time farm manager.
Community members have also expressed interest in having Indigenous Permaculture presentations for a broader section of the community, and support the development of the new 2-acre garden site.
The real success of the project has come in the form of new understanding in how to work with the land, and in healthy food shared among families.