PHOTOS: HEIFER INTERNATIONAL - EQUADOR

Heifer International works world wide to improve the lives of people and their communities, making the best use of the limited resources available.  While Heifer continues to  train and gift individual families with cows, pigs, goats, chickens, etc., the organization is also developing new programs to help groups of people to organize their resources, using seed money provided by Heifer,  to create systems that benefit the entire community.  Interest paid for low cost loans serves as the new form of "passing on the gift" making more resources available to others.  

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On our Heifer study trip to Ecuador we saw several projects in action.

1.  A fishing town on the Pacific coast:   Traditionally any development had to pass through the intermediate loan agents who charge high rates and kept individuals on a short leash.

Fishermen, with the help of Heifer,  can use seed money to build common loading docks, buy equipment in bulk for resale to members, and combine their catch to improve their marketing position for better sales.  Most important, their new sense of community allows the families to develop more financial independence, better health care, and better education possibilities for the children.

New loading dock: 

We went out with fishermen to experience their daily work, (2 or 3 of us in a boat with each fisherman)  It's hard work laying out long nets, then going back to pull them in by hand, and collecting the fish that are to be sold.

The fish caught in 2 cycles of net out and net back in. The fishermen continue this all day... every day the weather permits.

For lunch we tied to a clump of mangrove trees - a charcoal fire was started on a steel plate - fish (really fresh!)  and green bananas were fried for us - and a tomato/onion salad was made by the fisherman... delicious!

The fishermen and families "hanging out" in the evening in front of their houses.  Life here is communal!

2.  Organic banana and chocolate farmers can also learn how to be  better prepared to deal with the world economy, it's limits, and it's demand...   The answers are more training, well managed seed money ( Heifer), and assistance to establish coops.  The banana farm we visited was only accessible after trekking up a long muddy foot path that crossed this stream.

Cacao - chocolate pods hanging on the trunk of the tree - each pod is about 8- 9 inches long, containing the seeds used to produce chocolate

Judy's boots after the long walk up the hill... We all looked like this...

Bananas must be carefully inspected  for ripeness before shipping... if too ripe they must be rejected because they would not be suitable for sale if they arrive overripe. Sample bananas must be cut open to check the color, which indicates if it is OK to ship.

The village coop is also developing a cottage industry of drying, roasting, and preparing chocolate from cacao beans, to make chocolate bars for the local market... It has superb flavor ! ...and what an aroma as it is cooking!

3.  Enroute we drove up above the 14,000 ft. level on  Cotopaxi volcano.   (To the point where climbers start their assent. )  Read more here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi

4.  Small independent farmers: can increase their yield if they learn to use organic farming methods, new crop rotation patterns, and develop coop marketing plans. Alone they are subject to the whims of the market. Together with training paid for with "Heifer seed money" they can greatly improve their lives and resources. 

 Our host and local Heifer staff person on one farm we visited:

New methods involve planting different varieties in the same field.  Companion planting minimizes insect damage, removing the need for chemical pesticides, allows the soil to be covered with vegetation all the time - minimizing water loss by wind passing over. Plant communities are also mutusally beneficial with each variety adding and removing different products from the soil.  Constant planting and harvesting are required year around in the gardens.   This is on the equator so there is no "cold" season...only a rainy and a dry season.

Many farmers also maintain livestock; Cows. goats, chickens, sheep... and here guinea pigs ( cui) ... small vegeterian animals that are a traditional protein source for the local people.  They fit well into an organic garden plan.  Manure is returned to the soil.

Here I am relishing a nice portion of well roasted guinea pig, prepared by our hostess.  It reminded me of rabbit.

5.  Trout farm coop... It takes seed money to build cement tanks that can collect the cold clear spring water coming out of the mountainside... But a group of families can build and maintain the tanks and produce an effective trout farm that supplies all the fish sold by a local restaurant and also for sale in the farmers market.  The low cost loan is paid back with interest - and the money is available to support other projects.

Here is one of the entrepreneurs who developed the fish farm

6.  Farmers markets like this are one of the main marketing strategies for local organic farmers and producers of livestock and fish...Local people are drawn by the quality and freshness of these products over those grown with chemicals and fertilizers.  It is evident that the organic market was attracting more customers that the "chemical" growers.

"Social capital" is a term used to describes the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.  For example a healthy church group or community association that effectively grows and develops must get buy in and participation from many in the community to be effective.    A goal of Heifer International is to provide the knowledge and start up money to permit people to develop their social capital in a manner which will be self maintaining and self expanding. 

Galapagos Islands: A few photos

Galapagos Islands

What is so special about the Galapagos as a laboratory of evolution... is that while the islands are recently formed ( geologically speaking ), the life found there, while in many ways similar to the life in Ecuador, is different and adapted for the conditions on each different island.

Dawn showing on a volcanic cylinder 

Our worthy boat - the "Frigata" ... this was our home for a week...

We made frequent excursions to locations onthe various islands to hike, hunt out interesting organisms, snorkel , and once to visit a local town.

Most life forms have, through natural selection, adapted to fit the color of their environment.  The " Sally Light Foot" crab depends on her tough shell and the lack of predators. The color has a mating function.

Frigate birds - famous for long flights over the open ocean - here they come to raise their young. All the life forms here appears to be totally unafraid of humans.  It is remarkable that it is possible to approach within a few feet of most organisms.   We were required to travel in groups, and the number of visitors each day is tightly controlled.

A red footed booby ( the color has a mating function )

On a different island, developing with different influences, is a blue footed booby.

A chief predator on one island is the short eared owl

Unique species of mocking birds are found here on some islands.

A male frigate bird with his throat  pouch which can be inflated to attract a mate... ( very "sexy" !)

Sea iguanas - live by eating seaweed that they collect from the seafloor

Land iguanas vary by island - but they eat the specific form of cactus that is unique for each island

A gathering of sea iguanas - note their perfect protective coloring to match the rocks

Tree Cactus on one island - the iguanas have to wait until a cactus "pad" falls to the ground before they can feed... limits the population...

Albatross birds engaged in a squabble

One of the famous land tortoises ... there are also sea turtles visible while snorkeling.  The land tortoises are each well adapted to their particular island.

Judy's birthday cake baked aboard the boat - an Ecuadorian "Tres Leches" cake... muy delicioso!

Note that we were almost smack dab on the equator... only 18.64 minutes of a degree from the line itself! 

Do you remember that Darwin was enthusiastic about the many varieties of Finches that he found.  They are alive and thriving - each adapted to its location and to its food sources...

A different species of finch

Finches are open to new food sources too...

I did not have a camera capable of underwater photos -so I can not show you the sea turtles, the sea lions, the wild array of fish, the coral, the sharks, and the swimming iguanas... pretty awesome!

Rain Forest Photos

I now have  time to organize some of the photos from our summer adventure...  This week's photos focus on the Kapawi rain forest eco lodge...

There were three blogs posted at the time... the first of the 3 is here: http://johnzlatnik.blogspot.com/2013/07/untitled.html

Our welcoming committee upon arrival at our landing strip in the eastern "Selva" of Ecuador

We had to fly  for over an hour over dense rain forest like this to reach the location of our eco lodge

The lodge is maintained and managed by the Achuar people - the local indigenous group

Here is our guide... incredible knowledgable about the plants of the forest, and their uses

We woke early at 6 each morning to travel by canoe to look for wild life... Then back for breakfast... then off on a 4 hour hike in the forest...

River "traffic"

It is called rain forest for good reason... We were provided with high boots  that usually protected us from the mud... but not always...

Our two guides located and identified birds, plants, insects... and explained their uses to us.

The forest had many game trails and it would be very easy to get lost without a guide.

Our house... Beneath us was a bog with the loudest frogs that serenaded us each night.

The fish in the bog controlled the mosquitos, of which we saw few!

Also the temperatures were never super hot and humid...

Leaf cutter ants - cut pieces of leaves, carry them underground, to grow fungus!

Three large monkeys overhead!

The motor canoe that took us to our hike locations, early morning sightings, village visits...

Shaman holding a bowl of the manioc beer that was offered to us - and its bad manners to refuse...

Open air Achuar home - we visited two villages and were invited into two homes for formal visits 

On the wall of the village school - student work in the Ashuar language...

Me with my face painted in traditional Achuar "jaguar" markings

Going Home Notes

Now that I have recovered my camera from the weaver (read the last blog), I have photos to share with those interested! It has not been possible for me to process photos as we were travelled. My intention is to process one set of the trip photos at a time and make them available over a period of Friday's as additional links to this blog.

Thursday: Here we are aboard a LAN aircraft headed north! Well over 40,000 ft. because the stratosphere is higher here than our latitude at home...Today Lima, tomorrow SFO! Sadly the sky is cloudy, so no good view of the Andes Mts...

I am drawn to this free life of a gypsy! When I was a young pup I first discovered this attraction while hitchhiking in Europe and the Middle East. I enjoy the challenges and satisfaction that comes from the daily encounters with uncertainty...reading maps, trying to communicate in foreign languages...making quick choices with limited information...adapting to local customs and foods. And the satisfaction that comes from dealing with these situations successfully....I enjoy the quick friendships that develop in hostels, the sharing of stories and information.. Still, once at home I am quite content to tend my garden and work with my student teachers. Like my mother used to say, "Its good to go away, but its good to come home."

Wednesday was our last day in Cusco ...As we walked up the hill by our hotel, we saw a sign on the door of a Carmelite convent, saying that the sisters there made and sold ice cream. We entered a large empty stone church hall, and in quite a dark corner we found a sign listing the foods that were available. It was not possible to see the person who was selling the food...but through a sort of revolving wooden round-e-round I spoke aloud into the void what it was that I wanted. A voice answered to me also from out of the void and the order was arranged... Money was paid and the ice cream delivered. It was almost a religious experience! The voice that I spoke with sounded like a cheerful young woman. The ice cream was delicious!

... So much yet to see and do... .there is only one solution...we must return to Peru! Judy had not yet visited the great "Mercado,de San Pedro" ..the grand Cusco community market. (It is a place that I keep returning to...). I love the little bit chaotic fluidity of the place..so much activity ...so many goods bought and sold... We went today, and Judy bought several nice pieces of weaving and clothing, and chocolate!.. I really like the warm wool poncho that I bought for our Northern California winters!

Judy has a friend in California who is interested in the uses of quinoa, a traditional grain food of the Inca people. It is served quite a lot here and is becoming quite well known in the US. It can be.added to a variety of dishes in creative ways. The grain is high in protein, lower in starch, and it has a pleasant flavor, the cooked grains are smaller than cooked rice. In the mercado we bought three varieties... Black, red, and white colored grains. I was also able to purchase samples of small globular gourds, and hopefully I can convince some of the seeds to grow in my garden.j

One of my greatest satisfactions of this trip has been my improved ability to converse in Spanish...I am far from a proficient speaker...and my ability to use correct grammar is enough to make a language teacher want to tear out his or her hair, but I have a fair working vocabulary and just by being here, it has been necessary for me to use my Spanish all the time, I have become more fluent. Here I "just talk" to people...and I don't worry if I make mistakes in grammar.

Conversation with a cab driver ... "The only real industry in Cusco is the tourist industry...there is only very limited manufacturing, the long dry season and lack of irrigation limit farming, but the tourists keep coming, perhaps it is the lure of the Inca history and the renown fame of Machu Picchu that bring the people!"

One final observation...the streets of Peruvian cities and towns are amazingly free of litter..! We often see home and shop owners sweeping a large clear area outside of their properties. There are an impressive number of paid street cleaners, but the pride that people take in maintaing clean streets is impressive... Peru can be called a developing nation...a second world country...but far above the economic and social disorder of third world countries.

Thursday...LAN aircraft flying north parallel to the S American coast...We expect to arrive home mid afternoon! This airline serves "real" food!

Later - we are home safe and sound... 6 weeks traveling and eating all kinds of things and neither of us was sick at all...

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Unexpected surprises!

Just when we thought our adventures on this trip were coming to an end... chance events added surprise! We left our beautiful town of Ollantaytembo with its cloud draped mountains and steep cliffs, we walked down the narrow cobble stone street, until we reached the plaza. It had rained in the night and the peaks around us were covered with fresh snow. We hunted for and quickly found a 15 passenger collectivo mini van...the drivers only leave when the van is full, and we were the last two to board. Traveling through the beautiful farmland of the Inca's Sacred Valley, we reached the town of Urumbamba. Here we switched to a smaller collectivo that would take us to Chinchero, an indigenous Andean village situated at above 12,000 feet. It is located on the "Alto Plano"...a high plane in the Andes with rich farming opportunities, for plants adapted to this climate. Here we found a motorcycle with 2 passenger seats , with a sort of fabric tent to protect us from the wind...Our driver took us down a side road to the location of a large country fair...What luck!,...this fair was held only once a year ...and we happened to be here! The fair is held of, by, and for, the local indigenous community... The women were dressed in colorful (mostly red with black accent) hand woven dresses, vests, shawls, and distinctive hats. We looked around and found ourselves to be the only outsiders present...But we felt wecome and talked freely with the people. We found livestock, crops, a huge variety of potatoes, and the weavers markets. Judy's eyes lit up at the wide variety and high quality of weaving offered...plus the benefit of knowing that all profits from anything we bought would go directly to the weaver. There was also guinea pig racing, and the prettiest guerra pig judging...they were all dressed up in beautiful clothing! There were also food booths where among other things you could get roasted guinea pig. The Chicha...homemade Peruvian beer booth seemed to be very popular with some of the men. I also enjoyed the cows, bulls, sheep,pigs, and goats on display and for sale.
After several hours of looking, talking, and bargaining we decided it was time to return to Cusco. We took a collectivo back to the town center of Chincherno, to locate a mini van for the trip back into Cusco. As we stood waiting I checked for my camera...and it wasn't there...What a sinking feeling...my good camera and 6 weeks of stored photos! I quickly searched my day-pack with no success...I couldn't give up with at least trying to return to the fair...After a quick ride back...I started walking across the fair grounds to the grand stand with the half baked idea of asking the guy with the microphone to announce that I would offer a reward for the return of the camera. Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder...and an indigenous woman weaver with whom we had bargained earlier said."Yo tengo algo de ustedes!" (I have something of yours! )... I absolutely could not believe my ears! But I was soon rejoined with my camera. It must have dropped from my pocket when I tried on a sweater... The local culture would never permit the people to ask for a reward...but I paid the two people involved with a generous "propina" (gift).
Monday... Nice to wake up back at the Ninos Hotel in Cusco...the place is simple but comfortable. Our major task of the day was to hunt down an artist that we had seen on display three days ago.He had invited us to his studio to see more of his work. We are especially drawn to his sensitive portrayal of the faces of the people of Peru. His studio was that of a prolific and varied artist with unusual skill. He was an older man, who had painted his whole adult life, who loved painting the people, landscapes, cultures of Peru, and he was successful as an artist! His work range from an accurate realism, to some quite abstract pieces with great color and texture balance. We bought pieces of his work...now the task will be to get them home. True to his tradition he invited us to join himself and his wife for lunch in a nice restaurant. It was a treat on well prepared Peruvian food.
I expect this will be the last of this series of travel blogs... We return home on Thursday... It has been an incredible six week "viaje", with so many experiences, faces, and good people! If you have enjoyed this blog I normally post a new blog each Friday dealing with a variety of topics throughout the year... I hope you will stay tuned in...

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The Many Faces of Machu Picchu...

Soon after dawn the sun brightens the high peaks above the town of Ollataytembo. This is a place of early morning water sounds and bird sounds. Soon sunlight falls on the yellow golden stone Inca ruins on the hills above the town. This is a place to which we would like to return! But today we must make our next move and take the train to Aguas Caliente... It is the first train that I have ever encountered to declare a strict limit on the weight of luggage permitted... (Which we later found that they didn't enforce). We had to decide what to store here in the Apu Lodge where we are staying in Oyataytembo.

Do you remember the scene in the Hobbit movie where the intrepid band of adventurers enters a region of high steep mountains and rushing water...? Strange plants hang from the trees, the rocks forming steep cliffs down to the river. Hanging bridges cross the rushing rivers. Well, that was us today as we entered Aguas Caliente, the gateway to Machu Pichu. It is quite remote with only two means of entrance... Walking or a little narrow gauge railroad that never quite got its rails leveled. The train chugs it's way through the valley as the route gets ever more extreme.

Friday...

Today we made it to Machu Picchu... What a grand experience! We were advised that is is very important to get there early before the tour busses arrived in late morning... Today it was raining lightly at 4: 30 am as we left the hotel... This is pretty typical Machu Picchu weather (It is after all rainforest.) We discovered a great long line of others at the bus station, with the same plan in mind. Several buses left at 5: 30.. And we were on the 3rd one. After a 30 minute ride we were deposited at the entrance to Machu Picchu. Our first moments were a little confused... Dawn was just breaking, and us without coffee. We were dressed in rain gear, but the rain made reading guide book difficult. Thunder roared and lightning flashed to add to the drama of the moment. Once we located a point of reference that we could identify the morning became easier. We had the trails pretty much to ourselves as the day brightened. The first face of Machu Picchu that we saw was the surreal moving misty clouds giving us momentary peeks at the landscape...The experience was quite mystical! The large stone features were softened and blurred in the foggy light... At times a clear expanse would show and then vanish within minutes. About 8 AM, I climbed up through the fog to reach the "watchman's cottage". I knew that I was very high and exposed but I could see little through the clouds... Suddenly a miracle occurred and the fog vanished and I looked down on the grand vista of Machu Picchu stretched out before me... For the next hour as conditions cleared..,I could see that in fact I was on a very high ridge that looked out at vast cliffs and peaks of dramatic height and depth...in all directions! Here are the stone remains of a significant city...a center of political and religious power. Even today the careful city planning to supply water, drainage, access to food, communication with the other parts of the empire serve as a brilliant example of public works that are both functional and beautiful. .

We continued our explorations and noticed that we were acquiring shadows ... The sun showed and strengthened as the day progressed... Now we could appreciate the green meadows among the stone buildings.

One wrinkle to the day was that my cameras, first one, and then my backup camera, malfunctioned because of the light rain that had fallen on them. With the bright sun shining we took a break for a snack, at the same time we discovered that all of our critical papers in the day pack had become soggy with the rain... So we carefully spread out the wet papers to dry, and also put the cameras in the sun... After the food, I checked my good camera and found it had returned to life...Soon after, the second camera was also doing well.

Judy preferred to sit and enjoy the view and I went off to capture the photos that I had missed earlier due to camera problems. By 10 am the scene changed considerably... Train loads of visitors from Cusco arrived and took the bus up to M. P. Suddenly we were sharing the site with great swarms of visitors. Most visitors were in groups with a guide giving dates and details... We know that our retention from such guide talks is poor...and we do better reading a guidebook and traveling on our own. Guides were speaking to their groups in Spanish, English, Japanese, Italian, French, German, and maybe a few other languages. Still the whole scene was so special we were in no hurry to leave.

We left Machu Picchu by mid afternoon with a happy and satisfied feeling that we had seen at least some of the faces of Machu Picchu. ... And in the process had caught a glimpse of the people who had built this amazing city.

 

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The Glories of Cusco...and Beyond

There is much unique about Cusco! It is over11000ft in elevation, which means that when you arrive it is necessary to move slowly, until you acclimate. August is in the dry season, and the skies are a deep and beautiful blue. Cusco was an early center of Inca cultural life and many of the faces that I pass in the street are Inca to the core. The city is built of well crafted stone blocks skillfully cut and fitted together in the tradition of the Inca. Many of the streets are beautiful in their stone work and classic narrowness, they are interspersed with large public plazas and many fine churches that give the flavor of the Spanish masters who ruled the country from very early years. Openinf off of the streets, many doorways open into comfortable patios. It is a city well suited to pedestrians, notably missing the traffic and smoke of Quito.

Yesterday early I went into the large enclosed market... Where the people of Cusco buy their daily vegetables, meat, rice, herbs, fruit, but also clothing and household items... The mood of the place in marked by friendly exchange between buyers and sellers... It is hectic but with a certain order... I was astounded to see the huge varieties of potatoes and corn varieties offered for sale... I loved using my Spanish to converse with the women selling medicinal herbs, the sellers of quinoa and chocolate, the stalls with incense and dried fish. I found it amazing to see sacks filled with coca leaves that the local people chew to prevent fatigue, especially when working at high elevation... Apparently there are a lot of coca leaf users here! Some guidebooks recommend to visitors to use the leaves or a tea to prevent headaches from the altitude. And no it is not a form of cocaine or other serious drug. There is also a section of the market that offers fast food service by local food sellers... providing either the sit down breakfast to the many merchants and shoppers.

The city has been skillfully planned to offer neighborhoods limited to the chic tourist trade... hotels and restaurants... But has maintained other sections that are very indigenous and maintain the traditions and life of the people. I fear that some visitors come here and never see the real city or encounter the marvelous people of Cusco. I feel totally safe wandering through the markets even though I am usually the only non local person in sight. I am very discrete in the photos of people that I take.

The history of Cusco is both wonderful and sad. This was the home of the greatest of the Inca palaces and temples... The center of a vast economy... The center of advanced knowledge of medicine, plant science, mathematics, cosmology... exceeding the knowledge in Europe at the time. Scholars still disagree about why the Spanish invasion succeeded, at a time when the Spanish Inquisitions were producing a reign of intolerance and fear in Spain. It was a time when cruelty and greed were normal. First the invaders stole anything made of gold... All the fine delicate work of the people and the institutions was melted down and shipped to Spain. The Spanish rulers required the people to produce or grow products which were shipped off to Spain...It was a time of impoverishment of a whole people. Finally the Inca people were forced to give up their cultural ways... As a result much of the knowledge of the Inca was irretrievably lost.As a last attempt to remove Inca culture the people were required dress as Europeans and speak only Spanish. It was a devastating period in human history! The brutality knew no bounds. Of course humans are resilient to a point... Of course the genetic pool of the Inca is still very much present. Here are now found nearly pure Inca people, Mestisos (those of mixed heritage), and those of European ancestry. The Spanish were ultimately driven out and remnants of the traditional life have been recovered and are now valued. Still the shadow of the great destructive Spanish period remain. Even the museums have only limited collections to offer.

Often the hostels and hotels where Judy and I stay are shared with European travelers and backpackers. We Prefer to stay in places that offer a flavor of the country and opportunities to talk to fellow travelers.. We are currently staying in the Ninos hotel in Cusco... The profits from this small hotel go to support a program that supports local street children. It is simple, clean, and provides fantastic breakfasts. In a place like this it is natural that everyone is your new best friend... We meet very interesting people from the world over! Some of the rooms have private baths... But we could not reserve one of these. The common bathroom is a bit different. It is used by both men and women... There is one shared closed off shows and two shared closed off toilets.. First come first served... One sink. This morning when I entered the bathroom, I found a young woman from Australia brushing her teeth, we greeted each other and both went about our business... I think these folks have a real common sense idea!

... Later...

We made it from Cusco to Alyatantembo in about an hour and a half! And it was an awesome ride in a 10 passenger collectivo minibus. Awesome especially because it was over a rugged Andean mountain road... Two lanes... And here in a land where driving is a competitive sport... And the object is to call the other drivers bluff! The scenery is awesome! We are now in a rugged valley of Alyatantembo...a charming town...one of the most genuine Incan towns with its narrow lanes, fantastic stone work, and a stone channel for clear running mountain water in each lane

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Organic Food the Natural way

We travelled this past week into the high green hills and valleys of Ecuador. Here many small property holders are living with the land as their only asset. These small independent farmers who are trying to make a living in the complex markets of today start out with a disadvantage. Many are farming as their fathers did. Imagine what a difference it makes to be part of a collective that provides low cost loans and training in new products and farming methods.

To get a sense of what these farmers are doing, we visited a number of small family farmers who have been trained and certified in organic farming methods. They sell their produce in large twice a week farmers markets in larger more prosperous towns. It is direct marketing from farmer to consumer! The organic portion of the market attracts many more customers, despite the fact that that the produce is a bit more expensive. Customers are attracted by the fresh, higher quality, tastier organic products. A small land holder can make a good living in this way.

There is growing interest in locating and preserving the seeds and knowledge the are part of the indigenous heritage of Ecuador... High in the mountains and valleys these treasures can still be found. Varieties from the coastal regions are more likely to have been lost due to more intensive farming methods on mono culture crops like bananas. The recovered crops are a genetic treasure with products that can be sold commercially and genetic information available for cross breeding to develop new varieties.

The cooperative groups provide a range of services, from sharing of seeds, collecting and sharing techniques, providing in depth training in new methods. A farmer can take a low interest Heifer project loan, spend it on tools, seeds, training, land... And then pay back the loan from their increased income. The interest collected serves as the basis for "passing on the gift" to other farmers.

The indigenous farmers made great use of companion planting.. The beneficial interaction between plants grown close together. They do not plant in uniform rows or clumps... But inter spaced crops were grown in natural communities as might be found in nature... The soil was always occupied (year round growing season here)... The soil is never bare, thus preventing drying. Plants are continually added and taken out when harvested. Some plants that we might call weeds are permitted to grow because of their contribution to the soil economy. Large "weeds" that steal the sunlight from crops are removed. This concept of growing plants in communities is called agroecology. Growing diverse crops is beneficial in the farmers market economy. For example 18 varieties of potatoes are grown for their diverse flavors and food qualities. Some plant varieties are included in the community for their ability to repel harmful insects or to attract beneficial ones.

The proof of this system and training is in the results. Training and cooperative support have led many farmers in this region to self sufficiency and economic success.

Neighboring farms plowed by a tractor, practicing monoculture agriculture with only one crop, are much more prone to insect invasions requiring pesticides, in need of soil enrichment with commercial fertilizers (unneeded with the plant communities and compost fertilization), and are subject to the drying of the soil since the dirt is not covered with the mixed plant community. The idea is to let nature do the work...adapt to the natural ways of plants and soil.

Some farmers add to the diversity by also growing animals... Guinea pigs, rabbits, cows, sheet... Selling the meat and using the "poop" in the compost. The ideas, the training, the seeds and animals, the funding, and the passing on of the gift are all part of the Heifer concept. The concept is flexible dependent on local conditions and resources... We saw a trout farm that made use of clear cold spring water to make ponds that support a restaurant and farmers market... More Heifer training and start up money at work,.

 

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