Partners of the Americas Farmer-to-Farmer Trip Report: Nicaragua Christine Regester Kshinte Brathwaite 14 Feb 28 Feb, 2010 General Assignment/Background The purpose of this assignment was to assess the ability of families to implement small scale vegetable garden systems and conduct education with participants on the nutritional and economic benefits of vegetable consumption. This assignment was a flex assignment for the nutrition volunteer, indicating the expectation that there would be presentations on the nutritional value of consuming milk, in addition to the benefits of growing and consuming vegetables. Education included integrating on-site compost systems, proper planting techniques, mulching and food preparation demonstrations into discussions held with families and field technicians. The expected results were to have families and communities learn and build confidence to grow their own vegetables, make their own compost with the resources available to improve soil quality for garden plants and understand the importance of consuming the vegetables they are growing, as well as the benefits of consuming milk. Executive Summary The volunteers offered trainings and on-site visits to several communities including Managua, El Menco on the border of Rivas and Nandaime, Pio XII, San Jose de Los Remates and Camoapa. Each of these sites had UW-Extension volunteers in the past that provided education on vegetable gardening, however, this was the first time a volunteer would be conducting education on the nutritional and economic benefits of consuming vegetables. In every community that was visited the combination of Horticulture and Nutrition provided a whole new purpose for individuals and families to grow their vegetables. The volunteers were able to combine composting, planting seeds, mulching, and harvesting with the reasons why it was important to consume the vegetables they were growing those indigenous to the Nicaraguan diet as well as less common vegetables which some might attempt to grow from the seeds brought by the volunteers. Each person who participated in the group discussions received fact sheets on how to construct a vegetable garden, the nutritional value of many different vegetables as well as milk, and several packets of seeds each. The volunteers gave nine presentations and established two school gardens, one in San Jose de Los Remates and one in Camoapa. The information that was supplied will be shared by the local groups to others in the local communities. It would be beneficial for all of these communities to have Horticulture and Nutrition volunteer teams visit in the future to maintain these programs.
Activities Monday February 15, 2010 (Kshinte s observations) We stopped at one of the larger grocery stores in Managua today (La Union) and I was able to see some of the produce that is available. There was a large variety of vegetables available, and among the vegetables that were on display, I saw: green head lettuce, white and purple cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, chaote, hot peppers, celery, squash, red, yellow and green bell peppers, bok choy, and other vegetables which are the staples of the country (Cassava, Plantain, Malanga, and White Potatoes). I was actually quite surprised to see such a wide variety of vegetables available. Some of the vegetables, however, looked more incidental than a regular vegetable carried by the supermarket, as there were only three peppers (two orange and one yellow) in a full box of peppers (greenish-red) which appear to be more commonly available. I also went into the frozen section to see if there were frozen options for vegetables available, and found that the only vegetables available in that section were two bags of frozen mixed vegetables (small bags in cheese sauces). (Chrissy s Observations) We spent the later part of the morning at the Partners of the Americas office (Managua) discussing our itinerary and planning the different presentations that we will be giving in the next two weeks. Kshinte and I are planning to speak for an hour at each of the different locations. Ronald Blandon joined us before lunch to talk to us about the vegetables that are growing well and which are not. They are having problems with getting the seeds to germinate and the lettuce is not growing due to the hot temperatures. He says that the seeds germinate but then they die. My thoughts are that the seeds are either planted too deep, they are not getting enough water, or they are planting in fresh manure that has not been composted. I intend to touch on these topics plus any others concerns I see once we what is actually happening during our site visits. Ronald also said that the people beginning to grow vegetable seedlings and selling them at the market for people to grow them at their own homes. Tuesday February 16, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) We picked up Lestor, an agronomist from the Lacteos Nicarao office in Rivas. From here we drove down a couple miles of dirt road and picked up Dorca. When Dorca was ready we drove to a house and met with two other women, Juana Gazo and Aminta. We had a very nice meeting together. Both Kshinte and I introduced ourselves and our thoughts
about how we can help them. The women discussed that they want to start gardening with a small garden. They talked about adding manure to the soil and they have enough water for growing a garden. They would like to grow squash, tomatoes, chilies, melon, cabbage, carrots and broccoli. Dorca expressed that she had tried cucumbers but they didn t grow for her. Some of the other women were willing to try growing the cucumbers. We talked about having the garden in an area close to the house with plenty of light and close to the water. The also understood that mulch is used to keep the soil moist for longer, limit the amount of disease that the plants may get from the soil, and that the mulch will break down and add nutrients to the soil. Kshinte discussed the importance of adding the vegetables to their diet. From what I understand many people grow the vegetables and sell them at the market for the money and only a minimal amount is consumed by the family (this goes for milk also as I understand). We will visit each of their homes tomorrow and share oneon-one about their gardening plans. The seeds that they requested were squash, tomatoes, chilies, melon, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli. Following our meeting we dropped off Dorca at her house and then met with another woman who has several gardens and a manure digester. Her gardens consisted primarily of green peppers and she is harvesting them. She has used sticks and barbed wire to keep the chickens out and it is working. She also uses the water that is extracted from the digester to water the plants. She says that it is working very well for her. She is recruiting women to come to her house on Thursday for us to speak with. We were only at her house for a short time. From there we went to the market in downtown Rivas and purchased three watering cans to provide for the women. From our discussions today I can see that proper composting methods will be the main topic for my presentation on Thursday. Wednesday February 17, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) We met up with Lector around 8:00 a.m. and traveled together to Dorca s house. Her house was the first stop out of three for the day (8:30-9:30 a.m.). Dorca and her family were kind enough to show us where the garden will be going. We talked about the garden that she just started with fresh (few day old) manure mixed with soil. Dorca was thinking manure was ok because it was dry, I explained to her that the manure had to go through the decomposition process for it to have all the proper qualities to sustain plant growth
and may burn the plants following germination. Lestor and I talked with her about using trench composting as a way to use the manure instead of planting directly into in. She said that she does this with her trees. She is going to try growing the same vegetables in two different areas, one using fertilizer and one part of her garden without fertilizer to see if the taste will be different. We sat down with Dorca, her husband and their two sons and shared with them the seeds that we had and discussed how to correctly plant the seeds, using the flowers to attract pollinators, the importance of using mulch and composting the manure before it s used. We also talked about planting lettuce in small containers that could be kept on the cement to keep the soil cooler. We presented the family with seeds, one small shovel, small hand rake, and a watering can. Kshinte talked with them informally on the nutritional value of the different vegetables, and ways to prepare them, as seeds were distributed. Dorca s husband talked about not planting during the new moon and that they would plant the seeds when the moon was in the right phase. At 9:30 a.m. we visited with Juana. She showed us the area that she had chosen for her garden. Her home has many flowers growing along with two raised beds of mint. We sat down with her and gave her many packets of seeds, a small trowel, hand rake, and watering can. We discussed many of similar topics that we covered with Dorca. Our last visit for the day was with Aminta. We arrived around 10: 45 a.m. She is the only woman that was able to get a crop of carrots to grow from the seeds given to them by previous FTF volunteers. Aminta s carrots were about 2-3 long and growing well in a 4 x 5 metal raised bed that had been filled only with manure, no soil. I noticed that the metal container was next to a tree that was casting a shadow over the carrots during the part of the day when the sun was the most intense. This may have something to do with the good progress. We shared our seeds, talked about watering the soil and not getting water on the leaves and all the other topics that we talked about with the other two women. Aminta seemed much more confident and proud of her garden that the other two women, which could be due to the success that she is having with the carrots. Her garden area is very small so we talked about making a fence that the plants could climb up and not take over the rest of the garden. From the observations during our visits this morning the women understand that the manure should be composted but they don t want to take the time to do it. They said that it was
really hard to grow lettuce, but they would like to so they could eat it, so I have come up with an idea for cooling the plants and the soil that I will share with them tomorrow. They seemed discouraged about giving specific vegetables a second chance if it didn t work the first time they planted them. Also, Lestor and Daniel shared with us that the women are visited by multiple volunteers and the volunteers are not there long enough to help them through the process. Many of them want to grow all of the vegetables, however as seen with the carrots they may not all be able to grow certain vegetables due to different site conditions. For example, one family may be able to grow squash really well because the sun is just right and the family down the street may not have good luck with the squash, but may have great tomatoes. Tomorrow during our presentation I am going to suggest that if all of them grew three or four vegetables that do well in their home gardens then they could rotate their crops adequately and share the vegetables with the other women, similar to a vegetable swap. That way they don t have to become overwhelmed with trying to grow several different vegetables at the same time by themselves. My other suggestion that I will share is for the gardeners to meet regularly so they could learn from each. Thursday February 18, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) We left our hotel in Rivas around 6:30 a.m. and went to the market to pick up some fresh produce (Lettuce, Tomato, Green Pepper, and Cucumber) for Kshinte s demonstration. We also bought a handkerchief and paint can so I could demonstrate how to make a lettuce growing container. We picked up Lector around 8:30. We picked up Dorca and three other men on our way to the women s house where we gave about a two hour presentation. We had four men, ten women, and two children attend our discussion. I spoke about Wisconsin then discussed how to start a garden (because many of the people had never gardened before), how to plant seeds correctly, and the importance of using compost. It was also part of the discussion in the last couple of days that lettuce was hard to grow so I designed a container that will hopefully cool the soil enough for cool season crops to grow. I was able to give them a PowerPoint about the role that UW-Extension has in Wisconsin, I really focused on composting, proper seed plant depth, soil preparation, and alternating planting times of the same crops. They asked many great questions and shared their concerns with the seeds that they planted but never germinated or germinated then died. I responded to this with the further discussion on composting the manure and not using fresh manure.
Daniel helped me demonstrate the container garden. The container was made out of an old paint can that had rocks on the bottom, then a clean gallon of milk with the top removed, slits on the bottom with narrow pieces of the handkerchief strung through the holes and into the soil, then the entire milk jug was placed into the paint can. My thoughts were that they could keep the entire container on the cement to keep the rocks cool, then water the plants in-between the milk jug and the paint can from the bottom where the rocks would cool the water that was taken up through the handkerchief into the soil. The container could be moved into the sun during the morning and late afternoon then moved into the shade during the intense sun parts of the day. Watering from the bottom would force the roots to grow deeper to find the water, instead of the roots staying near the surface of the soil waiting for water where they would have a greater chance of drying out due to evaporation. Kshinte followed me with a nutrition lesson discussing the importance of eating vegetables and consuming milk. She then demonstrated how to make a salad using the produce she purchased from the market. We finished our discussion by handing out seeds to each of the families to start their own garden. We anticipate that future volunteers will visit this community to see any progress that has been made and perhaps have more time to dedicate to this community. At 2:30 we drove to PioXII and picked up Heredia, Dean of the local School, and we drove to the school where we were blessed to be recognized in front of about 80 parents and students. Daniel introduced the Farmer to Farmer project, Kshinte and I both introduced ourselves and our roles in UW-Extension, UW-Extension s role in Wisconsin and what type of education we were conducting with Farmer to Farmer in Nicaragua. Kshinte and I were each awarded a gift for the work that we have accomplished. Following the talk we were brought outside to see that square foot garden that was first started by Rose Skora. Saddi and one other student shared their stories about the garden and the importance that it has in their lives including, their ability to bring their knowledge to their homes and communities, eating the vegetables they harvest, and the medicinal purposes of the plants. They were very mature and passionate about the garden they were growing. Squash, mint, green peppers, and oregano were growing in the garden. We shared our seeds with them prior to leaving. They
never said what the problems were, but they are composting and they have enough water for the garden. We left the school and visited several other students at their homes to see their gardens and what they were growing. Each student showcased their garden and the parents were very proud of the children for doing this. You could hear it in the children s voices that they are very passionate about and devoted to their gardens. We also visited a man with a small classroom for kids to learn how to garden and he had many raised Square Foot gardens growing many different vegetables and a huge compost pile that he is very proud of because of the nutrients that it provides to the plants instead of adding chemical fertilizers. He gave each of us each a handmade stick fully wrapped with tangerines. We also visited a man that makes baskets and a woman that had her own bakery. All of the gardens that we visited today were using the square foot garden techniques that Rose Skora had taught them. Each person has a very specialized niche in the community and has created a sustainable community by helping each other to succeed. The children are the spokespeople any time political leaders need to be addressed and they have won an award for their work from the mayor. For as little as the community has, it is definitely a model for other communities in Nicaragua. (Kshinte s observations) We were ready to go early this morning, because we needed to make a trip to the outdoor market just down the road from where we were staying, so that I could pick up the vegetables I needed for the demonstration portion of my presentation and lesson. The search for a good head lettuce took us to two different outdoor markets, because the lettuce at the first market was very small, with browning outer leaves that were wilting. We drove through the town to another outdoor market where I was able to find larger, fresher looking head lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, limes, onion and tomatoes for use in the salad. Restaurants often include cooked beets to their salad, however, I would not have the means to prepare the beets before the salad demonstration, so I did not include them. As we were passing by, our interpreter noticed that an independent vendor on the side of the street had a large bag of green peppers, so I was able to buy a few green peppers, in addition to one good looking red pepper for the demonstration. We spoke to group of between 15-20 men and women (mostly women) who attended the meeting that afternoon. Those we had met with the previous day were in attendance (one woman was unable to attend, so her husband went in her place). The ages ranged from very young (preteen/teenagers) to mature participants who have all been involved in this community group (cooperative) started by the woman who was hosting the teaching event at her home. Chrissy presented on gardening first, followed by Kshinte teaching the nutritional portion of the event.
Although a powerpoint was prepared for this session on the nutritional value of vegetables, in the interest of time (the gardening portion went longer than expected, as there were several questions for Chrissy to respond to), I decided to talk through the information while demonstrating how to make a vegetable salad with the group of learners. The group was invited to come up to the table to be close to the demonstration table. As an informal pre-evaluation, several questions were asked of the group regarding the different vitamins present in each vegetable, and the function of each vitamin or element on the human body, to which only one woman responded (one of the more verbal women we had met with in the group the day prior). The lack of responses could have signified lack of comfort with offering information to a new group and with an unfamiliar visitor, or it could have reflected a lack of knowledge in this area. There is a characteristic of Nicaraguan culture called pena which is often described as something similar to shyness, but operates differently to what is more commonly characterized as shyness. It is more of a hesitation to impose or burden, which often appears as an unwillingness to speak about what you know, what you might want or need for yourself or others. For this reason, I could not assume that the lack of responses to questions was as a result of a lack of knowledge because it could have been the result of other influences, including the effect of pena. A factsheet was distributed to the learners in the group with all of the information which was presented in the discussion and demonstration. Once the factsheet was distributed, and additional review questions were asked related to the vitamins and other elements present in different vegetables, two or three more learners appeared to be more comfortable offering answers or additional thoughts. Although the learners were attentive during the demonstration and discussion on the nutritional benefits of vegetable consumption, there was a lack of active participation in the form of questions or comments throughout the demonstration (given opportunities by the nutrition volunteer to contribute at various times). At the end of the demonstration, when asked if the information shared was helpful, almost all of the learners nodded and verbally responded yes enthusiastically. Friday February 19, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) This morning we drove to San Jose de los Remates, which is northeast of Managua. While in San Jose de los Remates we visited the primary school to talk with the principle about working with the kids to put in a garden. Susan had been here in November and put in a school garden but right after they built the garden the school went on a two week
break and nothing grew. Following our short meeting we spoke to 15 women and two children about gardening, hand washing and food preparation, and vegetable consumption. We conducted the two hour session the same way we presented to the group in Rivas, presenting gardening information first, and then speaking about the nutritional and economical benefits of vegetable and milk consumption. Chrissy covered soil preparation, the importance of composting and how to plant the seeds. There were only two people attending the meetings that were growing vegetables and they had harvested some radishes recently. The others had not gardened but said they were going to start. The group asked many great questions on the topics of planting the seeds, how to know when they are ready to harvest, and more details on composting. Kshinte followed me with a great discussion about hand washing, food safety (rinsing vegetables and preparing vegetables separately from raw meats), the economic and nutritional benefits of consuming vegetables, and the nutritional benefits of milk consumption. (Kshinte s observations) We were scheduled to teach to a women s group consisting of about 20 women from the surrounding area. After the gardening portion of the presentation, I began the second part of the session with an explanation on the importance of hand washing before preparing or consuming food. Before beginning, I asked the group if anyone knew why it was important to wash hands before preparing or consuming food. No one responded to the question (result of any number of factors, including lack of trust, pena, lack of/insufficient knowledge in the subject area), so I continued on to explain the importance of food safety (hand washing, separating meat and vegetables, and proper cleaning of surfaces) as a part of preparing vegetables for consumption. In this meeting space, which was more of a formal meeting space (not a home), there was access to a washbasin outside (which I wasn t expecting), so I invited all of the participants to step outside with me to go through the hand washing demonstration, which they then each took turns practicing before returning inside for the rest of the presentation. The group was invited to come up and participate in the demonstration of how to make a lettuce salad, but everyone preferred to remain in their seats. The presentation followed the same format as the presentation in Rivas. I did an overview of those vitamins and other essential elements found in the most widely available vegetables in Nicaragua, (many of which are not widely consumed), and how they impact our health. As I began to prepare each vegetable to add to the salad, I asked participants questions about each
vegetable and its nutritive benefits, to see what had been learned during the presentation. As I discussed the vitamins and other important elements (such as fiber) that are found in many vegetables, I used concrete examples of what these vitamins do for our bodies, in addition to the effects that a lack of nutrients may have on our bodies (example: Vitamin A is important for the health of our eyes. This is important to consider as many Nicaraguans travel on foot or by bicycle at night, so the ability to see well in dark places is critical). Many offered correct answers to the questions I asked. One woman, visibly pregnant, asked about whether cabbage offers the same high level of folic acid as lettuce does, reflecting on the portion of the lesson focusing on folic acid and pregnancy. Another woman mentioned that she makes salad for her family, but she finds that her children do not like to eat it and many other women nodded in agreement. I recommended that because lettuce can be difficult to grow and therefore not widely available throughout Nicaragua, that if all that is available is cabbage, it is still recommended to consume cabbage (in addition to other vegetables) even though the level of folic acid in cabbage is much lower than other green leafy vegetables. I reinforced that the more variety of vegetables consumed, the closer each person will be to getting in healthy levels of the vitamins and other nutrients needed by the body to be remain healthy. I also recommended they introduce a new vegetable several times, because it takes several introductions of a new food to children for them to begin to get accustomed to a new taste. We also discussed additional ways of preparing vegetables in to increase consumption. As a group, we generated ideas such as adding vegetables to soups, mixed into or as side dishes with the staple dish of rice and beans ( gallopinto ), into scrambled eggs, or added to sandwiches (lettuce and tomato). When the participants were asked who would now try making salads at home, almost all participants raised their hands. We distributed small samples of the salad to each of the participants, and the majority of participants at least tried the salad, if they didn t finish what was on their plate. (Chrissy s observations) We spoke for nearly two hours and shared our seeds with each of them. Following this we went back to the school and worked with nine male students and prepared the soil, added some leaves to demonstrate the use of organic material in the soil, placed rocks around the edge of the garden and two long sticks on each of the longer ends. The boys then watered the soil and we began planting the seeds. One student drew a diagram of the garden so that they could remember what was planted where. We also marked each row with sticks. They planted radishes, cucumbers, egg plant, carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, nasturtiums and watermelon. We discussed the importance of keeping the soil moist and watering the garden 3 times a day, we also discussed placing leaf mulch around the plants once they
germinate to cool the soil, keep is moist for longer and add organic matter. This entire project from start to finish took about an hour and they worked really hard using the skills that they initially learned from Susan Mahr to create this new garden space. Their enthusiasm was wonderful and I hope that they will have progress this time with the garden. We visited with the principle on more time following the project to give her seeds for the school. I talked with her about the importance of watering and using mulch. We gave the school two shovels and two hand rakes to use. She was very happy with our work and is looking forward to having another garden at the school. Sunday February 21, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) Following lunch we drove to the party that was being held for Kshinte s Birthday in PioXII. We stopped at Heredia s house and she showed us her garden where she grows nursery stock to sell at the market, vegetables, cacao, avocado, etc. The party was held at the bakery that we visited a few days ago and they made a wonderful cake for Kshinte. We had just a wonderful time. Our friend Saddi that we met at the school was there and I was able to speak with him for a while about the school garden and the garden that he had at his house. He told me that he learned how to cultivate from Rose Skora (a past FTF volunteer) and his favorite part of gardening was harvesting. He and some friends take care of the garden at school but it is hard during their time off. He also grows radishes, tomatoes, beets, and squash at home that his family eats. I asked him if there were any problems or concerns that he had. I was thinking that he was going to may ask some gardening questions but instead he said that the problem that he has is that the other kids make fun of him for gardening and that they say that a young person shouldn t be teaching the adults. He said that it is very hard sometimes. He has done a tremendous amount of work in his community and has been given an award from the governor in recognition of his work and the work of his friends in their community. I told him that I am very
proud of what he has done and to keep up the good work. He would like to be a lawyer someday and says that he and his friends will write their story down and send it to us so we can use it to share with others. February 22, 2010 Monday (Kshinte s observations) The original schedule was changed for this day, and instead of going to Camoapa today, we stayed in Managua and went to the office in the morning to do a presentation to a group of men and women who live in or around Managua. Another Farmer to Farmer staff member, Moises, came to interpret for us since Daniel was working with another volunteer on a different project for the early part of the morning. The group was very animated and verbal - asking some very thoughtful questions throughout the presentation. From the questions asked and the statements made by the group, it was apparent that there were a few in that group who had previous gardening experience. There were both men (4) and women (9) present. They seemed very excited about the discussion and very engaged in what Chrissy was presenting. Her discussion lasted for more than an hour and half because of the interest in the topic by the group members and her efforts to address each question raised. (Chrissy s observations) I was only able to get through a very small portion of my presentation due to the amount of questions that the group had. I could tell by the conversation and questions that many of them had planted vegetables before. I spoke for nearly 1 ½ hours just answering questions and bouncing my ideas to them from the questions and comments they were sharing. We covered composting and how it works, what can be added to a compost pile, saving seeds, mulching, soil preparation, seed planting depth, and pest management. They didn t quite understand the complete benefits of compost and mulching until I compared mulching to the shade that they stand and that it is a way of cooling the soil and keeping the sun from drying out the soil. We also discussed that compost has much higher water holding capacity than the soil so with compost and mulching they may not have to water so frequently. They were much more willing to accept the use of compost and mulch as necessary practices in the garden following the discussion. Kshinte talked about the nutritional aspects of consuming vegetables and milk, including the vitamins, minerals and other essential elements, and the benefits to the body, as well as economic benefits to the household. (Kshinte s observations) For the nutrition part of the discussion, I started the same way I started other presentations with the importance of handwashing. The participants left their seats and all gathered around a counter where I had set up a bowl with all of the vegetables. As I had done in Rivas and San Jose de Los Remates, I asked questions about why it is important to wash hands properly (including soap, for at least 20 seconds) before preparing or consuming
food, and why it is important to rinse vegetables with water before preparing them (in order to get a sense of what their prior knowledge was, and what topics may need more focus throughout the lesson). When I asked why it was important to separate raw meat from vegetables on cooking surfaces, one older woman standing directly in front of me offered that the smell from the meats can get into the vegetables. No other suggestions were offered, and some shook their heads no, indicating that they did not know why. I then discussed the importance of separating meat from vegetables when preparing them, how to clean surfaces well, and why these steps are so critical to protecting ourselves and our families from many food borne illnesses. I talked about the vegetables and the vitamins they contain, the importance of those vitamins to our health, and different methods of preparing them. They asked a lot of good questions and in order to get an informal and very basic sense of the group s knowledge before the lesson, and what was learned as a result of the lesson, I asked questions to assess what they knew as I went along. For example, as I talked about Vitamin C, I asked if they knew what the function of Vitamin C was in our bodies and how it contributes to our overall health. The vitamin that all of the groups taught seemed to know well was Vitamin A, and they knew that it is necessary for ocular health. Not one person, in any of the groups taught, contributed anything on the function of fiber. I had also asked at the start how many people eat salads every day only 2 or 3 out of the group raised their hands. I then asked who prepared salads 3 to 4 times per week, and a few more raised their hands in response to that question. One man in the group said he doesn t eat salad at all because he doesn t like it. As Chrissy was passing out samples of the salad to each participant, we agreed that we would be sure he got a plate with all ingredients on it to see if he would t least try any of them. He ate almost the entire sample, although he didn t eat any of the peppers. (Chrissy s observations of hands-on activity) Following the presentation part of the program we met up with the group at Donald s farm just outside of Managua. I spoke about the need for water and compost to be close to a garden. We also discuss (from what I have witnessed in the other communities) that they may want to choose a site that is shaded (from a tree, house, etc) during the hottest times of the day for both the garden and the compost pile. I demonstrated the use of 30:1 carbon to nitrogen ratio of materials that are added to the compost pile and that all these materials, plus air and water, are added so the microorganisms can survive and breakdown the materials into rich organic soil. We also talked
that they may need two different places for the compost dependant on the season. During the wet season they may want to create a pile that will get nearly full sun and during the summer dry months they may want a compost pile in a partial shade. We discussed using wooden pallets to build a compost bin to keep animals out and increase air ventilation. We also demonstrated how large banana leaves could be used in the dry season to cover the pile to prevent water evaporation and in the wet season to shed off water. One woman shared her method of composting by digging a big hole in the ground, adding manure and other organic matter, then covering it and they would have good compost in a year. From the presentation they really liked the idea of square foot gardening, so I demonstrated how square foot gardening works by building a demonstration bed with banana plants that they cut down as the outer barrier. The garden was then divided into smaller 1 sections using the mid-vein of the banana leaves to represent how to divide the one meter by one meter into different 1 squares. We discussed how to plant the taller plant material in the center of the garden and how you can add all the compost to the garden to improve the soil. We also talked about making the raised square foot garden higher if you have problems reaching all the way down to ground level. They all said that they would try composting and that they really like the square foot garden method. We shared seeds with each person to use in their home garden. This group was full of people that were very well educated in gardening, soils, compost and how to grow plants. We discussed having group meetings once in while to share and learn from each other, they agreed that it would be beneficial. February 23, 2010 Tuesday (Chrissy s observations) This morning we drove to Camoapa and picked up Mayerling, the technical coordinator of the Casa de las Mujeres (House of Women), which is a volunteer group that provides women with educational classes and other support in areas including: domestic abuse education, sexual health, child and family issues, small business development and gardening, all to empower women, help them learn new skills, and improve economic status. We drove to a farm to see the garden that Susan Mahr had began with the group in November. A group of the women were waiting there for us. They told us that since the first garden was planted in the rainy season, they were only able to harvest radishes before the remainder of the seeds planted were washed away by the rain. They were unable to replant in that location
during the dry season, because the well dried out and there was no water available to keep the seeds wet. They explained that they decided to move the garden further from the main house where a fresh spring which was active during the dry season, would provide the water they needed to water the seeds and plants. We took a very hot walk to their second garden. The garden was about 30 x 40, with several narrow raised in-ground beds and it was completely fenced in with plants that have spines to keep out the rabbits and other animals which might be attracted to it. They had just planted many plants within the past week, carrots, beets, squash and broccoli. They had many small beds with tomato seedlings that had germinated and were growing well. They also had tomato plants that were about one foot tall and they look really healthy. They used pure compost in each of the beds from the batch that Susan began with them. They said that the compost only took three months to completely breakdown and the plants grew much better in the compost that the plain soil. The women work in groups three times a week, and the caretaker of the property waters the garden when the women are not there. The garden really looked great. Some of the women that are part of the group are unable to get to the garden because it takes an hour to walk to the farm from town, so the women share the harvests with those women and teach them how to grow vegetables at their homes. The group is going to start another garden a short distance from the new one so they have more planting space. This site also has a spring that provides adequate water all year and has more sun. I asked them about any problems or questions that they may have and they said the only problem was getting seeds. I plan to speak to them about how to save the seeds of the vegetables so the garden can be completely sustainable. They asked what I saw in the garden that they could improve and there were two things that we discussed, the first being using mulch around the plants and the second was thinning the plants while they were young. We talked about using leaf debris, sticks, plantain leaves or newspapers to use at mulch. I explained that mulch was similar to the shade that we seek to protect ourselves from the sun. It will cool the soil, limit evaporation, minimize soil borne diseases from getting on the plant material and it can be incorporated right into the soil as organic matter. They were a little surprised about the use of newspaper as mulch, so I am planning on demonstrating how to use the newspaper tomorrow while we are visiting. I am also going to speak to them about saving seeds from their vegetables during our time together tomorrow. I am truly amazed at the knowledge that they have absorbed and are implementing from Susan s work. Kshinte did all of the interpreting for me during this visit. Following this three hour visit we went to the school where the women will be working with the children to plant a vegetable garden. The principal showed us the site and tomorrow they will build a fence around the area, begin cleaning the grass and preparing the soil. Daniel is going to
get some manure to add to the soil. The ground here is very rocky - almost sand-like and there is minimal topsoil. From the looks of it, it is very poor so practicing composting will definitely have to be something that the women can work with the children to do. The women are very knowledgeable about the gardens and composting. Wednesday February 24, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) This afternoon we drove to Casa de Las Mujeres to give our presentations. The focus of the talk was saving seeds based on the conversation that we had yesterday I knew this was the exactly the need of the women s group. They were very receptive to the class and each of them had excellent questions. There were also two men in the group that brought many good comments and questions to the conversation. I spent 1 ¾ hours speaking to the group with Kshinte interpreting for me. She did a very good job today and yesterday. From the observations that I made from the comments and concerns of the group, I would recommend that more volunteers are needed later in the growing season and when they begin harvesting their crops just to answer question and provide information about when to harvest, how to save the seeds, and how to prepare the vegetables. Kshinte spent the remainder of the time speaking about the nutritional benefits of consuming vegetables and milk. (Kshinte s observations) This afternoon, Chrissy and I went to Casa de Las Mujeres to do the first part of our presentation with the same group of women we had met with the prior afternoon. Within the first 15 minutes, a woman and man appeared saying they were from a local television station and were hoping to interview me and find out what we were here to do and what we were hoping to accomplish. Our interpreter (Daniel) was with another volunteer in another location, so I did the interview without interpretation. There was no particular day or time scheduled for the interview, and no opportunity for me to prepare my thoughts to possible questions in advance. I spoke with the reporter, sharing that we work with a University in the Unites States, and were in town with Farmer to Farmer working for a couple of days with Casa de Las Mujeres. I explained that we were doing education on gardening and the nutritional benefits of consuming vegetables and milk. I then spent the next couple of hours interpreting for Chrissy during her gardening presentation, which was oftentimes challenging because there are many terms I am not familiar with in English related gardening, and therefore didn t know in Spanish. Chrissy and the group were very patient with me as I stumbled over certain concepts during the presentation. At one point, one of the participants wanted clarification on how to save seeds from carrots or cabbage. In order to explain with more detail, Chrissy decided to draw pictures as I spoke
which was a great idea, because we were eventually able to clarify this idea for the group. She talked to the women (and four men who were present) mostly about how to save seeds from one harvest to another. From the day before, we realized that they had done such a great job at gardening in the past (from when a previous volunteer, Susan Mahr, had worked with them) that they really only needed some pointers and tips in a few different areas that would make their work easier, and their gardens more fruitful. The one thing, when we asked them, that they said they needed were seeds to plant again so Chrissy decided to focus on teaching them how to save from one harvest to another. We then had a discussion on preparing and consuming vegetables, in addition to the importance of drinking milk. I mentioned to them that I had factsheets for them (which were with the interpreter), and they were very eager to get the sheets as reference after the discussion. I spoke about hand washing and food safety, and we covered vitamins and other nutrients found in vegetable and milk, and why these elements are critical to the health of their bodies (and those of their families a distinction which tends to resonate more with the women than just stating the importance it has for them). The 11 year old son of one of the women was in the group during this discussion, and she stated in the group that he doesn t like to drink milk at all. I asked him if he likes to play sports, and he said that he likes to play basketball a lot at school. I then talked with him (while the group was present) about how important milk is for him to drink if he wants to be strong and fast like Michael Jordan (who is one of his athletic role models). He contributed that he likes to eat cheese, so I reinforced for the group that while milk is the best source of certain essential nutrients, cheese also provides nutritional benefits such as calcium for strong teeth and bones. It was fairly late in the day by the time we finished, and the group did not have many additional questions, so we ended the discussion. I promised that factsheets on vegetables and milk would be available for them when we all met the following day. Thursday February 25, 2010 (Chrissy s observations) At 9:00 we left for the school where we met with the women from the Casa de Las Mujeres to begin the school garden. Yesterday the women volunteers and children fenced in the area, which is really large about 25 x 40. Today it was very hot and we all worked hard, including many of the school boys breaking up the soil and removing the grass and weeds from the area. We had about four rounds of kids come to work and in between we all worked then took breaks when we needed to. Using what they
learned from Susan Mahr several of the women also started a compost pile with manure, shredded green and brown plantain leaves and some soil. We spoke a little about using 30:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen, water, and air for the proper environment for the micrororganisms to decompose the debris. During this work time we were able to clear the area and build four in-ground raised beds so the plants will have loose soil. The children also watered each of the beds and we crushed up topsoil that Daniel brought for us so the seeds have good soil for germination. Before we quit for the morning I gave a quick lesson on mulching. To show them the results of using mulch we used leaves to cover the soil under one of the small ornamental plants that are in the garden. We also used large plantain leaves and covered on of the raised beds to see if it will still be wet when we return in the afternoon to plant the seeds. We worked until about 12:30, dropped off a couple of the women then returned to the hotel. At 4:00 we headed out to finish the garden at the school. The group of women that met us there included all of them from this morning and three other women that are part of the Casa de Las Mujeres, but they do not participate in the garden at the farm outside of town because it is too far from them to travel. The principle of the school also attended our afternoon work time. We planted many seeds including, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, radish, beets, squash, green beans, green onions, and nasturtiums at the edge of each bed. I again used my time to repeat the importance of not planting too deep, the use of mulch around the plants once they germinate and the incorporation of compost in the garden. The women that have been gardening helped teach the new people how to plant the seeds and how to space the seeds. We completed the planting and watering around 6:00 p.m. then we presented the principle with a large bag of seeds, small hand trowels and rakes. We thanked him for providing the space for us to incorporate the garden and for inviting us to the school. He said that he was very happy for all that we have done for the school and it is important for the children and the community to learn about gardening and nutrition. They are planning on adding another garden in the future once they have made enough compost.
The school garden is wonderful, my goals were to start a compost pile and educate them on how the decomposition process works and what materials are needed for the microorganisms to work properly. My other goal was to teach them about mulching and I hope that they took away at least part of what we discussed. Some of the new people wanted to put plantain leaves over the newly planted seeds, so I had to explain that the seeds needed the sunlight, air, and no restrictions following germination and the mulch can only be applied once the seeds germinate. They are women who are learning from each other and work very well together. I could see certain people becoming very good at individual niches in the garden. I think it would be beneficial if people become very good at doing a couple certain things and sharing their knowledge with others and the take ideas from others to become better at the things that maybe they are not that interested in. Kshinte and I have really built a trusting relationship with these women over the past couple of days. I think it would be very beneficial for a repeat visit to both the school garden and the women s garden to aid in caring for the crop prior to harvest and during harvesting. Future volunteers could provide in-depth training to individuals in the local communities that are interested in growing vegetables so they could be the go-to person in case questions or concerns come up. (Kshinte s Observations) No nutrition education was conducted today I participated in the gardening with Chrissy and the women from Casa de Las Mujeres. Friday February 26, 2010 (Kshinte s Observations) Today was our final day working with the women from Casa de Las Mujeres. Shortly after arriving, and before the education portion of our time with the group, a woman and man arrived who were hoping to get an interview to talk about the work Chrissy and I had done with the women s group during the few days we were in Camoapa. With a different interpreter who had arrived from Managua not long before, I did a short interview to explain who we were, what organization we were representing, and what our work with Casa de Las Mujeres entailed during our time there. After the interview, Chrissy and I sat down with the group (a total of about 13 participants: 9 women and 4 men), and had a great discussion which combined gardening and nutrition. Because our previous discussion had focused largely on sharing information with the group about nutrition in vegetables, I thought that this would be a good time to have the group lead the discussion by letting me know what questions they had related to storing and preparing