Waheema Asghar - Biodiversity Restoration Facilitator in Costa Rica

Turrialba is treating me very, very kindly.  Where to begin?  Ive written down a few headings that I think have been the most important for me.  Here goes…

Location: Turrialba

Turrialba is a wonderful small all around Tico town.  Ive met some foreign tour guides and they like to call Turrialba their home.  Its peaceful, friendly, kind, gentle and is surrounded by mountains and the view of Turrialba volcano that shows off its white plume of smoke daily.  Its an hours drive to San Jose, and people head down to the capital over weekends very easily and cheaply.  Its 2.5 hours away to the closest beach on the Pacific coast.  Theres an ancient ruin nearby, Guyabo national park that many tourists don’t know about.      

Weather: Perfect

At first I was wishing I were closer to the shore, but the weather is absolutely perfect here.  Its more rainy and humid closer to the shore.  The weather in Turrialba is mosty sunny and warm around 25C-27C.  Its supposedly monsoon season but there hasn’t been any  inconveniences for me.  I would equate it to Canadas normal rainy days.  Except here, during the afternoon you may have some days with heavy rain that lasts 10 minutes and then the clouds soon flutter away.  The rains are great, cools everything off, and are fun to watch.  The mist they create between the mountains are spectacular, worth taking shots of.

Work:

Work in CATIE is wonderful, I most enjoy seeing the diversity of work that goes on around me.  That’s the advantage of working within a university.  There are students who are doing their phds and conversations with them are intriguing.  Then there are those working in Climate Change, The Bosques Program, seed banks, research and so many other neat departments.  I have been working with Felicia Granados who is consultant for CATIE who is helping CATIE receive Blue Flag distinction which is a nationally recognized program. 

This internship so far has been largely a learning experience.  I have learned a lot already in my twenty two days about the local culture, customs, ways of work and lifestyle.  Establishing relationships is very, very key and was something that was mentioned to me by Felicia early on.  To work with others, earning and maintaining trust first is more important that tackling anything else.  This is what I have been working on.  I will be heading out to the farms on my own and meeting the worker (98% of which only speak in Spanish) and become a familiar and trusted face by the workers.  To receive the Blue Flag distinction, the workers need to diligently enter in data about daily water use, diesel/gas use, electricity etc.  Because this data is of no use to the workers in their duties (and is added work), it often gets neglected making it difficult to prove the environmental initiatives that the farms are in fact taking.  Being a face for the program allows the workers to be conscientious of what needs to be done, and be done regularly.  Though being present on a farm does not seem like much work, it is very important in maintaining the bridge and motivating the team to continue with their good work in helping with record keeping.  Slowly it will become standard protocol, but the program is new and so is the additional record keeping.  Beyond that, I manipulate, extract the data received and take whats needed to input into the final report to the Blue Flag program.  I enjoy that my work involves being on the farm (which is beautiful), botanical garden (which is breathtaking) and indoor work, it’s the perfect balance.

Lina Johnston - Organic Agriculture Facilitator, Pinar del Rio, Cuba

I arrived in Pinar del Rio just over 3 weeks ago, and it has been a truly eye-opening adjustment period! The first phase of our pilot project to develop organic farms devoted to producing medicinal and culinary herbs involves interviewing many farmers. Most of my time has been spent biking out of the city centre to sub-urban farms, meeting many extraordinary farmers, and observing their farming practices. Not only has it been great to explore the incredibly green and lush sub-urban areas of Cuba, but it has also been inspiring to witness the commitment to organic agriculture and community development among farmers here. Greater production of medicinal plants, or what Cubans call “green medicine,” is not only a commercial endeavour for these farmers, but also, and more importantly, a way to support community needs for medicine. 

In addition to this project, I will be working with a farmer to develop his property using Permaculture design principles to cultivate medicinal plants, and will be helping to design a local community garden in a nearby neighbourhood.  

Oxen-- animal traction (Los bueyes-- la tracción animal)

Worm Humus (Lombricultura) 

Cavan Gates – Biodiversity Restoration Facilitator in Costa Rica

Londres, Costa Rica, is a town of about 1000 people inland fifiteen kilometers from Quepos, a larger town on the coast.  The predominant tourist attraction of the area is Manuel Antonio Park which is a twenty minute/₵50 bus ride from Quepos.  The road there is lined with restaurants, hotels, hostels and houses, all very expensive for the area and relatively expensive in the Canadian context.  A double room in a hostel might cost $40 and a hotel room $80, a burger $5-10 and a beer $2-3.  This is somewhat more expensive than the rest of the region, but in Quepos a double room at a hostel might cost $20 and a burger more towards $5 than $10.  This is all supported by a well developed tourist industry which means that most shop keepers speak some English, take US Dollars and that there are many North Americans and Europeans walking around town.  Food is diverse with restaurants ranging from “Comida Típica” to Mexican or Sushi restaurants. 

Londres, on the other hand, does not see many tourists and does not have the same tourist infrastructure.  For one thing, while it is only fifteen kilometers from Quepos, the road is unpaved and it takes about forty-five minutes to get there by car or bus.  The two main tourist attractions are horse back tours and rafting down the Rio Naranjo back down to Quepos.  Even with these, tourists do not normally explore the town or stay in town.  As a result, less people speak English, food is a little cheaper and there are less of the negative consequences of tourism.  A lot of people in town either work in Quepos or on the palm oil plantations that are endemic in the province.  There is an elementary school and a high school, although the elementary school has many more students and some high schoolers are bused to a different school.  Overall, the area is pretty laid back and the people are friendly.

My work so far has been mainly computer work, updating the website, translating and editing, but there is some field work with mapping an Analog Forestry plot and setting up a tree nursery.  Learning about Analog Forestry is great because it fits in so well with permaculture and organic agriculture.  The gist of it is to restore forests to the same form and ecological function as native climax forests while allowing some changes in species composition.  This allows more mainstream anthropocentric plants to be grown in an ecologically functional system.  Of course, staple carbohydrates like rice or wheat still require an open canopy system, but that can be incorporated into the AF or permaculture design of the farm.  Overall, it is a great system for restoring areas that strikes a balance between human and natural requirements.

El Rio Naranjo is the main river that runs through the town 

down to Quepos.  

One of Milo's Analog Forestry plots planted 18 months ago

Ben Stehr - Appropriate Technology Technician in Nicaragua

Checking in from Leon after five fast weeks…

I spent my first week in Nicaragua at a language school called “Hijos Del Maiz”. It is located in a small, tightly-knit community called El Lagartillo, about a thirty minute bus-ride through the mountains from the city of Esteli. All in all, it was a fantastic place to begin my adaptation to a new language, a new culture, and essentially to a new world. In addition to learning more Spanish, some of my highlights included playing baseball and music with kids in the community, as well as venturing to a beautiful waterfall before my departure.

After my week of language immersion, I traveled further north to Sabana Grande where Grupo Fenix is located. I am living with a host family in a neighbouring community called Santo Domingo. My family consists of Terencio,Mayra, and their two children Adaly and Graciela. I couldn’t have asked for a better family to live with, right from the beginning I have felt at home.  In my spare time I am usually playing baseball with the Sabana Grande team or playing music with my host family and the neighbours.

I have been working on two main projects over the past four weeks. One project involves working with a group of three solar women who have a business of selling wood efficient “eco-stoves”.  These stoves (“fogones”) reduce the amount of wood necessary to cook as well as the amount of smoke produced during the cooking process. This is very important for the region because deforestation and lung disease particularly in women and children are prominent issues. The second project involves constructing and installing plastic bottle lights for people in Sabana Grande that do not have electricity or adequate lighting in their homes.  

That is all for now, tomorrow I will be tobogganing down a volcano called Cerro Negro at 50 km/hr!!

Until next time,

Ben

Hannah Reid - Organic Agriculture Facilitator in Mexico

Week 5 in San Cristobal de Las Casas! Today, like most days, it has poured rain for many hours (I am now thoroughly convinced there is world-wide conspiracy to falsely advertise Mexico as being warm).

Here in San Cris, I am working with an organization called Comida Sana y Cercana, which works to promote the production and sale of organic products. As an intern, my main responsibility is to conduct an investigative market study aimed at identifying the weak points of Comida Sana y Cercana’s weekly farmer’s market (here called a Tianguis). To do this, I have repeatedly taken to the streets (rain or shine) with pen in hand to interview current or potential customers.The results have been often informative, sometimes hilarious!

When I am not doing interviews, compiling data or helping promote the Tianguis, I can often be found scaling the side of ArcoTeTe (or other mountains) with the San Cristobal rock-climbing group! Here in San Cristobal, I have the best of both worlds: a gorgeous colonial city bustling with music, entertainment and local activities (last night I went to see American activists ‘The Yes Men’ speak) surrounded by unbelievably beautiful natural landscapes! I couldn’t ask for more!

That’s all for now! Saludos a todos!

- Hannah

Erica Nickles – Biodiversity Restoration and Community Development Facilitator in Honduras

It's my third day in the office at CCO, and so far so good! I worked on Sunday with Sandra, the coordinator of the women's group to help prepare a float for a parade tomorrow.  They have funding from a Spanish organizations to start a women's micro-empresa to collect recyclables and sell them to a company in San Pedro Sula as well as make and sell artisinal products from "garbage".  You wouldn't believe the stuff they're making!  There's no garbage pick up in Cuyamel, so not only are they addressing a serious public health and environmental problem, they're also providing income generating opportunities for some of the poorest families in the community.  I'm hoping to get some of the women involved in the kitchen gardens that Holly and Rad were working on.  Anuar will be here at the beginning of
August to help us with some ecological monitoring around the birds in the area.

Holly and Rad did incredible work here, but as you can imagine there's still much to be done.    My priority this fall will be training and supporting community members to lead the kitchen garden and environmental education work, as well as carrying on the coastal monitoring and mapping work. 

I'm staying in a giant house that has lots of space, not much furniture.  This weekend
involved lots of cleaning and some up close and personal encounters with the local bat and bee populations, but the house is definitely starting to grow on me.  Especially the giant yard with huge mango and avocado trees.  My aim's getting better - by the time I leave here
I'll be able to knock down a mango with an avocado from 30 feet at least!
Take care,
Erica

Jesse Skwaruk - Community Development Facilitator in Honduras

All is well in Honduras! I have finished my whirwind of an orientation to the community of Salado Barra with Jean and have been exposed to the various projects and initiatives which are present here. We have decided that my primary task as community developer will be to assist those in the community in developing micro enterprises. The first project (which will be ongoing) is to start an artesanias project with those in the community. The first phase will be based on jewelry making, very exciting! Lots of interest in this project! I have collected seeds, vines, coconuts and am making some great pieces to show those in the community. From here I will host a community meeting to find out who is interested. Some of the youth are already interested, which is great, as once they finish grade 6, they have very few options for work. Additionally, I will be hosting English classes to help community to communicate with English speaking tourists when they arrive to the refuge. I have already hosted a Solar Cell Phone Charger meeting and the group involved is very keen. They are incredibly gifted at making Solar Cell Phone Chargers! This was great to see!

Here are some photos of the house I am living in, me at the beach (a 3 minute walk from my house) and an image of the houses that the majority of the community live in. I am very fortunate to live in such a huge house- an old plantation house, probably over 100 years old, newly renovated! Mangos are falling from the trees and left to rot on the ground- the ground is littered with hundreds! I have been feasing on mangos daily! Well, back off to work, Jean has left me plenty to do!! Saludos!