Semilla Nueva Guatemala

Save the Date for Semilla Nueva's Boise Fundraiser!

2011-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

When do gourmet wine and appetizer tastings become an adventure? Only when Idaho Shakespeare Festival's The Fool Squad is near!

Enjoy a night of fine comedy, food, and wine while celebrating the fall harvest of our farmers. And bring your holiday gift lists - there will be Guatemalan crafts and other items that will please even your Grinchiest relatives!

Join us Thursday, December 8 from 6-9 PM at The Basque Center. We truly look forward to seeing you again, letting you know what's been going on in our lives down in Guatemala, and hearing more about what's been going on in yours!

Tickets are $15 at the door or will be available for purchase online at www.semillanueva.org closer to the event.

La Buena Lucha (The Good Fight)

2011-08-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

It appears that things are wrapping up for me here in Guatemala. As excited as I am to head back to the good old US of A, I know I am only beginning to understand the life-long impact of this opportunity. I have been taking my time to enjoy the beauty of Guatemala before I hop on my plane back to the country of comfy couches, pizza, and Netflix. I mean, really: how fortunate am I to be living in Guatemala?

It does not exactly take much to be humbled down here, whether it is from staring up at the volcanoes that surround the city of Xela or from feeling the warmth and happiness that glows from people, despite the poverty in which they live. How do I put this into words? There seems to be this energy that tells you, as you look up into the sky, exactly where you are: in a crossroads between an ancient world and a modern one. I mean that both in that it geographically connects the Americas as well as in a less physical sense. Really, there is no need to get existential about it. All one needs in order to realize that Guatemala is at a crossroads is to look around. There are women in traditional dress talking on iPhones. The old men look like Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but the high school boys seem to carry a tube of hair gel in their pockets. Tourists stop by WalMart on their way back from visiting ancient Mayan ruins. Guatemala seems to be figuring out its identity amongst the many different cultures present here while simultaneously having a strong and unmistakable one of its own. Sometimes I am bewildered by this busy chaotic life and other times I am amazed at the incredible streamlining of this chaos and the efficiency by which, somehow, everything gets done.

I will always have a place in my heart for the people Semilla Nueva works with along the rural southern coast. They are a people poor in material things but not in spirit and I think I have come to learn a great deal from their point of view. Their wealth is contained in the relationships they share, a richness that we fail to appreciate in a society of online social networking and cell phones.

As I leave Guatemala, I will undoubtedly take parts of it with me. For starters, I am definitely going to try to make tortillas at home. It will probably take me a long time to stop interjecting random Spanish words into my English conversations and we will see if I can ever manage to stop snapping my fingers. I may even download a rooster crowing as my new ringtone.

Finally, there are the wonderful people at Semilla Nueva. Their slogan should really be “no guts, no glory.” One time, after all of the guys on staff had buzzed their hair and I was looking particularly pale and frazzled, Joe pointed out that we looked like the characters in the film Fight Club. It was just a funny comparison at the time but today I think maybe we really are a “fight club.” Nonprofit work always involves getting knocked down and getting back up and maybe not everyone understands why we do what we do. But if one thing is true, we from the United States and the Guatemalan people we work with share a common fighting spirit, or el espiritu de la lucha. We are the warriors in the battle against poverty. Our weapons are not of violence but human ingenuity, compassion and perseverance. As my time as a Semilla Nueva intern ends, I ask everyone to do one thing: just keep fighting the good fight.

~ Caroline Craig

Doña Marta: Getting Things Done Since 1968

2011-08-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

When I arrived here in Guatemala to intern for the summer, one of the first things we dove into was interviewing the farmers with whom Semilla Nueva works. Doña Marta was one of the very first and it had a significant impact on me. Through her interview, I formed my earliest impressions of family life in Guatemala and the campesino struggle to support that family life. This is my recollection of the experience:

Doña Marta is currently Semilla Nueva’s single most active female farmer and one of the most enthusiastic anti-basura (generally referring to crop residue) burning participants. She proudly takes us around the back of the small house and shows us some of her garden’s tomato plants. She says she has never seen them so rich looking and credits it to the organic waste she left to protect the soil around them.

While we all sit talking to Marta in front of her home, the children run circles around her. At 43, Marta has eleven children, seven of which are still in her care. Her husband is away every day, earning Q.50 (less than $6.50) a day at a large banana plantation. One of the youngest boys settles on her lap and two others stand behind her, wrapping their arms around her and quietly listening in.

Marta feels that the campesino struggle is based on a lack of land, an unsupportive government, and the incredibly unstable and unpredictable prices of crops. When we ask her if she uses a system to record her finances, her gains and losses, she laughs and points out that there are no gains to record.

One of the older looking children, a girl of about nine, asks us shyly if we would like some mangoes. Two little boys carry us out mismatched glasses of cold Pepsi. Marta tells us about the lack of interest in education and how many Guatemalan children, including her own, often stop school after the sixth grade. When we wrap up our conversation, four children are standing around Marta’s chair, like sheep resting in the comfort of their shepherd.

Marta serves as the heroine in the story of Guatemala’s rural farming communities. For lack of a more applicable expression, she’s got guts. Her position as head of the house, because of the near constant absence of her busy husband, has formed her into one of the least shy women we have come across. Watching Marta lead her household is like watching a clever conductor lead an orchestra. Head nods and carefully-formed looks cause her children to disappear and reappear, having completed whatever task her gesture signified. When I feel the need for a rest, I wonder if the idea of “taking a day off” is something she is even acquainted with.

~ Caroline Craig

The Intern Speaks

2011-07-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

As the new guy (well, girl) around the office, I have been asked to introduce myself to the Semilla Nueva Community. Here it goes:

I am here as part of my Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, a competitive internship program for New York City undergraduates. The program involves three summers of jobs, the first at a non-profit, the second at a governmental office or business, and the third involves working abroad. I spent my first summer at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo as a teaching fellow in the Education Department and my second as a Press Office intern at the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. You can read more about it and the amazing opportunities it affords its participants here. As one of the founders, Joe Bornstein, is a recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, our parent organization, a connection with Semilla Nueva was born. I am currently a student of Environmental Studies and Political Science at Pace University in Lower Manhattan. This year, I have resigned to being more of a “student of the world” as one of our farmers, Don Manuel, puts it. In doing that, I find myself down here in Guatemala proudly representing NY (read: The Yankees, dry wit, funny cop movies).

But really, why am I here? At least partly, it is because not being here was becoming too overwhelming. In regards to the modern environmental movement, it sometimes seems as if there are a lot more talking heads than there are boots on the ground. Maybe it is being the second oldest of four daughters but in my life, if you are talking a big game, you are going to get called out on it. If I am ever to wrap my head around some of the world’s most pressing problems, climate change, food security, population growth, I cannot just settle for secondhand information. I need to see it for myself and then I need to see what strategies are going to make the difference. In the end I guess I am also trying to prove some things to myself.

Here I am in Guatemala, la Eterna Primavera, finding proof that small investments make change, knowledge is power, and that people, like the remarkable individuals at Semilla Nueva, still care. I have learned and confirmed that development work takes patience, cultural understanding, and a whole ‘nother category of human being, fitting somewhere in between saints and lunatics. I have been a student to the knowledge that the Semilla Nueva team so masterfully teaches and then an eyewitness to its positive results as well as its frustrations. Semilla Nueva has given me something to believe in. Having had the opportunity to speak with farmers, I now feel I understand why they do this. Semilla Nueva found a place in the world that they knew simple actions could yield big results: where green manures means a higher yield and a higher yield means a family will not go hungry this year. Where no-till conservation prevents greenhouse gases from being needlessly pumped into the air, while the time and work saved can be spent teaching others its benefits. Where agroforestry means there will be that much less of a contribution to Guatemala’s frightening rates of soil erosion.

In addition to finding some answers to the tough questions, we also find a lot of things to joke about. That has to be one of the things I love about working down here. One example is how Guatemala has an easy solution for many problems. Don’t like bugs? Once they become bigger than a golf ball, they are more like cuddly pets anyway. Have a protein deficiency? Try the campo diet of eggs and beans, every meal, every day. Hate slow internet connections? Well, the power outage has taken it all away. That will teach you to complain.

What are my tasks here, you ask. Why do I get paid the big bucks (read: kale chips, rides in the back of the pickup, high-fives)? Back at the office, I will be helping to strengthen the bond between Semilla Nueva and its amazing and dedicated group of supporters by creating a consistent and informative email campaign. My second big task involves strengthening the bond between Semilla Nueva and the Guatemalan communities within which we work. Doug and I will be conducting interviews with many of our participating farmers, eagerly taking in their feedback and exercising Semilla Nueva’s strongly-held value of inclusion.

So while I am here, I plan to keep my eyes and ears open, my pen handy, and my socks and shoes dry (that last one being of my mother’s request). So far, it has been nothing short of an adventure.

~ Caroline Craig

New Harvest: A Benefit Event for Semilla Nueva

2011-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Click it and buy your ticket!

Comparing Guatemala's Economy to the World - Part II

2011-05-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

In Comparing Guatemala's Economy to the World - Part I we looked at Guatemala’s GDP and compared its economy with others from around the world and we now know that agriculture plays a major role in Guatemala’s economy, especially when one compares it to other countries from around the world. But who are the people that comprise this ‘agro-economy’? A large number of them are smallholders. The definition of a ‘smallholder’ will be defined as anyone who owns less than 2 hectares of land.

As one can see above from statistics collected by FAO during the 2003 Guatemalan Agricultural Census, over 67% of farms in Guatemala are made up of less than 1.4 hectares. Yet, these 67% of all farms only make up about 8% of all the farmland in all of the country. If looking directly at smallholders (through the ‘2 hectare’ definition), these farms control about 13% of the 3.7 million hectares recorded by FAO. However, the definition may be to narrow and doesn’t take into account a large portion of farmers that would constitute smallholders or family farmers under the international consensus of farms operated by farm families with no or little wage labor.

Further studies have classified Guatemalan farms into two main groups, giving the ability to distinguish between ‘smallholders’ and ‘non-smallholders’ much simpler:

"infra-subsistence" (household members cannot possibl[y] survive based on farm production and income alone) and "subsistence" account for a staggering 92% of all farms, but they only control 22% of the land. The situation of the first group is worth noticing: 45% of the farms with less than 3% of the land, or half a hectare per household. Clearly it is not possible to expect that this group of Guatemalan families will base their livelihood strategies on self-employment in agriculture.

These results, as shown below, paint a much clearer picture of the role of the smallholder in Guatemala. An overwhelming number of farms are owned by smallholders but what likely drives the ‘agro-economy’ of Guatemala is the surplus and commercial farmers who cultivate over 78% of all farmland.

What does this mean for Semilla Nueva? This information is useful in analyzing what we are doing and understanding why it is important. Most farmers that Semilla Nueva works with fall into the catagory of 'substistence' or 'surplus' farmers based on the way we they were grouped above. This means that our organization provides assistance to the types of campesinos that either own or work on about 40% of the total agricultural land in Guatemala. And while commercial farms comprise a majority of farm land, the smaller farms make up a much larger percentage when looking at total farms opposed to total land. This figure is key in explaining why Semilla Nueva does what it does; our work has the ability to touch many more lives and make a larger social impact because we work with smallholding farmers.

~ Douglas Franz

*All stats provided by FAO.org and Berdegue and Fuentealba's paper "Latin America: The State of Smallholders in Agriculture" (http://www.ifad.org/events/agriculture/doc/papers/berdegue.pdf)

Comparing Guatemala's Economy to the World - Part I

2011-05-11T12:21:00.002-07:00

A large part of what we do, and any successful NGO must do, is identify and evaluate the needs of the people that we serve. This requires two things: field visits and research. Recently, we have been attempting to gain a better understanding of where Guatemala’s economy is relevant to other similar and competing economies from around the world. By putting together a few different levels of statistics and graphs, we were able to come to a few conclusions that will assist further research and actions that we take.

First it’s important to understand Guatemala’s economy. Guatemala’s economy is largely based on agriculture and its exports of coffee, sugar, bananas, corn, vegetables, flowers and plants, and timber. Exports in 2009 totaled $7.2 billion – with 40.7% going to the United States. It is not surprising then that 50% of the labor force is working in agriculture, supplying the man power to produce large amounts of coffee and sugar. Comparing GDP and GDP per capita (GRAPH BELOW), you start to get a sense of how small Guatemala’s economy is compared to the rest of the world.

But comparing GDP is only one way to analyze Guatemala’s economy and it isn’t always very effective when comparing it to larger countries. It is important to look at how these country’s economies function. We decided to look at two main statistical describers of economies – composition of GDP by sector and labor force by occupation.

A few things stick out when examining these graphs. First is that of the six countries, the two with the lowest GDP (Guatemala and Haiti) are the two with the strongest economic ties to agriculture. These two are also have the highest rates of poverty. It is an unfair assessment to make that there is a direct correlation between agriculturally based economies and poverty but one can say that, to the naked eye, there is at least a slight basis for this assumption.

It also might be surprising that Haiti has a GDP that is comprised of a higher percentage of agriculture (25%) than Guatemala does (13.3%). This could be explained by the fact that Guatemala has a stronger, more developed economy, with a greater ability to create jobs, manufacturing, and services, whereas Haiti’s infrastructure does not allow for large amounts storefronts or businesses for that matter.

However, Guatemala’s labor force is high reliant on agriculture. Of the countries examined, Guatemala has the largest percentage (50%) of workers working in agriculture.

But who employs these workers? Large farms or small farms? This will be discussed in Part 2 of our discussion looking at Guatemala’s economy, to be posted in the coming week.

~Doug Franz

*All stats are from: CIA WORLD FACTBOOK - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Creative Urban Gardens: Spreading the Love

2011-04-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to Mel Hansen and the North Stockton Rotary District #5220's Seeds of Hope program, who have provided the seeds (literally) of change for this project, along with our school garden projects.

The warmer weather of March allowed for abundant growth in Semilla Nueva´s urban rooftop garden. The first harvests of fresh greens and radishes have provided a nutritious addition to our meals and it won´t be long before we´re awash with carrots, peas and brassicas. With thriving veggies enlivening our increasingly vibrant concrete rooftop, late March seemed an ideal time for our first urban garden workshop.

On March 25th, at the Semilla Nueva office in Xela, we hosted 15 aspiring urban gardeners to display our small rooftop oasis and to walk them through the process of creating their own urban “foodtopias.” This initial 2 hour workshop was structured as a step-by-step overview of our own garden construction process. We also sought to encourage a “lluvia de ideas,” from our enthusiastic participants. Given that our workshop attendees have been around Xela for much longer than we, they are an invaluable resource for knowledge regarding Xela´s climate, the availability of gardening materials and other community connections.

The first and most important step in starting an urban garden is creating a rich and fertile growing medium. Prior to the construction of our garden in January, Semilla Nueva set up worm compost bins at our office. Worm composting is a rapid method of transforming food scraps and other organic material into an essential garden additive. We began the workshop by describing our worm compost system and displaying some freshly harvested, nutrient-rich worm compost. As our audience ran their hands through the fertile byproduct of our worms´ labors, we explained the importance of having a continuous supply of compost in order to produce healthy vegetables.

From here, we moved into reviewing each step of the construction of our 2 styles of garden bed. Our larger “shallow bed” is a raised bed built from lumber and our more basic tire garden features vegetables growing in 6 used tires. In describing the materials involved in the garden construction we made a point of reiterating the philosophy that guided this project, which was to use only cheap, local materials that are accessible by anyone. If urban gardening is to blossom here in Xela, it is essential that cost is not an exclusionary factor.

After construction of the beds themselves, the obvious next step is filling them with a rich growing medium. Urban gardening requires the sometimes laborious task of importing growing medium from elsewhere. However, it also offers the advantage of instantly creating a rich soil by combining a carefully considered mix of organic materials. Our growing medium utilized a layered mix of leaves, coconut husks, poma (volcanic rock), sand, soil, compost and egg shells. During the workshop we explained our layering process but also spent time as a group discussing possible alternative materials that might be easily accessed in and around Xela.

Finally, to reinforce the principles of the workshop we collectively constructed a tire bed and filled it layer-by-layer with growing medium. This hands-on portion of the workshop gave everyone the chance to see the process from start to finish and covered aspects of the workshop that were quickly glossed over during the discussion.

An altogether satisfying afternoon culminated with a casual discussion while enjoying the delights of a fresh green salad from our garden. The enthusiasm among the group was palpable and there was genuine excitement about going home and getting started. We hope that by providing tools and knowledge, we´ll soon see urban gardens sprouting up on rooftops throughout Xela.

~Sam Whitridge

Sam spent the months of February and March volunteering with Semilla Nueva. Using his green thumb and his experience with environmental education, Sam helped get the Urban Program up and running, hosting our first successful educational workshop in the end of March. The workshops will continue on a monthly basis, providing the steps and guidance for successful urban gardens and community outreach in Xela!

For instructions on how to do some of your own urban gardening, visit our previous blogs:

Creative Urban Gardens part I: The Shallow Bed Garden

Creative Urban Gardens part II: The Tire Garden

Other valuable online resources:

http://www.echonet.org/content/urbanGardening

Connecting to the world: A year in Guatemala

2011-04-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Next month will mark my one year anniversary of living in Guatemala! I am able to be here thanks to a Christianson grant from the InterExchange foundation. This grant has been like a bridge for me, providing support in a pivotal time and allowing me to transition from an idealistic youth to an effective and experienced employee.

In the summer of 2010, I finished a six month volunteer period with Semilla Nueva. The experience was eye opening, to say the least—a crash course in the world of development. Even though six months may seem lengthy, I felt as though I had only dabbled. As I flew home, I lacked closure. I had left at a key time for both myself and the NGO. I believed in the model, the philosophy of the organization, and the potential of the projects, and I wanted to continue to participate and contribute.

As is usually the case in circumstances like these, however, funds were an issue. Thus, I began scouring the web, and searching through my personal networks to find a means of support. A stroke of luck occurred when a close friend from my hometown clued me in to the Christianson grant (he had been a recipient in 2010, for work in the Guatemalan highlands). It seemed like a perfect fit, so I began the electronic application process.

That September, thanks to the InterExchange foundation, I was able to pick up where I had left off. Building from our previous experience and the relationships formed in early 2010, the projects have been picking up momentum. I have been working with local community leaders to bring together small groups of farmers. These groups are made up of friends, neighbors, and community members who are all interested in learning alternatives to the conventional and intensive method of farming. My role is as an extensionist, providing essential technical assistance for sustainable agriculture practices like no-till, agroforestry, and green manures—ways farmers can greatly increase their income while rebuilding their soils. The participants have been receptive, embracing the opportunity to educate themselves, experiment with these new growing techniques, and share the results with their community. Currently I am representing Semilla Nueva for groups of farmers in six communities. The impacts of the work could influence the growing methods of over 600 families that live in the project areas. I have also been responsible for managing the small teams of foreign volunteers that come to help Semilla Nueva. It has been wonderful to help lead volunteers who are in similar places to where I was the year before.

However, more than the role I play is the opportunity it provides to be immersed in a different country—to live with people and see from their perspective, revealing the simple truths that bring us all together.

When the tsunami hit Japan, I was on the southern coast of Guatemala, working with a group near Tulate. The message reached us rapidly. Rumors started flying about a 400 meter wave, that the Earth’s axis was off, and that el fin de mundo had come. In reality, the ocean would likely hiccup, nothing more. Even so, that night you could feel a tension in the air, and the wind refused to rest. “Ya va a pasar en el aire,” said Hugo, a member of the family I was staying with, “It’s going to happen in the air”. A sudden gust of wind blew sparks from the fire which scattered in the air. I looked up nervously at the palm thatch roof. Thunder rumbled. As the first drops of rain hit the ground the large family acted in unison, as if on cue, gathering the baby chicks inside, pulling out kerosene lanterns and candles and flashlights, running soaking out in the darkness to tie or cover or stow something away. The first crack of thunder felt like it was right on top of us, bringing with it a strong, hot wind that rustled the house loudly. We huddled in silence, in the main room, as the rain began to pound. Grace, one of the younger sisters, was degraning corn anxiously —the candle flickered out— and she asked me if I was afraid of the dark. I had to admit that, at that exact moment, I was. Humbled by the storm, we shared the darkness and the silence and comforted in each others presence. It dawned on me that, in the end, we are all the inhabitants of this world, and we share it like we were sharing the room. The storm passed as quickly as it had come.

Living a different way has helped me see my own life with more clarity. I see people living simply and happily. It is a harsh reality that the livelihoods of most rural farmers are fragile and unsure, but people don’t seem to worry. I have been consistently amazed at the will, resilience, and humor of Guatemalan people; their perspective is truly unique.

As it happens, my work with Semilla Nueva will continue past the end of my grant period in June, as I take on the full-time role of Field Director. It is certain that this opportunity would’ve remained at a distance without the support of the Christianson grant. What’s more, the effect reaches beyond the benefits I have received. By supporting my presence here, the InterExchange foundation has also supported an important and innovative non-profit and the sustainable agriculture work it does. The most valuable resource we have for realizing change —what gives it life— is the will and inspiration of the people involved. But, as they say in Guatemala, a hungry tummy does not ponder revolution, only the empty plate. The support provided to me by the Christianson grant has given me the freedom to work uninhibited, to focus, and ultimately, to ensure a sustainable future for our grassroots organization and those it serves.

Thanks to InterExchange for everything you do!

~Darren Yondorf

Field Update: No-Till Workshops on the Southern Coast

2011-04-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Planting season is quickly approaching and Semilla Nueva has been busy preparing for, and putting on, workshops for the farming communities we work with. The first round of workshops would focus on teaching no-till, technologies. As previously described in greater detail, no-till is a way to protect soil while lowering land preparation costs. The ultimate goal of these projects is to change an existing mentality: Farmers currently believe that they can only clean their land by burning all crop residues from the previous harvest and then tilling. No-till relies on two simple concepts. First, a farmer must leave organic material (corn stalks and leaves, for example) from the previous harvest. Second, he must leave the soil unplowed and undisturbed by tilling, allowing the diverse below-ground ecosystem to prosper. Not burning the crop residues provides a cover that protects the soil from wind and rain erosion, maintains soil humidity, and builds soil fertility as the organic material decomposes. Avoiding tillage favors the presence of soil microorganisms and decreases the costs of mechanization and labor, which are due to rise rapidly with the cost of fossil fuels. No-till has a major potential to increase crop yields and resilience. It has been shown in the United States, Brazil, and other countries that no-till technology can produce a higher crop yield while simultaneously increasing fertility and promoting a healthy soil ecosystem. Farmers around the world are beginning to take notice of the no-till revolution and it's benefits, but the news has yet to reach many rural farming communities in Guatemala. This is where Semilla Nueva plays an important role. Our organization works with groups of interested farmers to introduce and adapt these valuable technologies. We work as a bridge between research organizations like CIMMYT which have mastered no-till technologies and the communities that don't have access to this information. Our partner farmers practice these new technologies on small parcels of their own land, gain education through their own experiences, and help in a large way to adapt and improve the practice to suit local needs. Our partner farmers then work to share what they have learned with the rest of their communities. Semilla Nueva also works to support emerging leadership and organization, so that there is a structured and enduring network of experienced farmers.

Our first stop was in Conrado de la Cruz, a small community near the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. Many people in Conrado are already excited about new agricultural practices, and the workshop was recieved very well. The first meeting, nearly 30 farmers came out to see just what we were promoting. Farmers were very receptive to the principles of soil protection and sustainability. After a few hours of discussing the environmental and cost benefits of no-till, along with a plethora of other agricultural concepts, observations, and ideas, it was time to take this meeting out to the fields for a little more hands on work.

The Semilla Nueva team, along with community leader Don Juan, visited the fields of several farmers, getting a feel for what kind of agricultural practices they already use, what crops they grow, and what the soil looks like. It was a long and hot day but strong relationships were formed with the farmers of Conrado that will be essential to the continued growth of our program in the community. No-till serves as a great entry point to form alliances and take the first steps towards building lasting change. The technology is simple, it saves farmers time and money, and preserves land for future generations. In all, the Semilla Nueva team visited and put on five workshops along the Pacific coast, taking the first step in the creation of a small and well-informed groups of local farmers that will lead the sustainable agriculture charge in rural Guatemala.

~Douglas Franz

Gathering Inspiration in San Martin Jilotepeque

2011-03-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Being a small and young NGO, there are challenges that come to us every day. One of these challenges is the hurdle of experience. While all of us are experienced in some matter, none of us have been through the many ups and downs that the Campesino a Campesino movement has seen over the years. That is why it was so important to spend our weekend traveling deep into the mountains to meet with a man who does have the experiences that we need to learn from. In what felt like a trip to meet some sort of wise oracle, we arrived in the small town of San Martin Jilotepeque after a long day of bus trips.

Our oracle would be Cruz Cún Cún. Cruz, a man not big in physical stature but carrying around a vast amount of wisdom and knowledge, took us back to his house just down the street from the central park. There, he shared with us stories of his long and interesting past, his visions for Guatemala’s future, the Campesino a Campesino movement, and an array of other subjects. Cruz Cún Cún has seen everything with the Campesino a Campesino movement: he’s taught in the program throughout Mexico and Central America, spent 10 years in exile in Honduras because of connections to the movement, and finally returned to his hometown to pick up where he left off in the aftermath of the civil war.

Over the next two days, Cruz was able to give a ton of information that will be essential to the future success of Semilla Nueva. The most important concept that he stressed is something called “espiritu de lucha.” Translated as ‘the fighting spirit,’ the idea is this: there are a lot of organizations out there, trying to promote a greater quality of living amongst Guatemalans and other poorer countries. Most NGOs have good intentions and worthwhile practices that they are attempting to implement into their selected communities. However, no matter what kind of theories and technologies an organization is promoting, it doesn’t matter unless the communities involved truly care, believe in the philosophy, and feel deeply attached and inspired to work towards a common goal.

In our case, before we can get people to start using the technologies that we are promoting, we need the farmers we are working with to have an invested interest in the end goals of sustainable agriculture. For the movement to be sustainable, the participants should want change and take ownership of the change, not just assume that technologies and assistance from us will make their lives better.

As described by a close friend of Semilla Nueva, the campesino a campesino model will only work if it takes into account three things: the head, heart, and hands of the people involved. The head represents the knowledge; the techniques and ideas that must make logical sense to famers. The heart represents the ‘fighting spirit’, the passion and inspiration that is essential to true participation. Lastly, the calloused and strong hands are experience through action, representing the important step of learning by doing, applying the concepts and technologies and feeling the satisfaction of visible results.

Cruz Cún Cún can empathize that the road we are travelling is slow, and he gives us inspiration through his own example. His continued participation and passion confirms the principles that brought us down here, and his willingness to share backs up the mutuality of educational exchange. He offers his words: “The country is dying without agriculture. But, I have hope that sustainable agriculture can help people improve their situations.” It is the presence and persistence of people like Cruz that will inspire Semilla Nueva to overcome the challenges we face.

~ Douglas Franz

From the Field: Farmer Enthusiasm Blossoms

2011-02-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

With every new adventure and challenge comes a mixture of uncertainty, fear, and excitement. Having recently moved to Guatemela to work with Semilla Nueva, I know these feelings well; the unknown and uncertainty of what my time in Xela will bring and the thrill of trying new cultures and experiences.

The beginning of my journey in Guatemala also parallels the initiation of the Semilla Nueva programs for this year's growing season. I got the chance to visit the campo this past week and talk to some of the farmers that will be leading small group projects that Semilla Nueva is planning in the upcoming months. One can feel the excitement in these farmers, I see their enthusiasm shining even through the language barrier.

Our first stop was with Juan Carlos Aguierre, a fast-talking agronomist from the area that is working with Semilla Nueva. He is leading a small group of farmers in small-scale trials for no-till, agroforestry, and green manure technologies. Juan Carlos took us to his fields to show us his crop. The colors are vivid and so is his passion for the plants that he grows. He talks about the need to implement sustainable farming practices, introduce environmental education in schools, and what he is doing on his own land to test new ways of growing crops. He seems very thrilled to be on board, to spread the message of sustainability that he holds dear.

Yet the farmer that is easily the most excited about upcoming projects is Isaias, the next farmer we visited. Quick with a smile, Isaias has been more than willing to start experimenting with sustainable agriculture practices. Over the last year, he has been working with Semilla Nueva to learn about, adapt and practice new technologies. Now, his fields are full of modern sustainable agriculture technologies – no-till, green manures, interplanting, and composting, to name a few. His excitement to work with us and his fellow farmers in La Maquina overflowed when he talked with us this last week.

The excitement of these individuals translates into enthusiasm, which is the glue that holds together a sustainable and lasting program. However, there must be care taken that this enthusiasm is focused in a way that will yield visible and satisfying results, both in the short and long-term. Isaias’ passion for change, and drive to prove the value of sustainability by his own example is important in inspiring fellow farmers to become involved. The role of Semilla Nueva, then, is to cultivate the enthusiasm and drive of individuals like Isaias, focus the energies of these enthusiastic farmers, and provide the steps to guide and inform the process of innovation; ultimately growing a local resource for discussion, experimentation, and knowledge sharing.

The ultimate goal of these collaborative projects is for farmers to have the tools to continue the process of innovation independently. Farmers are driven by their passion for change and the enthusiasm that comes with success --bolstered by information, technical assistance, and organization provided by Semilla Nueva. However, only time will tell exactly how the upcoming months will turn out. As this past week taught me, all you can do is plan as best you can, surround yourself with enthusiastic people, and be excited for the challenges that may come.

~Doug Franz

Douglas Franz graduated from the University of Portland, having studied finance and economics. Though he calls Seattle, WA home, he plans to continue traveling, learning, and taking pictures. Doug is interning with Semilla Nueva to prepare for a Masters in International Economics and Development in the fall of 2012.

Creative Urban Gardens Part II: The Tire Garden

2011-02-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Introduction: Gardens on the Move 

This is an incredibly simple garden made out an old tire, and can often be built at extremely minimal to zero cost.  
The tire garden also has the advantage of being entirely portable, meaning that it can be put anywhere there is space for it (it by no means has to go on the roof, although that is probably a great place for it). Due to this feature, the tire garden can be placed where foraging animals cannot munch on your vegetables.  
The tire garden is also slightly deeper than the shallow-bed garden, making it better for deeper root crops.  
A tripod trellis can be added to stake up plants like tomatoes.  
Lastly, tire gardens can be placed on blocks lifting them off the surface of the roof, minimizing or negating potential damage to the roof.

Materials for a Tire Garden: 

The Volume (V) V=h*(r^2) of the same growing medium as the shallow-bed garden (r=radius, h=height). 
An old tire.
A sharp knife or machete to cut the tires.
Circular plastic sheets the width of the inside of the tire, or wire mesh of the same dimensions covered with a thick layer of newspaper. 
Possibly small sticks, branches, or similar items to make trellises for plants like tomatoes that need them (three per tire).

Instructions to Make a Tire Garden:

(1) Take an old tire and cut around the top rim with a machete, saw, or other cutting device (Take note that the piece you cut out is a mirror image of the bottom of the tire).
(2) Remove the circular piece that was cut off and line the bottom of the inside of the tire with the plastic sheet or the wire mesh/newspaper combination.
(3) Take the piece that was cut off, flip it upside down and place it back into the tire, firmly locking down the plastic sheet or the wire mesh and newspaper.
(4) Fill the tire with growing medium and plant!

Next week: guidelines for how to layer the soil of your urban gardens

Happy planting!!
  

Planting the Seed of Change: Mentalities Towards Sustainability and Environmentalism in Rural Guatemala

2011-02-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

As planting season rapidly approaches, a lot of preparations are being made for upcoming projects. Semilla Nueva is currently working with small groups led by experienced and enthusiastic local farmers (promotores) to share information about alternative ways of cultivating the land. The role of the organization is to inspire and support the people with proven technologies, while the promotor serves as a local example and resource for assistance and information. The first step this year is to introduce a type of conservation agriculture called cero labranza (no-till). This practice preserves the life in the soil and protects it from erosion. The main goal is to give farmers the technical assistance they need to try small tests, where they don’t till the land or burn crop residues, teaching them the value of a new practice through their own participation. Cero labranza has been proven to increase the resilience of agricultural lands to extreme weather and land degradation, protecting the soil from baking in the sun, wind and rain erosion, droughts and flooding.

Burning of crop residue and tilling the soil has been an agricultural tradition passed down in families for decades in many places around the world. It is a practice and a mentality that cannot change over night. This is why Semilla Nueva is working with long-term incentives through the campesino a campesino, farmer to farmer, model. Inspired local leaders, called promotores, connect the organization to other farmers and bridge valuable information to the community. The idea is that the informed local network will serve as a lasting resource, educating the community in locally appropriate and tested sustainable ways of farming.

Above: An example of a zero-till system. A healthy new crop of corn grows with the stalks remaining from the previous harvest. Image credit: CIMMYT

Above: A test showing the differences between zero-till (left) and conventional slash and burn (right) methods for growing maize. Image credit: CIMMYT

There seems to be an awareness of the harms traditional ways of agriculture brings. Last week the Semilla Nueva team attended a follow-up meeting for the bio-fertilizer conference we attended in the end of last year, where the environmental concerns of burning residue was brought up. The group leader asked the question: “How would you like to go out working in the field at mid-day without a shirt on?” which was received with laughter, at the ridiculousness of such a suggestion. The metaphor communicated the idea of understanding and empathy for the soil. Farmers truly are concerned by the current state of the soil, which directly affects their job security, access to food, and family health.

Juan Carlos Aguíerre is a trained agronomist who lives and farms near La Maquina, in southern Guatemala. He believes in the importance of giving children an education in ecology. He wants to give them a better understanding of the relation between humans, animals and the environment, how it is all interconnected and that one activity will affect the whole system. For example, how the unwarranted killing of a native black bird has led to the rise of rampant pest that destroys the corn leaves. Everyone we talked to seemed to agree that we all have a responsibility to take care of the environment and the land that has been given to us. “We want to have something to pass off to our children, to ensure the future of our family,” he says.

There is also a sense of resentment towards the destructive practices of nearby, large scale plantations. Local communities recognize that the division of resources is not equal, and there is a culture of exploitation surrounding large-scale production. For example, many farmers rent their land to sugarcane companies, drawn to the economic incentive. The companies cultivate it in environmentally harmful ways for about a decade, returning the land spent and impossible to cultivate. People are, however, not only upset about the economical and social exploitation this industry brings but they are also concerned about the environmental harms. People everywhere talk about how the smoke from burning the sugarcane fields is bad for health and destroys the environment.

Still, the majority of farmers in Guatemala burn crop residues and continue tilling their land. What I think is missing here is not interest, will, or respect for the environment. What is missing is access to information and new knowledge. That is why organizations like Semilla Nueva are important. I believe that poco a poco, little by little, we, together with the farmers, will be able to introduce alternative methods in rural communities, trying and adapting them to the local culture and environment, and actively changing the way of living and cultivating to become more sustainable, environmentally as well as socio-economically.

~Emelie Petersson

Creative Urban Gardens Part I: The Shallow Bed

2011-02-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Why Rooftop Gardens? 

They cost little or nothing to construct, making them highly accessible to the poorest slice of the population, those that have to most to benefit from nutritious food
They can be built almost anywhere there is an area that can support their minimal weight
They provide either food or a source of income to a family… or both! Also, because there is no middleman all of the profits from selling the vegetables go directly to the farmer
 Assuming city water is available, they are not subject to sporadic and unpredictable rainfall like normal gardens
 They cut down on heat in the summer and work to insulate during the winter
 They help clean the air of an urban area
 They are beautiful.
They give people a real sense of ownership over a part of their diet, and potentially their earnings as well

Little Soil, Lots of Plants  

Usually no more than three to six inches deep
Usually 1.2m (4ft) wide so that the middle can be reached from both sides, with the length depending on the strength of the roof. If very long, there can be a break every 3.5 m (roughly 12ft) for ease of access, but this is optional depending on preference
Behaves almost exactly like a normal garden just needs to be watered more frequently. Watering is contingent on depth, meaning a garden that is three inches deep would need to be watered twice as much as a garden that is six inches deep.

Materials: 

A mix of organic materials, compost, and soil the volume of the bed. 
A sheet of plastic to go underneath the garden to protect the roof, create a root barrier, and  retain moisture. 
Edging material to go around the garden to retain the growing medium. 
If you choose wood as your edging material, a few nails to hold it together.

Maximum Weight Calculation:  This weight calculation is for completely saturated sand (the heaviest soil), so depend on the garden actually weighing much less. (Note: All measurements must be in meters.) 

Volume (V) = Height x Width x Length 
V is in cubic meters 
Equation: (V x 1.7) + (0.358 x V) = weight in kilograms (kg) 

Direct Seeding vs. Transplanting: 

Direct seeding is planting seeds directly into the garden bed. It is dependent on having a top layer of soil or compost, but is better for crops like peas, beans, cumbers, and zucchini, and more or less necessary for crops like radishes, carrots, beets, and other root vegetables.

Transplanting is starting seeds in pots or trays indoors and later transferring the plants to the garden. It is necessary for longer season crops like tomatoes and peppers to be started because they have zero frost resistance, and their life spans are too long to fit into the growing season. Transplants also do not require a complete covering of soil or compost on the garden, which can be beneficial if weight is an issue. However, transplanted seedlings often do not have as extensive of root systems as direct seeded plants, so direct seeding is preferable when it is possible.

Next Week: How to use local materials to create a layered soil for your garden, and how to turn an old tire into a productive planter!

Happy planting!
~Otto

For more information, check out:

http://echonet.org/content/urbanGardening

Price, Dr. Martin L. Rooftop and Urban Gardening. Echo, 2010. Web. 1 Jan. 2011.

Otto's Urban Garden

2011-01-19T16:49:00.001-08:00

Hi, my name is Otto Pierce, and I am down here in Guatemala helping Semilla Nueva with their urban rooftop gardening project. I am a native Vermonter, a sophomore at Middlebury College, and I just so happen to love playing in the dirt, especially if it happens to reside in a garden. With a little bit of effort, I was able to come down here for the mini-semester at Middlebury called J-term, and even get credit for doing so (liberal arts schools are great).

Essentially, I have been gardening for my entire life, raised amidst the vegetables, herbs and flowers of both my mother´s and father´s gardens. In the last few years though, gardening has taken on an increasingly larger role in my life. Not only have I embarked upon a mission to grow a market garden and sell my produce (one summer down!), I have also started broadening my scope beyond the vegetable beds, looking at sustainable agriculture and its place in the global system. Not too surprisingly, I have found agriculture to be at the base of it all, the root (no pun intended) of many problems; and the key to solutions as well. It is a powerful force, turning seeds into full bellies, and it has me hooked.

My specific task here has been to research, plan, and build a rooftop garden on the building next to Semilla Nueva’s office here in Xela. The idea behind the project is to construct a garden for educational purposes: so others may observe, learn from, and eventually construct their own. Boiled down, the plan is to keep it as simple, inexpensive, and generally as replicable as possible.

But why urban agriculture you ask? Well the full answer is nearly as long-winded as Charles Dickens, but to keep it short, it provides potential food and income for families, cleans the air, cools the heat of a city at the same time that it insulates against the cold, and gives homeowners a sense of ownership over a part of their diet. Ultimately though, the most important aspect of the types of gardens that we are building is that they do all of this at extremely low to zero cost depending on how creative one is with getting the materials. This makes this project accessible to almost anyone, not least of all the poorest rung of the urban socioeconomic ladder, those that normally have the most limited access to nutritious and healthy food.

I have been at it for just over two weeks now and things are really starting to take shape. The first week was mainly planning and researching, figuring out how much it would weigh, what materials we would need, what plants should we plant and how should we plant them, and a little bit of heading out into the streets of Xela tracking down the goods. Since then I have been working on getting all of the supplies, starting the construction, starting a pile compost as well as brewing some compost tea, filling up the beds, and even planting the first seeds (the first few radish seedlings just poked up out of the soil today)!

Over these past few weeks, every time I pause for a moment and survey the surrounding city from my third floor perch, I cannot help but notice that there are literally thousands of flat concrete roofs in this city, each with the potential for a rooftop garden all of its own. That being said, I believe the potential is huge, I think the desire is there, and all that is needed is an example and a bit of education about the whole process. This is fabulously exciting, potentially incredibly important, and I am just glad that Semilla Nueva could take me on and allow me to share, and add to, their vision. To many rooftop gardens to come!!

Otto's garden will serve as a platform for educating countless Guatemalans about the benefits of urban agriculture, and the ease of growing small, productive gardens with local materials. His expertise in organic gardening, soil health, and methods for increasing the yields from a small area will be passed along and expanded upon in the continuance of Semilla Nueva's urban agriculture program. Thanks Otto!!!

Human Ecology and Development in Guatemala

2010-11-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Hola! My name is Emelie Petersson. I am from Sweden and I am the newest volunteer member of the Semilla Nueva team. I have a bachelor’s degree in development studies from Lund University, Sweden, and I have also studied international relations and sustainable development at University of Adelaide, Australia. I am currently enrolled in a masters program in Human Ecology at Lund University. I am interested in environmental problems regarding socio-economic development, one of the reasons I choose to continue my studies in the arena of human ecology.

Scholars of human ecology study the relationship between humans and the environment, looking at how humans affect the environment but also how the environment affects humans. With this in my mind I started looking for organizations to collaborate with as part of my research for my master’s thesis. I came across Semilla Nueva and became interested in their work, as I believe sustainable agriculture to be a central key to improving the conditions for people directly affected by environmental changes.

I was intrigued by the working model of Semilla Nueva --they focus on working closely with farmers and using existing resources to benefit both the environment and the socio-economical aspects in people’s everyday lives. I found this model useful as the organization is actively engaging in the projects they carry out. My role working with Semilla Nueva will be to carry out my own study, looking at how NGO’s can affect the livelihoods of the people they work with. Apart from this I will participate in meetings with potential promotores, make field visits to analyze the work of other NGO’s and assist with research and preparations for upcoming projects.

So far I have experienced the life and working environment in the city of Xela and in the campo, the field. I just returned from a four-day visit to La Maquina, in the southern coastal department of Retalhuleu, where we visited present and potential promotores and attended a conference on bio-fertilizer.

The bio-fertilizer conference, put on by the local pastoral de salud, gave a hands-on experience in the making of non-chemical fertilizer. The participants are actively engaging in the whole process from start to finish. From hand-chopping chili fruits, garlic and nim leafs that will work as insecticides in the fertilizer, to seeing the finished result in 15 days on a follow-up conference. Taking part in the conference was rewarding for me in several ways. I got to learn more about the scientific side of agriculture as well as actively engage with the participants. The enthusiasm towards change and the care for the environment that I felt coming from the participants is, however, what I remember the strongest.

We left the conference feeling satisfied with the day and continued to the house of the promotor Isaias. He took us around his plantations, talking about how this season’s rains had destroyed large parts of the sesame plantation and the entire chili plantation, which resulted in large investment losses for the family. Isaias has, however, been relatively lucky as his papaya plantation is recovering well and the prices for papaya are high this year. Though, he also explained the risk of planting papaya as you cannot foresee the market prices. As we walked through the fields I realized how dependent the farmers are on their environment. It is all a gamble and you never know if you are going to win or lose. I feel that I have come to the right place to carry out my studies, as I believe there is no other place where humans interact so actively with their environment as in the campo.

Emelie's work with Semilla Nueva marks the culmination of her masters in Human Ecology, looking at the most effective ways to bring about positive and lasting environmental and socio-economic change to developing countries. She brings a fresh perspective and a welcome enthusiasm to our team.

Campesino con Semilla Nueva

2010-11-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

El campesino guarda respeto y admiración por la madre tierra
Porque entiende que de ella mana la vida
Y por esto siempre a las malas prácticas dará la guerra
Aunque por el daño causado a la tierra, su alma está dolida

Con esmero y pasión su tierra prepara
Tratando de no dañarla, sino que con tesón y trabajo duro cuidarla
Para que algún día enfrente de sus hijos levante la cara
Demostrándoselos Orgulloso con su ejemplo….. y en una charla

Cuando llega el momento de la siembra de maíz con la lluvia
Su corazón se inunda de cariño y ternura
Porque sabe que siempre con dulzura
La atención proporcionada será como a una novia

Oh!! Llegó el momento esperado, las mazorcas de granos están llenas
Llenando de alegría la familia del campesino
Que con todo su amor y a pesar de todas sus penas
Han cuidado día a día, para llegar bien al final de su camino

Todo esto es la inspiración de nosotros en Semilla Nueva
Que siempre estaremos con el campesino mano a mano
Aprendiendo y enseñando buenas prácticas agrícolas para que siempre llueva
Así como lo hizo siempre muchísimos años antes el sabio anciano

Salud Campesinos, salud Semilla Nueva……. Salud Amigos!!!
Que el corazón palpite más fuerte
Sabiendo que estamos creciendo cristalinos como el agua de los lagos
Y con acciones concretas vamos a sembrar vida y no muerte

Autor: R. Trinidad Recinos Vargas
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, 5-10-2010

Visit to New York and D.C.: Concrete Streets and Grassroots Feats

2010-10-31T10:24:00.001-07:00

After nearly a year, Guatemala has seeped into me. I’ve become accustomed to the warmth and relaxed nature of the people and the simple meals of fresh corn tortillas, beans, and Nescafe. I delight in the friendly hellos to passersby, conversations on the bus or with someone on the street, and the bounty of smiles.

With a pending fundraiser trip to New York City, I could not help but feel anxiety at returning to the Big Apple. Having been born there, I knew the culture was radically different than Guatemala’s, demanding personal fortification to endure and thrive. The goal of my trip to NYC was to build partnerships with other nonprofits and businesses for future fundraising endeavors, and to start growing a community around Semilla Nueva in New York and D.C. For only two weeks, it was a lot to accomplish.

When first arriving to New York, I was struck by the number of glum people. On the streets, there was a pervading sense of littleness or lostness. The buzzing rush and hum of work left you with a sense of unimportance within the flurry. The buildings towered over me; on Wall Street, the sun never warmed my skull despite it being a bright and sunny day. Coming from Guatemalan time to the realm of the infamous "New York minute" was a challenge.

I am thankful for my previous mental preparation in light of this task. It helped me be ready for the rush and flow of New York and to keep my own pace within it. iPhone in hand (thank you Darren) and GoogleMaps to navigate the city, I hit the streets and subways. People were surprised to meet a US American actually living in Guatemala, and since I’ve been living and breathing this work for so long, it was easy to speak clearly and passionately. Though New York is a tough city, Semilla Nueva made strong headway. We formalized our partnership with Nuevos Horizontes (New Horizons) for our collaborative fundraising efforts in NYC. We established a strong relationship with Ahern Production Services, and built alliances with GrowNYC, the Jeannette K. Watson Foundation, and several restaurants, markets and small businesses.

The highlight of the trip wasa lovely “friend raiser” in Greenpoint Brooklyn at my aunt Noa and uncle Eric’s apartment. For food, I cooked 80 tamales, made salsa, several pots of black beans, and handmade bunches of corn tortillas. After a day-and-half of cooking, I came to fully appreciate the dedication and efficiency of Guatemala's rural women who cook daily for their large families (often 10 to 15 mouths to feed).

In order to prepare this food, we thankfully received generous donations from C-Town Marketand Natural Frontier Market in Brooklyn. The owner/manager of C-Town, José, special ordered chips for the event and asked me to whatever else I needed. When I finished, he said “Are you sure that’s everything? Go get more if you want!” It was one of the most freely given acts of generosity I’ve experienced in my fundraising efforts. In turn, Natural Frontiers gave us several hundred dollars of produce as well as a delicious soy dessert. The manager, Migma, couldn’t have been kinder as he found ways for his store to help support our efforts.

I am happy to report that the event was a great success. Some forty people arrived with backgrounds ranging from business to acting (big ups to the Schanks for coming all the way from New Jersey!!). Attendees came out of sincere interest in our work. The evening began with wine and food as people mingled and enjoyed conversation. Proceeding, I began to give a presentation on our work using the cat’s play tower as a podium for my monitor. Soon, people’s hearts and minds became engaged, and the questions started to flow. What started as a presentation evolved into a guided conversation, exploring the strategy and importance of Semilla Nueva’s work within the context of global issues and related environmental justice problems. It was exhilarating to share our work with such a supportive and dynamic group of people, and I could tell people w really getting it.

The evening ended with new potential volunteers, several donations, full bellies, and fresh exchange of ideas.

I want to express a huge thank you to Noa and Eric for so graciously opening their apartment and lives, and to our event sponsors C-Town, Natural Frontier, and World of Flowers for making our event possible.

Homo-Empathicus

2010-10-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

TED talks: Jeremy Rifkin on "the empathic civilization"

An awesome video on the innate driving forces of human social civilization. Not machiavellian but empathetic; based on caring, friendship and family.

La Maquina Conference

2010-10-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Weather was harsh on the 29th of September, with wind and rains pounding the already inundated lands. The conference had been scheduled for weeks, but the rain was presenting a real threat --with farmers saying that they wouldn't be able to make it if it was raining. Tropical storm Matthew loomed on the coast, and the outcome was looking grim. We decided to stay the path with the original date and time, but were forced to move the location to a nearby school, as the road to the local promotores house was too muddy and perilous. Association leaders assured us that they would still be coming, and as the rain cleared for a brief period around 1pm, we convened underneath a palapa style patio.

This conference represented the first manifestation of Semilla Nueva's model in action; that is, bringing together local farmers to share information and emerging sustainable technologies. Semilla Nueva was represented by field director Brook Golling, associate Darren Yondorf, volunteer Callie New, and local promotor and association leader Isaias Alvarado. Also in attendance were local association leaders Marco Tulio (APMAPOR, 127 families); Gustavo Rivas (ASODINA, 100 families); Ciriaco Olmos (Cooperativa Willy-wood, 80 families): Noé Estrada, a local farmer with over five years of experience in zero-till corn farming; and José Estuardo de Leon, a local representative of the Programa Mundial de Alimientos (World Food Program). The total attendance of the conference was 49 people, mostly made up of interested local farmers and those who had travelled with their association leaders to the event.

The conference lasted from 1pm until around 4pm. Brook Golling opened the event, speaking about the philosophy and model of Semilla Nueva, our objectives of economic, environmental and social gain through the promotor system and information sharing, and the creation of a mutually supportive network of educated farmers.
Darren Yondorf spoke on the theories of recent green manure tests with Mucuna pruriens (aka velvetbean) and upcoming investigations with Canavalia ensoformis (aka jackbean, a dry season green manure often used in Cuba and Honduras), speaking of the tests as investigations in the pursuit of an agroecological system. Isaias Alvarado explained the results of recent tests, and his personal observations as to the viability of Mucuna in the coastal climate as a weed suppressant and soil enriching plant. Noé Estrada then spoke on his personal experiences with zero-till and minimum-till corn farming, speaking of incredible successes in terms of yield and soil health, and dissuading myths about rampaging pests (mostly the infamous gallina siega).

The audience remained involved, showing interest and enthusiasm for the new ideas and technology, and there was a healthy discourse about the practicality of using conservation agriculture as a small-scale rural farmer. José Estuardo de Leon wrapped up the conference with a talk on the correct use of the small corn silos for in-home preservation. The floor was then opened to association leaders to exchange contacts and speak on the ideals of organization, cooperation, and mutual benefit. The conference ended with some traditional Nicaraguan refacciones (snacks) and rosé de jamaica juice made by the family of Isaias with the help of Nicaraguan friend Yaoska Suarez.

As 4 o'clock rolled around, the sky darkened and the wind picked up. Everyone knew it was time to leave, and hurriedly piled into trucks, onto motorbikes, and under covered trailers to make their way back home. As soon as everyone had dissipated, the sky breathed a heavy sigh and let loose its torrent once again.

One down, many to go!!

Transitions

2010-10-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

As the end of the rainy season approaches, my spirit brightens with the weather. I imagine spending afternoons outdoors, rather than the days spent inside watching it rain and hoping for safe roads so the terrumbes, or mudslides, will stop taking Guatemalan lives and washing away precious soils. It is times like these, as the country faces yet another threat of natural disasters, that I am reminded why I am here and why the work of Semilla Nueva is so important, as they attempt to protect the soil that offers life to those who cultivate it. I often can’t help but wonder, “will Guatemala ever get a break?”

As I get off the bus and walk toward Xacaná at the beginning of each week I feel both excited and nervous. I have come to appreciate the daily life in the campo, eating simple meals of tamalitos con frijol (small tamales with beans), working with the children in the mornings, and relaxing with the family as life temporarily halts with the torrential rains in the afternoons. As beautiful as this lifestyle sounds in print, the reality of actually living day after day in this way is quite different. I reflect on my own comforts in the United States as I witness the harsh way of life that exists for the people of Xacaná as they live and work the land of the tierra fría.

I have feelings of eagerness mixed with anxiety I approach the village, and I attribute these emotions from realizing the poor living conditions of the people I have come to know and value. My goal in the upcoming months is to use these truths as fuel to continue with vigor as I live and work within the village. I am currently working with the school and teaching first through sixth grades lessons on environmental science, and relating the education to our school garden. The hands-on activities lent by the school garden helps connect the science to tangible and stimulating perspectives.

School gardens are used around the United States to extend beyond the standard curriculum and develop life skills such as proper nutrition, responsibility, appreciation for nature, and patience. In coherence with these objectives, school gardens can be incredibly beneficial in communities such as Xacaná as they relate science and math to their own livelihood. Similar projects have found that a greater impact of food security have the potential to be realized if methods taught in school gardens are transferred into real life practices.

Nearly all the children’s families participate in agricultural activity, thus critical thinking in the realm of environmental science is essential for sustainable agriculture. It is a long-term goal of Semilla Nueva for the kids to apply their knowledge of healthy soil and plant life to large-scale realities, such as their own agricultural plots within the community. As a result of linking scientific methods of environmental science to agriculture, the students will have the ability to become stewards of their own lives, using the skills learned for continued self-education to adapt to the ever-changing environmental circumstances that Guatemala, along with the rest of the world, will continue to face in the future. It is my ultimate goal that the students will be an integral part in building a bridge between sustainable agriculture and community mobilization in Xacaná, through the ability to link comprehension of environmental health and nutrition to their own realities.

I can see the potential of this goal as I witness the progress of the students each and every lesson. Because the ideas are relevant to their lives, they are easily received. With time and patience, I believe the sustainable methods will prove themselves and can become the norm in the village. I am confident in the capability of sustainable agriculture to answer many pressing nutrition and food security issues that exist for numerous Guatemalans; people who are in desperate need of essential living improvements.

It has been incredible for me to see the outlook of Guatemalans: people who live far less luxuriously than others, and I have yet to hear a complaint. The mood around me is generally a happy one, as they deal with everyday counters and shake off a bad situation. “Así es la vida en Guatemala” (such is life in Guatemala) is a well-known saying, portraying that life is what it is, plain and simple.

~Callie New

Callie, a recent graduate from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, has been volunteering in Guatemala with Semilla Nueva since August 2010.

Rain in Excess

2010-09-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

September of 2010 continued the extreme trend of this growing season. A solid week of rain again changed the shape of Guatemala. The entire country shifted daily tasks in order to compensate for mudslides that buried roads, overflowing rivers, bridges that washed away, and the pounding rain that pummeled crops. At Semilla Nueva we were forced to adjust to days of delays, water shin-deep, and to the needs of farmers who's livelihood was being threatened by the torrent. In countries like Guatemala, weather of such extremes opens your eyes to the true impacts of climate change, and the uncontrollable vulnerability cast upon farmers by the elements.
Visiting one of our promotores, Isaias, in La Maquina, was a sobering experience. A text message came to me the night before: "Perdimos todo. ¿Cuando vienes?" (“We lost everything. When are you coming?”). The haunting thought of losing "everything" settled into me as I pondered what "everything" meant. Was it all his corn already doubled over awaiting harvest? Was it the mazanas of sesame that had already been planted for a second time? Was it the manzana and a half of papaya that promised to be the biggest income for his family this year? Was it all of it?
Upon my arrival the following day, I learned that they had lost ALL their sesame, not only the recently planted seeds that could not sprout in such moist conditions, but also 5 manzanas of sesame that was already 45 days old and chest high. The same 5 manzanas of ready-to-harvest corn was now "nacido" (growing sprouts) and un-marketable. Now the families' only choice is to salvage what they can and use it for their own tortillas or tamales. Unfortunately, the papaya is not doing that much better, due to the heavy stress from the rain. Now, two weeks later, equally stressed by the lack of rain and strong heat, Isaias is doing what he can to save his papaya crop.
Conversing with Isaias to better understand what these losses mean makes my heart drop; but at the same time, I am humbled and filled with respect and compassion. "Estamos triste por las perdidas, pero estamos sanos aqui, creciendo con la familia, y la comida. Vamos a trabajar y buscar un otro cultivo para sequir adelante." (“We are sad for the losses, but we are healthy here, growing with family and food. We will continue to work and look for another crop that will help us move forward.”)

It is impossible to deny the strength of a culture when --while having just lost 50% or more of their investments-- they remain able to bring you back to what matters most in life: Health, family, food, and the ability to continue on with positivism despite the numerous difficulties of this season.
My heart goes out to all of those who have been challenged by the unstable and unpredictable impacts this season’s extremes.

Brook Golling
Field Director, Semilla Nueva

Video on Semilla Nueva Work in Xacana Grande: Natalie Jamerson

2010-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy this wonderful video that our volunteer Natalie Jamerson put together:

Semilla Nueva - Xacana from Semilla Nueva on Vimeo.

Nutrition in Las Nubes -- Jenna and Dacie

2010-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Culminating a month long study of nutrition in Las Nubes, we are in the school house kitchen with wood smoldering under the steel cook top, fresh herbs cleaned off coarse stems, boiled potatoes and carrots steaming in a colander. Meanwhile, women dressed in bright fabrics, children bonking with energy, and men straight from the fields make their way across the schoolyard to the classroom. The air swirls with a timid and curious anxiety as 70 people settle into small desks and await Semilla Nueva’s first community presentation of 2010.

This presentation was held to share the preliminary results of an observatory nutrition study that involved 15 families from Las Nubes. For four weeks, we had observed each family in their kitchen for a total of six meals—three meals a day for two consecutive days. The goal of the project was to learn the details of food preparation and quantity of nutrients available to the people in this rural Guatemalan town. To Semilla Nueva, this information will provide a platform from which we can design future community projects. In addition, the observatory period created space in which families felt comfortable to share personal stories about the socioeconomic challenges that the people of Las Nubes experience every day.

Observing cooking habits was not always easy for us. Oftentimes, families went full days only eating tortillas and drinking coffee. The struggle to put nutritious meals on the table was clear--families are regularly restricted to spending four Quetzales ($ .50) per meal to feed five to seven people. In addition to going without protein and other important nutrients, people in Las Nubes generally did not use garlic or other spices to flavor their foods; rather, they used an average of three times the recommended daily amount of salt. But we didn't see these overwhelming dietary needs without feeling a great hope for improvement. We felt encouraged by the energy and joy present in the children as well as the openness of the community to learn and try new foods or cooking methods.

When asked why the people in this community are open to learning about their nutrition, their answer is simple. They want to provide the very best for their children, and they see better nutrition as a way to help their children.

This study helped us to identify a number of accessible improvements to the nutrition of people’s diets. Accompanying the presentation of the nutritional data and native herbs in our community presentation, we prepared four dishes in an interactive cooking lesson to encourage better nutrition. We designed these recipes with women from the community, and they focused on adding nutritious and accessible ingredients and also cooking in such a way as to keep nutrients accessible. The dishes emphasized including native herbs, eating raw vegetables, combining rice and beans, using garlic and onion rather than salt, and boiling foods for shorter amounts of time while preparing soups.

Aromas of garlic, onion, and herbs filled the room, as people shifted in their seats and grinned with excitement to try our Guatemalan-gringo creations. Children ran up to the front of the room to help pass out plates, as their parents sat eagerly awaiting the food. While people ate the sample dishes, you could see that they were enjoying the new flavors. With every bite came a warm smile in our direction, accompanied by friendly jokes and requests for more. Positive energy burst from the seams as we parted with words of thanks, to take a deep breath in the cool air brought by fast passing clouds.

Welcoming our New Volunteer Callie New: Opening Thoughts

2010-08-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hello from Xela! My name is Callie New and I am the most recent volunteer with Semilla Nueva. I am a recent graduate from Southern Oregon University where I majored in International Studies while studying Spanish language and Latin America history and politics. I decided to volunteer with Semilla Nueva because I have an interest in sustainability and development. Sustainable development is an intriguing subject as it has the potential to address threatening global issues that have developed in recent years. With increasing climate and population changes, our generation must be active in fostering societal adaptation in order to adjust to whatever the future may bring. I am interested in working with food security issues, by learning methods that meet our growing population’s needs as well as endure potential natural disasters.

I am attracted to Semilla Nueva’s model of development because it works to tackle the pressing issues that the people of Guatemala are dealing with, while working for the future through community empowerment. Currently, Guatemala is the most malnourished country in the Western hemisphere and has deeply struggled in the last year after hurricane Agatha wiped out 29% of the country’s corn production. Semilla Nueva has an excellent approach; their model is to work with the people by fostering community involvement in agricultural improvement in rural communities. Beyond wanting to help Semilla Nueva use sustainable methods to raise crop yields and incomes, my hope is that we can help farmers work toward a sustainable livelihood with the foresight that the future of the people and environment will be healthy.

My time in Guatemala will be spent in Xacana where I will be an enduring presence and representative of Semilla Nueva within the community. By living in Xacana, I hope to develop genuine and trusting relationships with community members. This will benefit both the community and Semilla Nueva’s work. Successful development transpires when there is empowerment within the community, which can only be brought to life when trust and confidence is established and collaboration occurs between the people and organization.

During my months with Semilla Nueva I will be involved with the following tasks:

I will work with the children on the already established school garden and hold lessons teaching various elements of sustainable agriculture.Teaching farming techniques that move away from environmentally degrading practices to the children will have lasting effects for the community since the vast majority of Xacana’s population is under the age of 14.

The previous volunteers have been working with the promotor Ender with worm composting. Local farmers and other community leaders have shown an interest in composting, so I will help with constructing their own system to be used in homes that will recycle organic waste and help rebuild healthy soils. The enthusiasm shown for this project gives hope that the farming practices we are promoting have the potential to rapidly scale throughout the community, and with farmers leading the way!

I am also looking forward to helping Semilla Nueva hold a conference with Ender to spread their knowledge and experience with the organic fertilizer plot they planted in Xacana. Part of my responsibility will be to create enthusiasm for the conference and spread the word throughout the community, hoping to gain attention and interest from local farmers.

I am excited to be working with an NGO that is so present and active in the daily life of the people. My goal is to put my energy, creativity, and passion into all of the projects, while absorbing as much of the culture, language, and knowledge at hand. The upcoming months will certainly be a learning experience as I begin to merge into Guatemala and the work of Semilla Nueva.

Panorama of Xela, where Semilla Nueva's head office is located.

Callie New graduated with a BA in International Studies with a minor in Spanish from Southern Oregon University. She has been volunteering with Semilla Nueva since August 2010, and the Semilla Nueva team is delighted to have her as part of the team!

The Farmers of the Future

2010-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Obstacles to Education in Rural Guatemala

2010-07-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

I have been volunteering here in Guatemala since February 2010. For my first few months I lived in a small town called San Andreas Itzapa working with a nonprofit called Maya Pedal, building pedal powered machines out of recycled bicycles from the United States and Canada. During the lunch hour, I would often venture into the street and play with the kids that were hanging around the shop. They were always curious about me; who I was, where I was from, and how long I was staying there. Sometimes they would teach me a word or two of Kaqchikel and I’d teach them a word or two of English. After some time I found myself wondering, did these kids go to school?

A couple months later I began volunteering for Semilla Nueva to research the state of the education system in Guatemala. My task was to investigate the feasibility of incorporating environmental education and sustainable agriculture curriculum into Semilla Nueva’s community work and eventually into the broader government education policy. Semilla Nueva saw this as an important task because while kids in rural communities learn the traditional subjects of math and reading, they don’t learn much about agriculture—the basis for their livelihood. I have been working in schools teaching English, interviewing teachers and administrators, and doing online research. This research has opened my eyes to the enormous challenges facing Guatemalans and makes me appreciate how privileged I am to have had the free public education I received in the States.

While on a weekend trip in San Pedro La Laguna, I wandered into a local art gallery and met an older man named Rodrigo. We chatted about this and that, and before long I found out that he had been a primary school teacher for the last 20 years. He said the education situation has improved over the last few years in Guatemala, but he is still only paid about 2000 Quetzales a month ($250 USD). Of this small salary, he usually spends half on teaching supplies and materials, including books and paper that students can’t afford. “Otherwise, many students aren’t able to even come to school” he says. He has to work a separate job as a painter to help bring in money and support his family.

Rodrigo also explained to me that the school in San Pedro was well-built and had enough space for most of its students, but only because it was built and is supported by a US charity, not by the government.

I wondered if Rodrigo’s experience was a more widespread trend or an isolated phenomenon. After doing a little investigation of my own, I found some startling statistics:

Guatemala ranks the lowest in Central America as far as quality of education and dollars spent per capita relative to GDP and has the second highest illiteracy rate in Latin America just behind Haiti.
The government has official curriculum requirements called “Curriculum Nacional Base” for schools K-12th grade but, funding is inadequate, unequally distributed and bureaucratic corruption is an ongoing problem. The result is that for most rural communities, the government doesn’t provide teaching materials or textbooks. Essentially, the government provides a list of things teachers should teach, but leaves it up to teachers to find and pay for their own teaching materials and textbooks—all from a minimum wage salary.
While 96% of urban residents can read and write, the literacy rate is only 76% for rural Maya—illustrating huge racial inequalities in education.
Many students end schooling after 6th grade as there is no public funding support beyond this in most areas. Many also leave or never go to school once they start helping with their family work around age 9.

These statistics become real as I walk through the markets of Xela and spot 6-10 year old kids selling chiclets (gum), other random plastic trinkets, and see them perusing the streets looking for shoes to shine. At the bus stations I see them combing every bus earning a Quetzal ($.12) here and there selling ice cream or candy. It’s truly heartbreaking to see so many kids working away their youth and losing the chance for even a basic education.

Rural schools are especially hard hit, often receiving the bare minimum from the federal government. Frequently this is little more than a building and pay for teachers, and often rural areas have no school or no teachers. The rural community of Xacana Grande, where three volunteers from Semilla Nueva are working, has a primary school of eight classrooms for grades pre-K-6. Unfortunately it has not been maintained. The plumbing has not worked for about a year and the roof now leaks. In the absence of assistance from the government, the community must keep the building in good repair on its own. The government here only provides a small salary to the teachers that is below subsistence level providing school from 8am-12pm five days a week. Students are responsible for purchasing materials such as pens, notebooks and uniforms. This often is prohibitively expensive for poor rural families preventing many children from attending school.

On the plus side, the Semilla Nueva volunteers living out at Xacana Grande have had success connecting with teachers at the primary school. They recently planted an organic vegetable garden to illustrate agricultural science. To complement the garden they are developing lesson plans and materials about compost and soil health that can be integrated into existing curriculum requirements. The school garden project will help provide the school with additional income and nutritious food while giving students a hands-on way to learn about the science that is the most relevant to their community’s livelihood. Soon I will be living in Xacana Grande, living with a host family, and working to continue these projects after the current volunteers leave. With luck, I hope that I may affect a handful of young minds to think critically about their lives and the future that is in their hands.

Reflecting on the reality I’ve seen here, rural communities have been largely left to fend for themselves. I’m confident, though, that the programs Semilla Nueva is working on can help address this need. By working with local teachers to develop agricultural education through school gardens and other interactive projects, we can help teachers create their own teaching materials and teach by means of a relevant and interesting topic. With luck and determination, these lessons will be duplicated and shared with other communities in the future, affecting the lives of many children in Guatemala.

Aaron Michalson, a recipient of the Christianson Grant from the InterExchange foundation, has been volunteering with Semilla Nueva since May 2010

Infographic: A glance at Guatemala

2010-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Click for the full size version!

Much thanks to volunteer Maggie Appleton for her work on this piece. Check out her blog at: http://tierrafria.tumblr.com/

Embracing Guatemalan Culture and Cooking: a Volunteer's Perspective

2010-06-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

Hola from Xela! Hope this post finds you all doing well. My name is Jenna Kennedy, and in the States, I’m entering my second year of medical school in Kansas. This summer, I’m volunteering with Semilla Nueva to conduct a nutrition project in the nearby community of Las Nubes. I’ve lived in Xela for about four weeks now, taking Spanish classes and learning about Semilla Nueva’s work in Guatemala. I’ve also been fortunate to do a bit of traveling around Xela. The communities surrounding Xela are beautiful, each with their own unique products and industries. Some places are known by the locals for their huge fruit and vegetable markets, such as Almolonga.

Salcajar is known for producing beautiful textiles, and I’m told there are 20 different steps involved in producing the textiles pictured here.

In addition to enjoying some beautiful scenery, I’ve also had time to build some awesome relationships here in Xela, especially with my host family. My host mother Irma is one of the most generous, hard working, and kind souls I’ve ever met. On top of that, she is an amazing cook, so you can imagine my sadness when my stay with her family ended. She was equally sad, and we had a tearful goodbye when I left their home Sunday night. Fortunately, she sells her food in the streets of Xela, so I’ve been able to enjoy her cooking since I left.

I will admit, however, that my diet has changed dramatically since I got to Guatemala. At home, I was eating a great variety of proteins, fruits, veggies and whole grains. Living with my host family, I was eating tortillas and beans or eggs at almost every meal. For the first few meals, I felt guilty for what I was eating—what’s more, my body hadn’t consumed processed carbs like this for many months! But then I realized that the foods I was being offered are the diet here, and these people don’t have the same set of choices that I have in my giant supermarket in Kansas City. Yes, there are fruits falling off of the trees in the countryside of Guatemala, but that doesn’t translate into fruits being served at meals in my host family’s kitchen. Every once in a while, we would eat a vegetable for lunch (lunch is typically the biggest meal of the day here). However, those vegetables were usually cooked, and in a good amount of oil. Black beans and eggs are most common proteins here from what I’ve observed, especially in lower and middle class families. Meat is a rare treat here because it is fairly expensive; we made hamburgers the other night, and I think the hamburger was about $3.00 per pound. In comparison, tortillas are 10 for $0.25.

Despite an abundance of natural resources, Guatemala is the most malnourished country in Central America, and its children are the fourth most malnourished in the world. I believe the “comida tipica” (typical food) here is proof of why Semilla Nueva’s work in Guatemala is so important. We’re taking a holistic approach to development that addresses agriculture, environment, nutrition and a host of other issues in the process. We’re learning from locals about what is important to them, the resources available, and how to move forward to find solutions together.

For the rest of the summer, Dacie and I will be working in Santa Inés observing the diets and cooking methods of the community. Santa Inés is a rural community built on the side of a mountain about an hour and a half from Xela. The day we visited they were harvesting potatoes, but they devote most “terreños” (pieces of land) to corn. The community has a well-established leadership structure, with two agricultural promotores and five women serving as “mujeres monitoras” (women monitors) and “promotoras nutricíonales” (nutritional promotores). There is also a community leader who helps oversee other happenings in the community. During our visit, we noticed a substantial Mayan influence in the community, both in clothing and language. It will be interesting to see how Mayan culture influences our work in Santa Inés in the months to come.

We’ll be working with the community to address what nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are missing from the typical diet. The project’s long-term goal is to develop relationships with a group of women in the community who can teach the rest of the community ways to improve their families’ nutrition, whether through incorporating more local plants into the diet or using different cooking methods. We hope you’ll follow our work throughout the summer, and continue to support Semilla Nueva in whatever way you are able even when Dacie and I return to school in the fall. Semilla Nueva is committed to building lasting relationships in the communities in which we work. These are the relationships that will empower the communities to change for the better for many months and years to come.

Jenna Kennedy is a second year med student at Kansas School of Medicine. She is volunteering with Semilla Nueva this summer to assess nutritional needs in rural Guatemalan communities.

Xacana Grande

2010-05-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

The landscape here is mountainous, and the highest peaks are laden with wispy clouds. From Xela, it’s about a two hour ride north to the village of Xacana Grande. It is the rainy season now, and the valleys are lush with green. In the distance a storm was building, slowly consuming the blue sky. I could hear the distant thunder over the loud engine and blaring music. The rickety old school bus, repainted in vivid color and decked out with speakers and stickers, clambered up the bumpy and windy road, gradually revealing a grand view of the valley. Every bit of cultivable land in sight is covered in a patchwork pattern of plots, the vast majority being milpas, and few others, most likely beans or potatoes. Maize is the main crop here in the department of Quetzaltenango, which farmers grow to feed their large families. The growing season for maize began in mid-March, when the rains came. Today, in mid-May, most milpas have been growing for about 45 days.

Walking from the bus down the dirt road towards Xacana Grande, I was greeted by our promotor in the area, Ender Reneé Lopez. Together with his family, we sat down for lunch. The Lopez family greeted me with the kindness of a long lost cousin, and I immediately felt at home in their simple and beautiful home. Following a delicious lunch of corn tamales and beans, Ender’s father Miguel Angel took me on a walk through their family’s land. “Ahora vamos a limpiar la milpa” (“Now, we go to clean the milpa”) he said as we walked down the dirt path, machete and azadon in hand. Miguel Angel explained that ‘cleaning’ is a process that happens once in the growing season, after about 40 days. Farmers apply by-hand their mix of chemical fertilizers and pesticides (in the form of pellets) and use the azadon to cover the base of the corn with nearby soil, ensuring that the pellets are absorbed by the plants. I asked him how many farmers in the area use this method, and he replied “todos” (“all”).

Many people in this area farm in their spare time, working various jobs to supplement their income. In the Lopez family, Miguel Angel commutes to nearby Sibilia to work as a janitor; his sons Ender and Baní teach secondary education in Xacana; and Ender also works planting trees for his uncle. The family also manages a small store, selling baked goods and snacks from their home. Their youngest daughter has aspirations to become a doctor, but will have to pay daily to continue her education past 6th grade. The maize harvest sustains the food needs of the family for the year, but doesn’t allow for extras. In the beginning, chemical fertilizers provided a good option for families like this one, allowing farmers to gain a reasonable harvest with minimal labor. However, chemical agriculture is slowly decreasing the potentials of these harvests by degrading the land, and making people like the Lopez family increasingly reliant on external sources of income.

The Lopez family is exemplary in their community. They provide housing and food for students at the nearby secondary school, who would otherwise be forced to commute for hours each day; they share their machine for grinding corn into meal, saving local women whole days of cranking a grinder by hand. Ender is encouraged by his family’s example, and receptive to the benefits of sustainable farming. Promotores like Ender are our most valuable resource. Starting June fourth, he will have three volunteers from Semilla Nueva living and working with him on three excting projects: worm compost, contour ditches, and sustainable theory coupled with worm composting in the nearby primary school. These projects will spread information and provide examples of sustainable techniques in this area, all facilitated by the devotion of Ender and his family.

Team Built on Friendship and Camaraderie

2010-05-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sat down with my friend and colleague Darren Yondorf to explain to him the different pieces of our work. The past few months while in the States, Darren has been a huge asset with fundraising and has now made the move to live and work with us at our headquarters in Guatemala. Darren and I have been friends since we were about five-years-old, growing-up together in Ashland, Oregon. Now, we are in Guatemala working to establish Semilla Nueva. It is both beautiful and surreal to join hands with such an old friend in this endeavor. Darren has a B.S. in Biology from University of Oregon, and he brings a strong science background to our work. He is bright, light-hearted, and cares a great deal about what we are doing. Needless to say, it is wonderful to have the guy on our team.

As I was describing our work, explaining the philosophy and strategy behind each component, I watched his eyes get big on several occasions. He was soaking up the ideas and I could watch that fire of enthusiasm be sparked. At the end of our conversation, he said to me, “Wow Joseph, that’s awesome. Really amazing.” He had several follow-up questions and ideas for how we could tweak our programs to ensure a strong scientific grounding. And it was in that moment that I felt that Darren had really joined the team. He conceptually grasped our approach and was becoming intimately knowledgeable of our work. Tomorrow, he would be going on his first community visit and soon would be running full-force with the team.

It was invigorating to know that I would be going on such a journey of personal growth, accomplishment and challenge with such a close friend. Sharing experiences like that with a person you completely trust adds another level of power to the experience. A close friend is in a unique position to help you see hard truths, lift you up in difficult times, share profound insights, and inspire strength and dedication.

Many of us have the opportunity to share leisure with our friends and that is certainly an essential component of friendship. But it is not so many that have the opportunity to join hands in serious work with our friends. Since I began my work with development in 2004, I have always found myself working with friends that I trust and love. Those bonds seem to build the best sort of team possible. There is a camaraderie, a kind of support and fire that makes such teams a powerful force. Having worked in other environmental and development NGOs, I can say that that kind of dynamic is often all too lacking. Building an organizational culture of passion, support, and free exchange of ideas is a hard task to accomplish at an institutional level. In contrast, I find that dynamic to naturally flourish here at Semilla Nueva.

I feel lucky to be here and on this team. Each team member is also a very close fiend. Curt and I met our first day at Whitman College, and found ourselves lost in a new city while also lost in conversation for some six hours. We became comrades in academic study, and partners in activism. Brook and I grew-up together playing soccer in Ashland, and have been working in development side-by-side since 2004. I met Trinidad in 2006 while working on a biofuels project, and we have been friends and colleagues ever since. Fletcher and I were inseparable since first grade, and now he is giving all he can while in the States to further our work. And Zeke! What a beautiful soul and brilliant man. It was been a honor to get to know him through work with Semilla Nueva and to grow together as friends.

Last, but certainly not least, is our esteemed media and fundraising specialist— Ryan Shea of Open Hand Media. We met Ryan through Twitter of all places. Curt’s mom made a Twitter post about our work, and Ryan’s RSS feed on #sustainableagriculture found us. He was inspired by our ideas and has now joined the team. He is donating 100% of his time just because he believes in us. And as we work to help Ryan start his social venture in coffee, I can safely say that we all believe in him as well!

Though I could continue on about the history and many wonderful traits of these friends and colleagues, the point I want to make is about teams that are grounded in friendship and mutual love. There is of course a danger there because it puts stress on the friendships. There is also the danger that it will blur lines of professionalism. Both concerns have their validity. In the same vein, if we look to social movements, revolutions or any other significant societal change—we will see something more than professional relationships at work. We will see the fire and strength of camaraderie and friendship fueled by a shared vision, respect, passion, and deep care for each person involved. And that is what I believe makes our team so capable and effective. We are a team of comrades who are close friends. And we are working hard to lay the foundation for a sustainable future.

Reflections from a Volunteer

2010-04-11T17:19:00.001-07:00

Jesse Phillips here, checking in from a small farm in Washington State. I volunteered with Semilla Nueva for five months during the summer and fall of 2009, helping in a small way to connect farmers to farmers and begin developing the organization's grounding goals and volunteer program. At the time there were four of us--three Americans just out of college and one experienced Guatemalan agronomist--working full or part-time in Guatemala to make contacts and get a sense of possible projects to improve the health of soils and farmer livelihoods. To an extent, our goal was to offer farmers the reigns of their own ecological farming projects, projects with a low start-up cost that nevertheless wouldn't fit into the money-making rationale of a sustainable business.

At first it was touch and go. I remember when we celebrated the purchase of our first car so we wouldn't have to ride chicken buses to meet with farmers every week; and I remember when our dedicated U.S.-based fund raising team of four or five young activists submitted our first grant application, and when they launched our very own website (check out the new version!). When I left Semilla Nueva in December of 2009, we had begun to iron out a 501c3 constitution and board of directors, get on our fund raising groove, and plan our first strong partnership with another Guatemalan non-profit organization that already worked in many communities. Now the team is hard at work on other new and exciting things that I can only imagine.

Through the course of all the financial challenges, all the times our tired bodies fell out of the truck after long road trips, the setbacks in the field and the dead-end research leads--through all of this it was the quality and determination of the people with whom I worked that sustained me. It was also their sturdy certainty throughout the whole thing that, if there was to be success in returning vitality to Guatemalan soils, farmers must be the primary actors. Above all, we decided we would not proceed unless the farmer himself was undertaking the step through his own motives, and carrying it out in his own way. If Semilla Nueva were ever to become a crutch that any farmer leaned on to do things, instead of a resource for doing that which he considers to be necessary and right, with or without us, we knew would this would be the ultimate failure of our organization. Though I am not in the fray, on-site in Guatemala, this is still a stance I firmly believe.

Perhaps the greatest thing I learned while working with Semilla Nueva was the importance of being in the field, with the farmer, seeing what he sees and feeling the soil he feels. Then, finally, the pressures he experiences--to buy destructive chemicals to lay on his land in order to raise a crop, make money for more fertilizer, and support a family--finally these pressures become at least palpable to the visitor. More, they become the necessary starting place for relating as human beings before anyone is willing to talk agricultural alternatives and ecological concepts. The unfortunate reality is that the Guatemalan farmer must risk all that he has in order to prevent the loss of all that he has. Risk trying something new and willingly become a revolutionary to reverse the decline of his soils and the escalation of his chemical bills. This gamble has as much to do with the solvency of the soil as the solvency of the farmer's budget, but before he can begin to change the composition of his soil, the risk he knows he is taking demands that he look at the composition of his mind, and work through his fears and his beliefs. For this reason "implementing agroecological methods in the field" is not as straightforward as it sounds. Nothing could have prepared me for the difficulty of the mental transformation that each farmer must embattle within himself; so I could not have predicted, and still can not predict, how many visits are necessary before any particular farmer is convinced that Semilla Nueva is not just another of the many technicians and organizations that have come promising help and disappeared soon after.

The kind of work Semilla Nueva does is slow-moving, but it is desperately needed for the same reasons it is slow. If chemically intensive agriculture were not entrenched, its illusions would not be so hard to uncover; and if it were not so entrenched in the minds of campesinos as well as in the literal fields of the Guatemalan campo, it would not be in the position it is in now to make money from their ultimate disintegration, the complete loss of soil vitality and the hope that this vitality engenders in human beings. This is the center, I realize, of the semilla that Semilla Nueva hopes to offer: the seeds of health to soils and hope to the communities that depend on them. With help from contributors, Semilla Nueva will be able to play a part in transforming an entire agricultural system: from one that profits by destroying soils into one that saves money by conserving them.

To Trini, Curt, Brook, Fletcher, and anyone else lucky enough to be helping out: keep at it.

-Jesse Phillips

A recent Whitman University Graduate, Jesse helped build Semilla Nueva through the first months on the ground in Guatemala.

The Little Things

2010-03-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hello amigo, do you have juice that is pure nectar? No amigo, no we don't. Is there another store that might? Yeah, I don't think so, not around here.

I continued back to the bus stop after having visited seven stores looking for juice with no added sugar. I am on the brink of falling ill and don't want to lower my immune system. No luck. As I approach the station, I see a couple sitting happily on the broken street cart. The shade covers them in cool as they sip juice from a 1 liter styrofoam cup. A red straw to red lips. "Puchica man!" Where did you get that juice? I've been looking all over!" The man cracks a smile, happy to see an expressive and friendly gringo slinging streed words. "Ah, he passed on a bike, and, ya, he's gone. But here, have mine" He points to his wife's. Gringo minds don't work this way. It isn't part of the White Picket North American Dream. A new possibility of being is exposed in this moment of hopsitality. Compared to them, I dance and prance in glitter, yet the years have taught me that this doesn't matter. Often, in fact, the more poor one is, the more ready they are to give. I am humbled, embarrassed, and thankful. I remember why I came here. - Joseph Bornstein

Damaged Soil to Food Security

2010-03-08T22:54:00.000-08:00

Semilla Nueva is beginning our work with rural farm communities of the Tierra Fria "Cold Land" in the department of Quetzaltenengo, Guatemala. My first visit to Huitan was an inspirational experience. As we wound up mountain roads, and weaved through valley floors I was continually amazed by the vastness of land being cultivated. From horizon to horizon you could see houses intermingled within tracks of land. Occasionally I would identify a terraced hillside, or a steaming compost pile and perk up with encouragement, however more than anything I was overwhelmed knowing that 99% of the farms are applying heavy doses of chemical fertilizer. A practice that has left dirt barren and compact as farmers wait on the rain to soften the soil enough to plant corn, beans, and fava.

There is much work to be done.

Eager to learn I shook hands, made eye contact, and conversed with two promotores that live high in the hills overlooking Cabrican. The conversation was well rounded, as they showed me their farm, and talked of their practices. As our discussion commenced we began to talk about the difficulties of providing food for their families with raising prices of fertilizer and degrading soil conditions. The old man reminisced on his childhood when he would walk the fields with his grandpa and admire the fruitful crops and healthy soil. This was a time before chemicals were used to increase yields.

I explained that Semilla Nueva was there to bring back this healthy abundance through helping to implement organic and sustainable alternatives that revive soil health and decrease the dependance on chemicals to produce adequate food for the family. These ideas were absorbed with genuine intrigue. The humble interest expressed by the farmers to work with us and collaboratively begin a transition in agricultural practices gave me confidence in our decision to work in Guatemala. Despite the vastness of farm land that needs care, we are working with people who really hope to make this change happen. As we again shook hands, made eye contact, and bid farewell I felt tingles of excitement shoot through my body as I became overwhelmed to be a part of this work that will be educational, influential and effective.

-- Brook Golling

Tools of Change

2010-03-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

Planting seeds, a simple yet expansive activity. One that brings food to the table, shade to hot days, and change to the world. Semilla Nueva now emerges, sprouting our first leafs and reaching for sunshine. In this process we have begun to connect in a new network absorbing our surroundings with an open mind, a drive to grow, and a variety of tools. As this branch has acted as a pitchfork for years is has become well polished, and worn with an elegance expressed through simplicity. We too hope to plant seeds with such natural form, and water them with, inspiration, organics, and initiative so that campesinos may re-grow the land on which they survive. This growth has never been so important as the mountain soils are now depleted from years of chemical application, and mono-cropping. As such Semilla Nueva will pick up the tools of the past, integrate on site innovation, and act as a driving force in a change to reclaim our food security and revive peoples relations with nature. We look forward to tracking this growth with you.

-- Brook Golling