Hi everyone! For those of you don't already know, I'm getting ready to participate in a 10-day service trip to Los Andes, Guatemala with the University of Maryland Alternative Breaks Program. The trip is scheduled from January 15-25, and we (a core group of about 15 students) will be serving on the Los Andes Nature Reserve. I am incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity and can't wait for the experience of a lifetime!
Over the last few months, I've enjoyed participating in various pre-trip activities. The theme of our Alternative Break is Sustainable Community Development, and, as such, our pre-service trip was to Eco City Farms. Eco City Farms is a small organic farm that is nestled between residential neighborhoods, and aims to both provide locally-grown organic food and educate the surrounding community about organic farming.
When my Trip Leaders told us we were going to be spending the day on a farm, I thought, "ok, get ready for a 3 hour car ride." But, in reality, the farm was only 10 minutes away from the College Park campus! I always thought organic and sustainable farming as a unattainable, almost whimsical term that environmentalists threw around. I had no idea that small, organic farming was going on right in my backyard (literally)!
At the farm, our team was greeted by the staff and given various tasks to complete. While there, I turned a pile of compost and worked with the sifter while other team members mulched, dug ditches, and spread leaves over the crops to provide insulation.
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| one of the several greenhouses at the farm. each was insulated to keep crops growing year-round. |
After the service part of the day was over, we were given a tour around the farm. While on less than 2 acres, I was surprised by how many amazing things were going on! The tour guide taught us, and several other community members who joined us for the tour, about compost, growing crops through the harsh Maryland winters, and how to use natural resources to their fullest. My favorite part was the mini green-house that housed rice, fruit trees, and other tropical plants you wouldn't expect to find in College Park, Maryland. I was also surprised to learn that Eco City Farms was able to feed 20 families on only 1/3 of an acre! At the end of the tour, I was delighted to find out that the tour guide had once participated in an Alternative Break experience, and it had actually been the inspiration for him to pursue agriculture.
I definitely learned a lot about small, organic farming that day, and now recognize the significance of supporting locally-grown organic farms.
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| some of the pods growing in a greenhouse |
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| the sifter used to produce usable compost that was both used on the farm and sold as a means of profit for the farm. I spent part of the day putting compost through the sifter to refine it. |
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| the AB Guatemala Team at Eco City Farms! |
Looking forward, I can't believe that I'll be in Guatemala in less than a month. I've never been to Guatemala before and am looking forward to the opportunity. I'm probably most nervous about the language barrier--as I love talking with and getting to know people, and I know language will be a challenge considering my near novice Spanish speaking skills.
For the rest of Winter Break, I hope to crack open the good ol' high school Spanish books to try to brush up on some basic vocabulary and gear up for the trip.
I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season! And, because countdowns are always super fun, here's a countdown to the 2014 AWB Guatemala trip :)
Also, make sure to follow the entire AWB Guatemala Team here.
Labels: Alternative Breaks, AWB Guatemala, farming, Latin America, service, sustainability
