Reydi Moreta
December 11, 2015
The Rodríguez Bueno family now has its own small farm. This past December 9th, Ramón Antonio Rodríguez Bueno’s children, family members, neighbors and members of FUNDSAZURZA and SODIZUR all participated with great joy in the creation of the Rodríguez family farm. This project was overseen by GFDD’s EcoHuertos Program.
Preparation for the garden plot consisted of weeding, cleaning, getting rid of trash, removing rubble and debris from the soil and nailing down the zinc plates that form the fence around the garden. The fence received a coat of paint and ended up forming a walkway separating the house from the patio.
They also created direct planting beds and nurseries. The seedlings and seeds they planted were: baby spinach, basil, regular spinach, romaine lettuce, salad tomatoes, eggplant, flat-leaf parsley, cubanela peppers, onions, Swiss chard and radishes.
With the creation of the Ramón Antonio Rodríguez Bueno family farm, EcoHuertos wraps up its work for the year, 2015, and begins the projects we have planned for 2016.
Concept
The concept that preceded the creation of this small farm began at the end of this past July when, at the request of the Programa Familias en Desarrollo de la Fundación de Saneamiento Ambiental para la Zurza, FUNDSAZURZA, a conference was held for representatives of families from the La Zurza community, explained EcoHuertos Program Coordinator, Cristiana Cruz Menier. When the conference was ending, at the suggestion of participants, a list of names was drawn up of heads of households who wanted a small farm or garden of their own and who felt they had enough appropriate space to undertake such a project.
In the beginning, they made two trips to the town and visited the families. They observed that there was sufficient space to plant these types of gardens and they also discussed the type of materials they would need, added Ms. Cruz Menier, EcoHuertos Coordinator.
Then the planning stage got underway, which involved making a preliminary design and getting quotes for materials. A third visit to Mr. Rodríguez’s family garden was made to define the definitive design and to discuss the work teams that will take care of the garden.
The Eco Huertos Program is sowing seeds and harvesting quality of life!
More information: www.globalfoundationdd.org
Santo Domingo, August 3, 2015
On Friday July 31, 2015, Cristiana Cruz Minier gave a talk on family gardens and the GFDD Eco Huertos program. More than 60 people attended the talk, given in collaboration with the Families in Development Program, part of the Fundación para el Saneamiento Ambiental de la Zurza (FUNDSAZURZA).
Objectives of the talk in the Zurza community were:
- To disseminate knowledge about organic gardens, without impact to the environment and health.
- Create a list of families interested in planting or taking care of the garden.
- Initiate contact with families to be supported by the GFDD program in their creation of organic gardens.
Some topics talked about at the lecture:
- What is a garden?
- What is an organic garden?
- What type of plants are grown in a garden and why?
- Types of gardens
- How to construct and plant a garden
- What should we keep in mind when creating a garden?
- What are the needs of plants, specifically when growing vegetables?\
- Recycling materials in the garden
- How to involve the whole family in the garden work
- What is a community garden? What are the rights and duties?
More information: www.globalfoundationdd.org
Hato Nuevo, DR – A local school in Hato Nuevo got plans for a new school garden underway with the help of EcoHuertos on October 22nd. The three hour workshop at Escuela Básica Concepción Bona included the assistance of over thirty 5th and 6th grade students along with teachers, coordinators, custodians, and the school dietician.
Cristina Cruz Minier, Coordinator of the EcoHuertos Program, said that the students will be the caretakers for the new garden, which will be built in the coming weeks. “The students… participated enthusiastically in the dynamic presentation, where they worked as a team for the construction and analysis of the garden concept, defined by brainstorming which plants would be sown in the garden,” said Minier.
About EcoHuertos
The mission of EcoHuertos is to encourage the development of organic and sustainable gardens in educational centers and communities throughout the Dominican Republic. GFDD officially launched the School and Community Gardens Program, or Eco-Huertos Program, in 2012. Since its inception, the program has successfully created a total of 26 gardens in 17 education centers (7 private and 10 public schools), 5 community centers and 4 residences in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal, Baní, Monte Plata and Azua.
More information