On Saturday, August 20^th nearly 20 eager participants gathered at DeLaney Community Farm in Aurora, Colorado for Seed School in a Day! This course was made possible through a grant from The Posner Center for International Development received by tenants: Denver Urban Gardens (DUG), Friends of ENCA Farm (FoE), and outside collaborator The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance (RMSA).

 

Seed School in a Day is a dynamic program created by RMSA, the jam packed one-day workshop offers a comprehensive overview of seed saving. Practical, hands-on activities are balanced with engaging lectures to provide a fun and interactive learning experience. Participants leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of why regional seed saving is so important and the skills needed to start their own seed saving adventures!

Our course included this learning and so much more! Participants ranged from seasoned seed savers, community gardeners, backyard gardeners, educators and community non-profit partners. The dynamic and infectious passion of lead facilitator Penn Parmenter of Miss Penn’s Mountain Seeds in Westcliffe, Colorado set a fun and engaging tone for the day. Participants learned about the history of seed saving, how to save specific seeds including tomatoes, beans, squash and more. They also learned how to conduct their own germination tests on seeds and connected with the growing community of people returning to the historic practice of saving seeds.

The first half of the course was held at the beautiful 5 acre DeLaney Community Farm, which provided a fantastic natural classroom for many of the lessons including; observing how to self-pollinate squash in the field, and a brief wild seed walk in the fields at DeLaney where participants observed wild dill, cat-nip, and other wild plants.

Participants left the course inspired to take the knowledge they learned and implement it at their home and community gardens.

“The class opened my eyes to a whole new-critical-aspect of gardening this offers hope for healthy food production in the face of climate change and population challenges.”

-Carol, Seed School Participant

“ I learned so much! I can’t wait to get home and turn my basement into a seed palace.”

– Amy, Seed School Participant

In November staff from DUG and RMSA will be traveling to the Philippines with Friends of ENCA Farm to conduct Seed School and Farmer Capacity Building with organic farmers in the Philippines.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to share this powerful seed saving knowledge with Denver and the Philippines and build a global community of seed stewards and advocates!

To learn more about our collaborators in this work please visit:

The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance website

Denver Urban Gardens website

 

Image above: The next generation learning to play the gangsa!

Last week, after a very productive Friends of ENCA/Benguet Tivangdal board meeting, during which we reviewed drawings and costing’s for the repairs of the Nipa Huts at ENCA and introduced Karen Hizola our new Baguio Based Program Manager (more about her soon). I headed North to Sagada for a dear friends native wedding.

It is always wonderful to return to Sagada a beautiful mountain town about 6 hours north of Tublay. Sagada is known for their amazing natural caves, peaceful mountains, and delicious yogurt at the world famous Yogurt House. Siegird, a local potter and environmental activist, has been a dear friend since my early Peace Corps days. She and her husband Steve, an RPCV from the 70’s (that has never left the Philippines), had a civil marriage seven years ago and have two beautiful boys Chico (6) and David (almost one year).

In Sagada, it is very important and as Siegird put it “part of their obligation” to host a native wedding. This is an opportunity for extended friends and relatives and most importantly the entire town of Sagada to celebrate the marriage and give their blessing and congratulations in the form of financial contribution. This also means the entire town comes together to help in the elaborate preparations of feeding literally 1,000’s of people. Sigerid and Steve purchased and extended relatives and community member’s butchered 14 pigs and 1 carabao (native water buffalo) for the party the lasted four days!

As I sat with women from all over the community (who each brought a bowl and knife to help chop the copious amounts of veggies it takes to feed this many people), chatted with the beautiful Lola’s who’s weathered faces tell a story that does not need words, and enjoyed the sound of the Gangsa (native gong music) till literally the wee hours of the morning I was struck with the true community that Sagada demonstrated to pull off this beautiful gathering. Loved ones near and far gathered to honor Siegrid and Steve as tradition has done for 100’s of years. Indeed I am blessed to have been a small part of this beautiful gathering and demonstration of true community and love!

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to a place of the past can be filled with many emotions: happiness recalling the kind people and memories made, both comfort and sadness seeing that some things never change, and mainly joy in knowing there are pockets of the world that still embrace kindness and a true spirit of thanksgiving…. not only on the last Thursday of November.

This is how I felt spending the day Wednesday in the rural community of Ambongdolan, Tublay. This was the site of my main Peace Corps assignment nearly a decade ago, where I was tasked with training the community to support the potential eco-tourism industry of promoting their beautiful natural caves. While I did not spend a lot of time in this peaceful rural community, I do have wonderful memories of the kind people and humble lives they lived. Which after Wednesday’s visit proves to still be the case.

My host cousin Paul is a community nurse and his main post is in Ambongdolan. He visits every few weeks since it is about an hour-plus drive and hike from Tublay proper. We loaded on a Jeepney around 7:30am from Acop and after a 30min. ride we where dropped at the junction to the community. As Paul and I hiked the hour down to the Rural Health Unit (RHU) I was pleased to see the forested mountainsides, community protected forestland, and clean trails all around. Arriving at the RHU filled me with memories of the first-aid training we held for the community there in 2007 and of course seeing the Rural Midwife and her team of Rural Health Workers was wonderful. One in particular Ma’am Mercy, remembered me right away a said wow, “Sherry Manning you are back!” While I have come back to the Philippines nearly each year my time has been focused at ENCA so I had not seen these wonderful diligent community workers for a long time.

As I watched Cousin Paul and the others advise young mothers on how to improve their kids failing nutrition, administer MMR shots to babies, and engage in informal conversations with the community about life, love, and health I was overwhelmed with the joyful way this rural community lives their lives. While they may have to hike an hour plus to the main road, they may not have shiny cars and stores to frequent on #BlackFriday, they are gracious and kind hosts that work hard to build a better life for their families.

As we shared a beautiful lunch of chicken tinola complete with local green papaya, lemongrass I harvest behind the RHU, and guavas just picked from a household tree I was filled with gratitude for this Thanksgiving Meal. With friends old and new, even a decade apart did not dampen their kindness and memories of our time and work together. These are the things to be truly thankful for: community around the globe, meals prepared with love (turkey or tinola), and the kind and open hearts of friends and family each and everyday!!

 

Image above: The MAO, Mayor, and Dr. Sudaypan the event guest speaker.

Last Monday after a lovely morning coffee session with Lola Carmen, I headed to the Tublay Municipal Hall to talk with the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) about our seed saving programs and partnership.

I was pleased to see that Jeffery, the head of the office was there, and was also excited to learn that they were preparing for the start of a Tublay Farmers Congress. We spoke briefly about the seed saving program and they invited me to join the farmer’s congress, which I of course did! As we waited for the program to begin I was able to meet with the guest speaker for the event, Dr. Sudaypan. He is the Director of the Extension Program at Benguet State University (BSU). BSU is the leading agriculture college for the region. We discussed my history working in the country and Friends of ENCA Farm’s plans to help the growing community of organic farmers in Tublay and elsewhere, access seed saving education and training, and start a seed library in Tublay in the coming year. He was excited to learn of these plans and I look forward to following up with him and formalizing a partnership with BSU moving forward.

During his compelling talk he spoke to the room full of nearly 100 Tublay Farmers about the critically important role they play in the sustainable development and food security of the Philippines. He shared an acronym for the word Farmers that was both truthful and inspiring. Farmers are the following:

F- Firm
A- Agriculturist
R- Responsible
M- Manager (input-output)
E- Ecologists (maintain balance)
R- Resilience
S- Self-Sufficient

R for Resilience speaks a particular truth to me after seeing the damage caused to ENCA Farm from Typhoon Lando last month. As Auntie Olive showed me the fields of wilted lettuce and broken garden peas she is patiently transplanting and working hard to re-grow, I was struck with the level of resiliency needed to be a farmer in a country that is most venerable to the dramatic effects of climate change. The storms that hammer this island nation are only getting stronger so therefore the farmers are needing to embrace the realities of this acronym like never before.

This is where I know “the planting” of seed saving knowledge and educational programs will make a true and lasting impact in Tublay and beyond. In fact during, the farmers congress the MAO shared his own acronym called Tublay SEEDS, no accident that earlier in the program I was able to briefly introduce the seed saving programs we plan to launch, which were very well received by all who attended the congress. We are still working to finalize the date but plan to host the first seed saving training sometime the first week of December in partnership with the Municipal Agriculture Office and the Tublay Organic Farming Practitioners Association. The serendipity of timing on each of these connections cannot be understated!

As I spent Wednesday morning harvesting nearly 10 lbs. of coffee, listening to the incredible bird calls, and viewing the forested mountain sides at ENCA Farm…I was struck, as I always am here, with the beauty and balance that is abundant at ENCA Farm. Yes, there has been damage to the crops and physical structures, but when you take a moment to be still in a natural space such as ENCA, you slow down and have time to reflect on the great need for preserved farm land and natural spaces like ENCA. Perhaps these spaces are needed now more then ever in light of climate change, troubling news around the globe, and the far to chaotic life we experience in the urban environment!

As I de-boarded the plane in Manila last Wednesday, I was filled with energy and excitement about the work to unfold during the next month. The intense humidity and heat of the crowded Manila streets is palpable even through the air-conditioned walls of the NAIA airport. I gathered my bags, exchanged some money, purchased a local cell phone sim, and took the advice of Manila friends and requested my first Uber ride. Uber recently opened in Manila and it is a complete revelation in a city packed with far too many dishonest taxi drivers and traffic that is so intense it is impossible to describe in a simple blog post. After waiting only 10 minuets my safe, clean, and very affordable (under $5) Uber car arrived curbside and I was off to the high-rise concrete jungle of Makati!

On Thursday, I headed to the Peace Corps Office to see old friends/colleagues and arranged for a lunchtime solar light demo. The Peace Corps Staff was very excited to learn about the Nokero Solar Lights and the new GreenLight Planet lights we are distributing throughout the country. In fact the presentation was so successful we sold out of the new Sun King Pro 2 lights (complete with 3 light modes and two cell phone USB charging ports). I only carried over 5 so we could gauge interest and I am so glad that Peace Corps Philippines is excited to support this initiative. In light of this success related problem, we have found another local Philippine distributer of these new lights, Hybrid Social Solutions, and hope to order 5-10 more lights from them in the coming weeks.

 

Thursday evening I enjoyed street tacos with my gracious hosts in Manila, my old high school buddy Kent and his wife Susie have lived here for 2 plus years. Kent is a wildlife conservation photographer and videographer and Susie works for Catholic Relief Services. I am excited for Kent to head north in the coming weeks and capture high quality footage of ENCA Farm and our various projects.

I then braved the traffic to Quezon City to connect with Red at his iconic bar, Fred’s Revolution. Red, is the Executive Director of the fantastic local NGO The Institute for Climate Sustainable Cities. In August, we hosted him in Denver for one week to launch the incredible book Agam: Filipino Narratives on Uncertainty and Climate Change. Red and his team had just received the news that Agam was awarded the Philippine National Book Award! This is a huge honor and a great testament to the depth and beauty of Agam and the climate change mitigation work it supports. As we sat and enjoyed beers at Fred’s discussing our work and commitment to community development and sustainability I was reminded how blessed I am to be apart of this dynamic community of global change makers. All of this with only 24 hours in the country!

* Side note: Red is apart of the Philippine Delegation leaving for Paris in two weeks for the international climate talks. Last week he and others from the most climate venerable nations met in Manila to finalize their request for climate action.