Posts

José María from El Astillero neighborhood tipped me off that there were loads of Grosella seeds ready for harvesting. Grosella fruits can be used to make a traditional wine and the fruits are also a popular snack, so the species is highly requested for planting. We spent the morning collecting several bucket loads of seeds, which […]

I arranged a community tree planting workshop with residents from the Pampilandia community, which is located alongside the road to the greenhouse—approximately 6 kilometers from Bahía (2 km before the greenhouse). One resident, Polo, in particular was very excited about the prospect of planting trees, and he helped motivate a handful of his neighbors to participate […]

At Planet Drum’s main greenhouse at the Catholic University, we began transplanting seedlings that were large enough to be moved into repurposed plastic bottles. Compost was sifted and soil was mixed with rice hulls, which had recently been delivered from a rice processor in Charapoto. The rice hulls help with soil aeration and filtration. Volunteers […]

In January a group of volunteers from the One World Institute joined the project for a few weeks. Their help was crucial for doing a major reorganization of the greenhouse. Trees were sorted by species, weeds removed, and fresh soil added to bottles where the soil had compacted over time. At this time, there are 21 different […]

The steep mountainside that rises above the Astillero neighborhood poses an enormous risk for mudslides to the residents who live below it, and could potentially block access to the bridge across the Río Chone estuary, the mall, and the main access road to Bahía de Caráquez. Over the years, Planet Drum has planted more than […]

Ricardo’s cousin contacted him about removing a beehive from a piece of land in Leonidas Plaza where he was clearing brush. After an inspection, it appeared possible to capture the hive and transfer it to Ricardo’s farm. The hive was located in a cement tube, which was partially buried in the dirt. Over the course of […]

Early December was the culmination of the Sixth Phase of funding from the United Nations Development Fund for Small Grants Programme. On December 5th a conference was held to mark its completion. One year after receiving funding, projects from the Estuario Río Chone, La Segua, and Cordillera del Bálsamo Biocorridor gave presentations about what they […]

Tree production at the greenhouse continues to progress smoothly. After having collected, prepared and planted seeds, there are lots of seedlings germinating in the elevated seedbeds. We had a load of 2,100 used plastic bottles to repurpose as tree planters delivered to the greenhouse. Volunteers helped to organize trees, mix soil, cut the tops off bottles, […]