Work on the greenhouse infrastructure continued with the construction of a new shade structure. Seedbeds burst with the germination of Orange seedlings. And in late January, the rainy season really got going.
In November, volunteers and Orlando worked on improving the new greenhouse by cleaning up, arranging trees and supplies, preparing materials for mixing soil, and building new tools, such as a soil sifter. More soil was collected and sifted and was used as a substrate for transplanting seedlings to plastic bottles. There were also opportunities to work with local communities. Planet Drum was invited to a […]
Planet Drum’s new greenhouse location behind the Catholic University in Km. 8 is officially open and functioning now that we have a connection to the university’s water infrastructure. The greenhouse is now located at a safe and comfortable distance from University buildings which are undergoing simultaneous demolition and construction. All of the trees and nearly all of our supplies have been moved and are available […]
Although landslides caused by the April 16th, 2016 earthquake weren’t all that widespread, there were a few areas where they occurred. Slides along the road from San Vicente to Canoa covered the highway and crews are still cleaning up the damage.
In 2014, Planet Drum did a Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation workshop with the Los Algarrobos elementary school in Canoa. Recently we returned to the school to do another workshop. We arrived Friday morning with a truckload of native fruit trees (one for each student and faculty member and began showing them how to plant the trees. A total of 12 trees were planted at the […]
The Catholic University in Km. 8, where the main Planet Drum greenhouse has been located for the past thirteen years, is in the process of demolishing one half of the university’s building infrastructure. Simultaneously they are doing renovations on the other half and building entirely new structures for classrooms on top of the area that was previously used for Planet Drum’s greenhouse. While this is happening, […]
A friend of Planet Drum’s from San Vicente, Marcos Cevallos, contacted me about receiving a tree donation for the Colegio Elias Cedeño Jerves in Canoa. I suggested he pick up 100 native fruit trees (Chirimoya, Guava de Machete, Pechiche, and Mandarina) that we had available at the new Planet Drum house. The trees will be planted at the school by the students. When Marcos arrived, he was […]
A committee, which is headed by Patricio Tamariz, Planet Drum’s original contact in Bahía, held a meeting to discuss plans for rebuilding Bahía. The committee, which is part of the Ministry for Urban Development and Housing (MIDUVI), has a proposal for 8 development projects in Bahía. The projects were presented by urban architect Carolina Proaño to a group of community representatives in order to receive feedback about […]
The Catholic University is in the midst of demolishing buildings damaged during the earthquake, and beginning to build foundations for new structures next to and on top of the Planet Drumgreenhouse’s previous location. Orlando has done an excellent job of making sure that the demolition and construction crews don’t damage our greenhouse operations amidst the mayhem. During the past week or so we have been moving […]
The implementation of mini-greenhouses to be installed in local communities and schools is being developed as a new aspect of the Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation and Bioregional Education Project. The first step is to build semi-portable raised seedbeds and donate them to people who are interested in participating. The seedbed is filled with rich soil for germinating seeds. Residents then help collect seeds for the […]