Projects
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Yellow squares of rice drying in front yards seen from the bus window on the six-hour ride out to Bahia from Guayaquil seemed a little early. It was the most sparse & peculiar rainy season since the Eco-city Declaration five years ago. Starting late in January, it gave up February and stayed truant another two months after that. Rain came again in May […]
Learning to Partner With a Life-Place is the outline of a first year bioregional curriculum. It was first published June 12, 2004 as Dispatch #1 from Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. On a fog-wet spring morning in San Francisco, our unusual urban group climbed to the top of a rock promontory midway along a canyon trail to get a clear view of the standout feature in […]
Letter May 29, 2004 Hey Peter,I’m feeling much better! Here is the week in review for May 24th thru the 29th. Monday we started the barbed wire fencing at Jorge Lomas Canal. We accomplished an amazing amount in one day, thanks to the help of two very enthusiastic sojourners from the USA. Wes and Zan had been staying in Bahía since the previous Thursday. (I had met them […]
May 11, 2004 Hey Peter, The fencing project is giving me a pain in my stomach. We bought some barbed wire and tried, unsuccessfully, to put together a prototype this afternoon. I have some doubts about the use of barbed wire in areas where there are children (Jorge Lomas Canal and Hill). Also it seems the soil is just too unstable to place the wood stakes in the ground at […]
Monday April 26, 2004 The three of us cleared trails at the Universidad Catolica site. The unexpected rain over this past weekend initiated a green growth spurt and the undesirable vegetation has been running wild amongst our transplants. The thorough work we had done previously at the site paid off. We were able to maneuver through the site much easier than previously (if you remember last time it took […]
News April 17, 2004 Sorry for the delay, we had some electricity problems yesterday in Bahia. Just to clarify, do you think we should continue to plant the dry-tolerant species and transfer the others into larger sacks? Is it possible to get burlap sacks rather than plastic bags…they are biodegradable and more organic than plastic? Attached is a detailed report of our activies for this past week. It […]
Renée Portanova, Volunteer Planet Drum Foundation Revegetation Journal March 5, 2004 Tree Species(Latin names available by contacting mail@planetdrum.org) Guayacan Colorado Muyuyo de montana Jigua Canela Jigua bedionda Cascol Amarillo Guachepeli Chirimoya Algarrobo Fernan Sanchez Ceibo Pechiche January 26, 2004 Although it is the rainy season in Bahia de Caraquez it hasn’t rained in nearly three weeks. The trees we have planted are in dire need of […]
Hi Peter and Elise, It looks like you guys have been doing some good work in San Fran. I like the looks of the curriculum. Unfortunately, I will not be here when most of it is carried out. We had an Amigos de Eco-ciudad meeting—these are the main points covered. Planet Drum work for the week included seed storage, shucking and cataloging. We also planted […]
Brian TeinertField Project Manager Planet Drum Foundation January 5, 2004 Reneé Portanova will undoubtedly be a great member of our team. We have been in contact and I am looking forward to her arrival in Bahia on January 19th. I am excited about Natalie Pollard coming as well. At the moment, we have 3 volunteers lined up for February (Natalie, Renee, and Debbie.) We also […]
March 26, 2004 Dear Brian and Renée, This is a combined message from Peter & Elise to share our thoughts after an intensive week of bioregional education research, discussion & melding of ideas. “Transparency” is the intended keynote for this, and we eagerly invite a four-part discussion now that the attempt has been made to lay some of the hopefully mutual foundations. Elise is prepared to undertake […]