Planet Drum has been collecting organic waste from the Bahía market since September. Several of the vendors help by collecting damaged fruit, plantain stalks, and other pieces of organic waste in 25 gallon barrels. To show our gratitude for their assistance, and include locals in the entire process of compost production to fruit tree production, we hosted a tree donation campaign with our market helpers.
New educational materials were created specifically for this work, entitled “El Ciclo de La Fruta” (Cycle of the Fruit). The cycle is as follows:
Damaged fruit is collected for seeds and organic waste for compost production.
Composted materials turn into fertile soil for germinating and growing fruit trees.
Mature fruit trees produce more fruit for selling at the market.
An overview of the Planet Drum ecological restoration work that has been ongoing since 1999 is included in the educational handouts/flyers which were printed and copied for donation with fruit trees.
In one morning, 100 fruit trees from the Planet Drum greenhouse and 70 handouts were distributed to local residents at the Bahía market. The organic waste collectors received first choice of trees. As we gave trees away, we explained how to plant and care for the trees.
Photos by Clay Plager-Unger
The ‘Ciclo de la Fruta’ handout is available in .pdf format for download here:
Reader Interactions