New Volunteers and New year Planning

Brian Teinert, Field 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 have 3 in March, when a guy named Bevan will take over for Natalie.  That has us in good shape for volunteers through April.

The office apartment and greenhouse were in great shape upon my return from holiday vacation. The Algarrobos I planted before leaving are growing strong and Felex has transplanted many.  He kept everything alive.  He may have turned the compost and watered it. I have to take a closer look. There were no thieves.

The 3 girls from Minnesota are here.  They seem to be happy, working on transplanting and Algarrobo seed production.  We will be planting on hillsides very soon and they will get a taste of that.  The girl who has been here before sees the progress that has been made since her last visit, and is ready to contribute to the tasks at hand.  The other two girls are dealing with normal newcomer stuff like stomach aches and heat issues, but are both positive and helpful.

The rain has been sporadic.  It rained the 21st-24th of December, and then stopped.  It rained last night, the 4th of Jan., for the first time since the 24th, so the ground is pretty dry still.  The 11 days of no rain was not good.  My first hillside planting is scheduled for Jan. 7 in Jorge Lomas.  If the ground is bone dry we will clear trails, and give it a couple of more days to rain.  I know that if the ground does not get wet in the next few days, we will go ahead with the planting and water them.  We are going to dive into the planting this week, so next Monday’s report will fill you in on all the successes and obstacles.

Planning for the Fifth Anniversary of the Ecological City Declaration celebration has continued in my absence.  We will have another meeting at the B&B this Thursday, and I will let you know what is said.