Community Gardening in the DR ... info. meeting at UVM

Community Gardening in the Dominican Republic
PSS 196, 3 credits, Jan 2-13, 2008
University of Vermont
Instructor: John Hayden

Are you interested in traveling to the Dominican Republic and having a life changing experience working alongside Dominicans and Haitians in a service learning class geared toward sustainable agriculture? Want to find out more? Come to an informational meeting on October 3 at 7 pm in 105 Aiken.

In this class students will work on gardening/farming projects while getting to know two different communities in the Dominican Republic. We will start with 3 day visit to the small mountain town of Rio Limpio and work with an organization called "CREAR" (Centro Regional Estudios de Alternativas Rurales).

This organization trains people in sustainable agriculture techniques applicable to small scale landholders. They have introduced organic agriculture and conservation farming as an alternative to the slash-and-burn practices of the region's farmers. We will attend workshops on "double digging" and "composting" and work on projects near the village of Rio Limpio. We will also visit organic and biodynamic farms in the area.

Our next project will be at Batey Libertad, a community in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic. The Batey is settled mostly by migrant Haitian workers or people of Haitian descent. There they struggle with nutrition, health and environmental issues within their community. A group of individuals are interested in starting a community farm to improve their nutrition, health and economic situation. We hope to help "jump start" their project by supplying seeds, tools and elbow grease.

Our final visit in the DR will be at a shade grown organic coffee plantation where we will learn more about the ecological, social and economic benefits of sustainable agro-forestry techniques.

Please join us Wednesday October 3 at 7 pm in 105 Aiken to find out more about this class!