Great Greens

Legacy for the Future

by Judy Baehr, ACÁ volunteer

On TV recently, a sweet bright young thing got a glowing look on her face and said that when the earliest known great natural disaster wiped out all life on earth, it was only 150 million years before life appeared again. She seemed cheered by this discovery, as though we should be reassured that we aren’t doomed to be a failed planet after all, no matter how many great disasters hit.

I found this very depressing. I might not mind, if I did not think that life on earth is going to hell in a plastic bag (hand baskets are out) faster than we can figure out what to do. But lately, I’ve begun to think that the future for humans is going to be scary and short.

My biggest worry is the food supply. If Monsanto disappears in a cloud of radioactive gas or drowns in the water from the polar ice cap (both attractive thoughts), where are we going to get our seed to grow our produce so we can survive? Those hybrid seeds created by the big agro companies do not reproduce, and they interbreed with reproducing varieties so those don’t reproduce either. Here we are in a fertile area of the highlands of Mexico, where you can just put a stick in the ground and it will sprout. But what if we don’t want to eat sprouted sticks? If we can’t get hybrid seed, what will we grow?

I am very angry at Monsanto for luring the Mexican government into supporting genetically modified seed that threatens native varieties of corn. My frustration is that no matter what diatribes I write, my influence is nil, and native corn in Mexico is headed for oblivion. I’m mad as hell but I can’t figure out anything to do.

Finally, after much huffing and puffing, I’ve thought of a way to make my point. When I die, I will have my body cremated, BUT I will have my remains buried in a deluxe all-steel impermeable coffin that will be filled with seed corn to be discovered by archeologists of the future, whatever their buggy looking glutinous bodies from outer space may look like. It will be my legacy, and just maybe organic agriculture will win in the end.

In the meantime, if you share my frustration, support ACÁ and traditional farming. Their heirloom varieties are raised for taste, not for large scale production and distribution. They reproduce seed themselves, just as farmers in Mexico have been doing for generations, by saving the best seed of the strongest growing and best-tasting plants. 

ACÁ Tours and Eco Talks

Tuesdays 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
at the Lake Chapala Society in the Gazebo
50 pesos - Discount with ACÁ Membership

6/23 - Spice Blends - Knowing How to Mix Your Own
6/30 - Are We cell-ing out on Honey Bees?
7/01 - Westenders Lecture at Roca Azul Parque - Taste Testing Regional Fruits and Veggies
Eco Talks End June 30 and Resume in September.

Abastos Food Market Trips - Cost $150 pesos - learn about upcoming trips by emailing acaecotalks@gmail.com

FREE ACÁ Workshops at the Eco Training Center on the mountain side of the carretera at the Jaltepec turnoff, 2.5 kms. west of San Juan Cosala:

“Herbs and a Whole Lot More”
6/25 - Spice Blends for Summer Grilling
7/02 - Green Cleaning Solutions

Please email ggs@ggs.com if you would like a summer guided tour of our farm and Eco Training Center. Remember: Great Greens are available at the Lake Chapala Society in the refrigerator near the snack bar, as well as at SuperLake market.

Being Organic

By Wendee Hill

I have a friend who insists that she is tired of being organic, in a personal sense. She says she’s  working toward full non-organic status, one joint at a time, and when she’s done with the joints she is going to replace her brain with a new computer with a lot of memory and a backup hard drive.

I agree that being organic is tough, and nothing is tougher (organically speaking) than maintaining an organic farm. At ACA, being organic is a struggle day by day and bug by bug: the epic struggle between man and nature, but on a small scale. It’s a question of having everything in balance, but with weather, plagues and accidents, balance can be hard to maintain.

2009 Wish List

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLIES – fax machine, copier, paper
BACK-UP GENERATOR for multi-use corral
CAGES – to expand matrimonial area of rabbitry
DRILL
ELECTRICAL – various wiring improvements at the Eco Center
FIVE ROLLS OF IRRIGATION DRIP TAPE ($3.100 pesos per roll and rising)
GREENHOUSE FUND
HIGH WIRE – coiled barbed wire to secure our perimeters
I-POD with attachments for making presentations
JELLY, JAM & PRESERVES SUPPLIES – steamers, sealers, jars and lids
KITCHEN AREA UPGRADE for processing preserves
LAPTOP AND PROJECTOR SOFTWARE FOR PRESENTATIONS
METAL BAKERS RACKS AND WOOD FOR SHELVES (5)
NYLON SHADE CLOTH REPLACEMENT
OVERHEAD LIGHTING FOR ORGANIC MARKET STORE
PRESSURE WASHERS
QUIMICO SAFETY MANUALS FOR TRAINING WORKSHOPS
RE-SEALABLE BAGS
SEED STORAGE – SEALABLE PLASTIC CONTAINERS
TRACTOR IMPLEMENTS $8,000 PESOs
UPGRADE of corral by adding roofing
VACUUM SEALING MACHINE WITH PLASTIC
WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION AT ECO CENTER
XTRA GLOVES FOR ECO DISCOVERY DAYS ( SMALL SIZES)
YEARLY MEMBERSHIP - DO YOU HAVE YOURS?
ZEALOUS VOLUNTEERS to take on small jobs at the organic market in Jaltepec (deliveries, watering, weeding, writing or working at the Eco Center) 

Where's the Turkey?

By Judy Baehr
ACÁ volunteer

Wild turkeys were domesticated by natives in North America about 400 BC, and turkey is a gourmet item in Mexican cuisine. So how come the only turkeys I can find in local stores at Thanksgiving are the frozen ones at Costco in Guadalajara? You see plenty of chickens running around villages here, as well as fighting cocks and a few ducks and geese, but no turkeys.The only place I have seen native ("criollo") turkeys is the ACÁ organic farm. Marie Pruden, founding director and horticulturist at the farm, tells me her original native male turkey, known as “Papa,” was a gift from a benefactor who bought it from a dealer in tropical birds. No native female turkeys could be found to keep Papa company, but Marie heard they were commonly seen (or at least heard) in mountain areas.

Dear Honda

We are thrilled to announce that a rather large parcel has arrived from Honda Canada with a brand spanking new Honda Rototiller. How did this happen?

Rotary Scholar Studies Toxicology

By Wendee Hill, founding director

Once in awhile a bright new face arrives in our town, one that isn't here for long but does some really great things. One of these is Erica Gwynn, a Rotary International Ambassadorial Research Scholar from Detroit, Michigan. With the support of Rotary International's Scholarship program, Erica has already made her ecological footprint. In conjunction with ACÁ Eco Training Center and Jocotepec Rotary she initiated a long overdue toxicology study and eco health survey.

This pilot study is the platform for continued research to assess current levels of mercury in various environmental media in and around Lake Chapala and assess its effect on villagers. As an environmental toxicologist, Erica headed up the biological and social aspects of this initial pilot research assessment. Her soil samples in each area are now being tested and will give us some long awaited answers to toxicology issues in this area.

Planting for the Future

By Judy Baehr

For people in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico south of Guadalajara who want fresh, locally-grown organic produce, Wendee Hill and Marie Pruden are the people who supply their needs. Their organic farm grows the Great Greens sold at the Lake Chapala Society, as well as at area grocery stores. Many Lakesiders have found their way out to Jaltepec to tour the farm and buy produce, herbs and plants in their store. And every October, their Harvest Fair draws hundreds of people eager for fresh corn on the cob, exhibits, live music, and food and drink. ACÁ," which stands for Asociacion Comunitaria de Autosuficiencia A.C., But their organization is much more than an organic farm.

Our Country Fair

Wendee Hill and Steve Sobel

Here on the north shore of Lake Chapala in Mexico, we have many fiestas throughout the year. But if you are nostalgic for a country fair in the Fall, there is only one here: the annual ACÁ Harvest Fair on the third weekend of October.

Seeds of Change

by Judy Baehr

In rural areas of Mexico, many small farmers cannot afford to buy seed. And even if they can afford it, much of the seed sold at local stores may be left over from previous years, or not stored properly, so that it has poor germination rates. (For those of you who have not grown plants from seed, this means the seed won't sprout and grow!) There's no money-back guarantee on such seed purchases, so the farmer who buys it risks a lost crop season and potential financial disaster.

The cost and viability of seeds in Mexico is a major reason why the majority of small farmers in Mexico harvest and save their own seed.