Great Greens

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.

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.

Can You Grow It Here in Mexico?

By Wendee Hill
ACÁ Founding Director

When Northern gardeners' minds turn toward planting, particularly in Spring, the folks out at the ACÁ Eco Training Center and organic farm in Jaltepec, about 30 miles south of Guadalajara, Mexico, start getting questions about what can be grown in the Lake Chapala climate. So, seed catalog enthusiasts, here is an FAQ just for you, with answers from Marie Pruden, the Canadian-schooled horticultural specialist in organics at the Center:

Who We Are

Great Greens is the product of ACÁ, Asociación Comunitaria de Autosuficiencia A.C., a non-profit agricultural education association in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, south of Guadalajara. For the last ten years, we have developed and taught sustainable organic farming methods. Our focus is on improving conditions for Mexico's rural poor by tackling poor nutrition and  inadequate income as well as the soil degradation and water pollution caused by commercial farming operations.

Past students help maintain the Eco Training Center that demonstrates sustainable practices and produces our Great Greens organic vegetables. The Center is open to the public and hosts Eco Day camps for local schoolchildren. ACÁ also accepts interns from around the world, has school-based outreach projects in villages in the Lerma Basin region, and helps develop market outlets for organic farmers.

Eco Discovery Days

By Judy Baehr

A crisp Fall day, warm sun, the smell of the earth, and the opportunity to learn how nature intended things to grow: it was an Eco Discovery Day at the ACÁ Eco Center and organic farm near Jocotepec, about 30 miles south of Guadalajara, Mexico. Children from the Collegio Antonia Palomares in Jocotepec are on a field trip. This particular group is in the second and third grade of secondary school -- similar to eighth and ninth grade in the U.S. and Canada.

(Click on thumbnail image for larger photo.)

Summer Herbs That Take the Heat

By Wendee Hill
ACÁ Founding Director

When I lived up north in a much colder climate, I had a cupboard full of bottled herbs, but as a general rule, they sat there until they expired, just filling space. Since herbs are best used within a year of harvest, and most herbs don't have a "best before" date, they would not have contributed much to my culinary efforts even if I had used them. Here in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico, it's a different story.

The Day the Pump Ran Dry

By Judy Baehr

By the time you read this, the thunder clouds will be building up every afternoon and soon the rains will pour down each evening and the cobblestones will run with water. People will be reassessing the desirability of open-toed shoes and looking for a restaurant with a roof that doesn't drip on their steak.

Organic Farm Eco Tourism a Success

At the Asociacion Comunitaria de Autosuficiencia A.C., the home of Great Greens, we are convinced that the results communities can achieve at a grass roots level are both positive and quantifiable. Eco tourism to the ACÁ center and organic farm encourages some on the spot donations for improvements of the farm training models which inspire a deeper grasp of safe alternatives, for students, farmers, volunteers or consumers