Introduction to the complex, visionary, and often inspiring world of food forest gardening, an ecological approach to growing food like a forest.  Come get your hands dirty in CFI’s working model, and learn how to transform your lawn into a lush, edible woodland (see our before and after photos below!)

Where:           Sackville Community Garden – Charles Street, Sackville, NB

When:             May 25^th 1pm – 4 pm

Cost:               Free!

CFI Food Forest - Before & 4 Years After!

More Workshops!

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“THE TREE [IS] AN ENGINE OF NATURE — PUT IT TO WORK”
- J. Russell Smith, Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture (1929)

CFP Agroforestry Officer, Ali Hamad Ali, demonstrates grafted mango planting - Pujini, Pemba

A call for permanent agriculture from 1929 may come as a surprise to those more familiar with the modern ‘Permaculture’ movement. Emphasis on trees in food production systems goes back even further than J. Russell Smith though, thousands of years back. The ancient Moxos of northeast Bolivia, for instance, practiced a wetland agriculture that included highly diverse hilltop “forest gardens”. These gardens included dozens of varieties of tree fruits and nuts, and once supported some of the densest populations in the Amazon.

In a practice known as Agroforestry, CFI is now working with small-scale farmers across Pemba to incorporate food and forest trees into traditional agricultural systems. Appropriately selected trees provide an array of valuable ecosystem functions on farms, including erosion control, water conservation, increased fertility, microclimate regulation, and carbon sequestration. The results of transitioning from traditional monocrop agriculture to agroforestry include higher and more diverse yields leading to improved food security and nutrition, reduced reliance on external resources, and greater all around ecological health – all of which contribute to improving climate change resilience.

CFI is helping to put trees to work on Pemban farms; harnessing one of nature’s most powerful engines in the fight against climate change.  To learn more about Agroforestry, check out The World Agroforestry Centre.

Children distribute fruit trees for roadside hedgerow planting - Pujini, Pemba

Planting coconut borders surrounding community rice fields -Pujini, Pemba

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Community Forests International’s popular workshop series is back for the 5^th year running, now with a broadened curriculum focused on adaptation and traditional skills.  As Maritime communities strive to adapt to a changing economy and climate, traditional knowledge is gaining new relevance and successful innovations are providing new opportunities.  Through hands-on experiential training, CFI aims to transfer valuable ‘adaptation’ skills to students throughout the Maritimes in order to foster grassroots solutions to climate change regionally.

Horse Logging

Ecological Forestry

Wildcrafting

Permaculture

Agroforestry

Timber Framing

2013 SUMMER WORKSHOP # 1

Food Forest Gardening 101

Introduction to the complex, visionary, and often inspiring world of food forest gardening, an ecological approach to growing food like a forest.  Come get your hands dirty in CFI’s working model, and learn how to transform your lawn into a lush, edible woodland (see our before and after photos below!)

Where:           Sackville Community Garden – Charles Street, Sackville, NB

When:             May 25^th 1pm – 4 pm

Cost:               Free!

CFI Food Forest - Before & 4 Years Later!

More summer workshop details coming soon.

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Photo by Zach Melanson

I will never forget Susan planting a whole field of lettuce this summer, after deciding how much to grow just for them. Clark was in and out of the hospital and farming was next to impossible. But once Sue started planting she couldn’t stop. And when Clark was home he worked at plowing more field. They farmed anyway. I feel like I have learned so much about farming from Clark and Sue.

Photo by Zach Melanson

Farming isn’t easy and neither is cutting wood. They say to do it well there are no shortcuts. At Whaelghinbran every leaf of lettuce is twice washed. Every stand of forest deeply considered. I am inspired by Clark and Susan and the living they have made. They have done it so thoughtfully and so well. They have worked so hard for so long at something they believe in, and it shows on the land at Whaelghinbran.

I’m honored that CFI is a part of their work now. It is our responsibility to carry it forward, to save the farm, save the woods. I am confident because Clark and Sue are here to guide us, and because I have always felt that what sets CFI apart too is how hard we work.

It’s the people that have me believing in Whaelghinbran Farm. Susan Tyler and Clark Phillips, George Fullerton and the NB Community Land Trust, all of our mentors and supporters. And Estelle, Zach, Dale, and Jeff. Whaelghinbran is an exceptional farm and forest, but it’s people involved that have me believing in it.

Please help us make a stand for future generations. For more information about how you can get involved please visit our save the farm campaign page.

Photo by Jason Verschoor

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One of the most common requests made by CFP communities to intern Lisa Hansen this growing season has been for dawa kwa miti, medicine for trees.  Inquiries revealed that the ‘medicine’ communities were referring to is a chemical pesticide available on the island which contains endosulphan.  Lisa’s further research revealed that endusulphan is an insecticide banned in over 60 countries for its bioaccumulative abilities and effects on the endocrine system.  That community members were sometimes applying this product to their crops and seedlings was very troubling to Lisa and the CFI team.

Knowing a little about natural pesticides, Lisa experimented with useful plants available at the local market to develop an an all-purpose pest deterrent recipe; a safe, affordable and easy to make alternative to the chemical pesticide. Testing different doses of the recipe on seedlings during low and peak sunlight periods to evaluate its ability to burn leaves and otherwise harm seedlings proved it was safe for application. Excited by the prospects of this natural pest deterrent, Lisa began to teach the Chasasa community how to make and use it.  The results were great, no more pests!

Natural Pest Deterrent Training

 

Three weeks later a trained Chasasa nursery member, lovingly called ‘Dr. Wahida’, is now responsible for preparing the ‘natural dawa’ and applying it as needed. In response to the effectiveness and quick adoption of the recipe at Chasasa, Lisa and Dr. Wahida are now also training other communities in its preparation and use.

Lisa’s ‘natural dawa’ lessons reflect organic farming theory and plant care by highlighting prevention vs. reaction as the best strategy for healthy nurseries and farms.  Community members are often familiar with these concepts in relation to maintaining good human health.  Homemade medicines from plant materials are still widely used on Pemba and people are aware of their effectiveness to ward off bacteria and viruses.  Attendants easily understood the idea that plant medicine for our bodies can also be useful for plants. Attendants were also trained to experiment before application, and learned that to be a good plant doctor you have to be a good cook, a good mother and a good scientist!

Natural Pest Deterrent Training

The recipe is provided below and if you are interested in the lesson plan contact Lisa for further information. Additionally, if you have any natural recipes that are useful to employ in tropical environments we would be happy to receive them and try them out.

Natural Pest Deterrent

4 bulbs of garlic

2 onions

4 hot peppers

1 tbsp of soap

1.5 litres of water

Chop garlic, onions and peppers and place in water for 24 hours. Strain and pour into spray bottle and add soap. Spray in the mornings or evenings, to avoid burning plants, after you have watered plants to avoid washing it off. Keep it in the fridge for prolonged use as it will spoil after a couple of weeks. Spray all over the leaves, on ant colonies targeting larvae, and increase the frequency of your application at times of infestation. Monitor it’s effectiveness and change the dose of ingredients as needed.

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