agricultural

F2F volunteer, Erin Menzies, with Gustavo Gandini, Technical Director of Banelino Partners of the Americas’ Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program has been supporting Banelino ( Asociación de Bananos Ecológicos de la Línea Noroeste or the Association of Organic Bananas of the Northwest Line) since 2014.  Banelino is a banana association comprised of over 300 small producers, the majority of which produce organic bananas. Their bananas are sold across Europe. In addition to supporting small producers in the Yaque del Norte region, Banelino offers a wide array of services for their producers and families. For example, Banelino has a small health center at their headquarters that provides healthcare and health education for members. They also have a small library open for use by producers interested in learning how to become organic or for organic producers interested in learning how to improve their current practices or production. Banelino is dedicated to the economic and social developmen...

Over the years, a number of our F2F volunteers have worked in the area of soil fertility. As synthetic agro-inputs can be pricey, oftentimes our volunteers teach hosts about organic soil fertility management practices such as the use of green manures, compost, companion crops, crop rotations, and animal manure. One common and inexpensive source of macronutrients, however, frequently gets overlooked: urine.  Stored goat urine at CEPROCAL In March 2016, F2F volunteer Rob Crook traveled to Guatemala for a two week assignment to train extension agents with the Center for Goat Production in the Altiplano of Guatemala (CEPROCAL) on how to make liquid fertilizer and compost using goat urine. CEPROCAL currently captures and stores the urine produced by stabled goats at their production center. While CEPROCAL technicians have speculated that the urine is an excellent source of nutrients for fertilizing home gardens and pastures, they did not know how to best utilize it and in what quan...

Rincon Grande Farming Operation F2F volunteer Colehour Bondera recently traveled from his home in Hawaii where he owns and operates a certified organic vegetable farm to complete an assignment in the Central Highlands of Guatemala. Mr. Bondera worked with agribusinesses to clarify the path to organic certification for mixed vegetable and fruit production operations near Antigua and Guatemala City. In addition to field visits and intensive discussions with host leaders, Mr. Bondera led several interactive workshops covering topics related to organic certification, discussions of the differences between “the ideal and the actual” organic plan, distinctions between production and processing, how to change an existing system, and effective planning. His recommendations included increasing the use of worm composting for soil and nutrient enrichment; incorporating trees and/or perennials for crop diversification, shade, nutrient access and/or border protection for overall organic system heal...