Pan-American Organic Agriculture Conference

The Face-Off
The audience trembled, teeth chattering, as the white-bearded master beckoned to his first volunteer, a towering giant of a man, to approach him. The two squared off, heads down, shoulder to shoulder. "With all your strength, rooted in your feet, push me over," he instructed. No, this was not the Hokkaido jujitsu championship, but the first pan-Latin American workshop by Ecology Action (EA), promoting their GrowBioIntensive (GBI) method for producing massive amounts of food in little space. Soon enough the congas, saxophones and accordions would emerge, and with them the improbable hip movements of wacky Dominicans. But for now the group huddled in the cold rain of Costa Rica's highlands looked on expectantly as John Jeavons, master grower and EA director, explained the need to correctly distribute weight when double-digging by the GBI method. Jeavons' humorous and informative presentation style managed to captivate the frigid masses before going inside for a locally-grown cup of coffee.

Whodunnit?
Held at IICA, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, a neighboring labor union conference center, and at several small farms and schools throughout the region, the event was coordinated by Juan Manuel Martínez, director of Mexican nonprofit ECOPOL (Ecology and Population). The workshop goal was to train teachers of the Grow Biointensive method, continuing an ECOPOL project began in Mexico, with an eye to eventually establishing a GBI training center in each country. Martínez will follow up with site visits to each new center, providing specialized instruction and consulting for launching new projects.

Jack Perella, Costa Rica organic agriculture promoter, ran the show on the ground, distributing seeds, tools, composting materials and coffeebreak pastries to demonstration sites and directing the fleet of minibuses which whisked us away to hands-on sites at schools, backyard mini-farms, and community centers. Costa Rica holds the world record for most minibuses per-capita.

The Message and the Method
The event was formally inaugurated by men in suits: the Costa Rican Minister of Agriculture, ambassadors from several countries, and IICA functionaries graciously welcomed Jeavons. Taking the podium in a wide-brimmed straw hat, jeans and a sport coat, Jeavons meticulously made his case for the EA sustainable mini-farm model, and held the rapt attention of an audience dressed in plaid work shirts, jeans, skirts, and nylon windbreakers. For the past 30+ years, EA has been devoted to the investigation of the following question: "What is the smallest area of land that one person needs in order to grow food for him or herself?" Jeavons' erstwhile answer: It depends on your climate, soil, and varieties. One thing is clear: a vegetarian diet is key to small land area, as the production of meat requires six times as much land to produce the same amount of calories and nutrients. Even fertility inputs of animal manure drastically increases the necessary land area, for which reason EA promotes a strong regimen of cultivating crops for compost, chopping them down before bearing season. Jeavons continued throughout the week to detail the intricacies of his system, touching on the issues of compost, variety selection, diet planning, transplanting, companion planting, and more.

What crops could you grow to support yourself, post-apocalypse? It depends on your climate, but prospects look good for corn and potatoes, as well as 45-day hardy Japanese millet. However, you'd better start building your soil fertility now if you want to grow it all in your backyard. More information is available on the EA website. The hands-on projects were no less groovy. At one school in a disadvantaged part of town where a team of Uruguayan horticulturalists did their hands-on practicum, high school students and teachers became so excited about the project that they launched a Growing program then and there, tearing up a neglected corner of the schoolyard and installing ten beds. The crops they grow will be integrated into the cafeteria program, which provides breakfasts and lunches to needy primary schoolers. At the end of the week, the students awarded certificates of honor to the visiting conferencees, who actually skipped a few lectures in order to fully train the schoolteachers.

Mosaics and Contrasts
A truly inspiring event it was, beyond just the fresh starfruit and passionfruit juice in the cafeteria cooler every day. With over 50 Costa Ricans participating, as well as 50 foreign representatives selected from every Latin American country as well as the United States, Canada, and Europe, the event drew an international all-star cast of leaders in organic agriculture. Many among the group coordinate large-scale projects. After all-day theory and practice sessions with Ecology Action presenters, the organizers crammed us back into the hall for an evening of powerpoint presentations by foreign participants, often lasting past ten at night. These presentations, however, were impressive across the board, detailing high-caliber community horticulture projects throughout the Americas which have faced severe challenges and succeeded, in many cases triumphantly.

"For me, one of the most striking aspects of the conference was the absence of egos." said participant Anja Lyngbaeck, of Las Cañadas, Veracruz, Mexico. "There was not one presentation in which anyone gave the impression 'Look at me, my project is so great,' even though these projects are incredible. And I think it was that Jeavons set the tone for being humble from the beginning, and everyone has been just dedicated to learning and sharing with each other."

Among the especially notable projects was that of Mercedes Torres of Ecuador, whose organization promotes community gardens along the border with Colombia's red zone. Her garden beds constantly trampled by one suspicious side or another, she delivered a heartfelt announcement of her decision to continue working, after a long period of doubt. Urbelinda Ferrufino of Bolivia, whose promotion of native mellipinous stingerless bees and community agroforestry had participants abuzz, was another star performer. Uruguayan phenom Pablo Machado wowed the assembled growers with a video of his Didactic Nursery on the outskirts of Montevideo. Pablo's family business educates customers about their new plants and the natural world through a series of interpretative centers, classes, and promenades throughout the plant nursery. Clients often show up just to spend a relaxing weekend afternoon on the grounds, in a green and educational atmosphere. And throughout the event, a palpable human warmth and impeccable Costa Rican hospitality provided a relaxing backdrop for long days of work and study.

It was also a cornucopia of accents and dialects. After one Dominican agronomist's presentation, Jeremias, his Panamanian counterpart, turned to the table of Spanish-English interpreters: "Did you catch any of that? I didn't understand a single word." he said. During what little free time was available, a major leisure activity was listening to each others' particular and local brand of Spanish: the melodic, idiomatic Mexicans, the precise Colombians, the preposterous Argentinian, the incomprehensible (but high-spirited) Dominicans. English-speakers were fewer but no less diverse: a group of college students from Long Island University, a Northern Irish man from Harlem, and representatives from a Mayan indigenous cacao-producing cooperative in Belize. Chatting informally, often until late into the night, groups formed and re-formed, discussing climates and varieties, planting and pest management strategies. It was a little slice of heaven for this ethnobotanical lexicographer.*

Ripples
In a nutshell, the workshop success might be summed up with the following quote, heard in many variations and accents: "I'm going back to (Name of Latin American country here) to teach (30, 300, 3,000) people how to apply these techniques for growing more food locally and sustainably." Not bad, humble masters.

Many of these organizations accept international volunteers. Check back at this site for a list of contacts, or strike out on your own.

*Ethnobotanical Lexicographer: Fancy-schmancy way of describing someone who studies the various names of useful plants.