Humanity is catching on! Check out these videos of LARGE SCALE Ecosystem Restoration Projects in many countries–all using simple methods of shaping the earth to capture rainwater so it can sink into the Earth! For those taking the workshop, we ask that you see all of these videos.

Our Vida Verde video is a good introduction to Rainwater Penetration & Diversion techniques.168k views. The next year, came this video, after the  San Jose Fire, shows how beneficial this method is to stabilize terrain when the risk is high because the fire leaves the mountain bare.(El Mirador project)

But much more WOW! is this scene in India: Complete recovery from all the water problems of 4,000 villages which had been dependent on tanker trucks for ALL water, even drinking water. Now, agriculture, including livestock is abundant! And these methods are gaining influence fast!

In China:  The Loess Plateau project converted hyper-arid, hyper-erosion damaged land the size of the France into lush farmland.

Even more extreme, this project in Saudi Arabia restored the ecology of  grazing land after a 31 month drought without rain!!!!

Flood Prevention. Under incredible pressure, with such a massive volume of rain, 440mm (17.3 inches in 24 hours!) Yet Geoff Lawton, a global leader in Permaculture and his Zaytun Farm stood up strong with minimal damage. Lawton remarks “That’s what we can do with good design. We CAN pacify water, even in extreme events.”

Footage during the flood: An extreme event!

The next day at Zaytuna Farm, slightly upland from the flood, very little damage!

Absolutely stunning !!

Community projects for Water Retention Landscaping and Agro-forestry are proliferating across the globe like crazy! Visit these links!

Every year for the last 4 years, the Yupaichani Network plants trees on the hills surrounding Vilcabamba, which helps increase biodiversity; stabilize slope; stabilize climate; bring more rain, improve soil fertility, structure and moisture retention.  

YOU CAN HELP!  There are many ways to contribute! Here are our plans for the upcoming Reforestation & Agroforestry season–starting now!  

Free Agro-Forestry workshops: planning and installing Water Retention Landscaping for mixed plantings of 1) Forest Trees 2) Family Nutrition 3) Cash Crop.
Dates:

Dec 17, 2 to 5 pm, at the farm of Andrea Guay, location: first drive below Piedra Dura Spa on Mollepamba Road. Christmas party to follow!

Jan 12 Location: Finca Vida Verde, 9-12:00 am For directions, see www.vidaverde.info/contact
Bring work shoes, sunhat, digging tools if you have them.

OUR PRIORITY #1: Agro-Forestry on Private Properties! If you own, OR rent!

Plan & implement. Are there areas on your land that are appropriate for Agro-Forestry?  If you rent, the owner may be interested in having trees planted. What a great contribution to the health of our ecosystem!  We help with trees, with planning, we may be able to help with planting. Call your friends and families! Join the global movement for ecosystem restoration!

— Do you LOVE getting out in NATURE? And planting trees? 

We will have Tree Planting mingas (community work parties) once per month. during January & February. Location to be provided, according to interest demonstrated. Where would you like us to organize a minga?

3 Dates: January 8, January 21, February 4
8:00 am meet at the Bus Terminal return to Terminal by 2:00

Only if it has been raining! Call to check on change of plans.

bring: water, lunch, tools if you have them.

Register with us so we can organize transportation!
Call Zia 098 0988 7085 or Andrea 099 477 9410

— December. Visit the ECO-EDU-ARTE en el PARQUE

 This will be an art-walk display, including an exposition of the Eco-Art Contest from our Summer Eco CluThis flyer is the winner! The artist is Naomi Avilés. Thank you for the inspiration Naomi!!

— Is your strength in logistics, planning or publicity? We can use your help! 

— Our team is aligning with  www.tma.earth as our model and mentor. Check it out!

—  Be a $$$ Contributor!!! Help make it happen! Make a direct deposit in the Yupaichani Network CACPE Credit Union account. OR deposit to our U.S. based non-profit. Or, our Patreon account.

For more information,
Contact: Andrea 099 4777 9410

andrealamariposa@gmail.com

Savvy strategies for flourishing Sovereignty, Community Interdependence & Survival  ASAP!
2021 – 2022

PRE-PDC (PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE) WORKSHOPS

Pre-PDC workshops: register by writing ziaparker@zoho.com or Facebook, Zia Parker, or

calling 098 988 7085

Jan 13, 9-12:00 AM: Beginners Basic Gardening: planting seeds, plant & weed I.d., caring for nursery, transplanting, mulching, soil fertility basics. $20.

12-1:00 Roshni’s Gourmet Fresh from the Garden (mostly) Lunch, additional $4.

1:00-4:00 PM: Gardening in Vilca. what is different about gardening here? What grows well? When to plant what? The best natural pest formulas. Planting with the Moon. Also, growing for Nutrition; and for more than survival—for abundance in these times. Learn how to grow the traditional staples of the region such as yucca, camote, zanahoria blanca (a parsnip), achira, papa China (tarot). These are delicious easy to grow sources of carbohydrates which make wonderful stews and curries. Guidelines for regenerating soil fertility. $20.

Jan 20, 9-12 AM : Seed Saving;: planting, recognizing when to harvest; methods for cleaning seed, storing. This is a big topic! Today will be Introductory!! $20.

12-1:00 Roshni’s Gourmet Fresh from the Garden (mostly) Lunch, additional $4.

1-4PM: Medicinal Herbs: Zia will walk us through her gardens to sniff and taste, tell stories and learn medicinal properties. Then make some herbal preparations. I am a big fan of very diverse morning green drinks, with 20 or more different herbs from the gardens. $20.

Jan 27, 9-12: TOUR Mushroom Farm of Talbot Walker. The local mushroom growing STAR!, Talbot, will show us his incredible operation and what it takes to keep coming up with those fabulous Shitakes, Oysters, Shaggy Manes and all. This is EYE Opening!

Tree Planting Mingas

AGROFORESTRY and Earthworks for Rainwater Penetration
3 barrios in 3 weeks. Observations, Design and beginning implementation.
November 6, 11, 18

(Click to see videoENGLISH:
1. Rainwater Catchment for Reforestation & Increased Production ..

(Click to see video)
3) Sediment tanks recycle nutrients and water at Vida Verde

TO REGISTER: send name, phone, email to
ziaparker@ zoho.com OR
Facebook or Telegram:
Zia Parker

For Directions, see: www.vidaverde.info/contact

About the primary presenter, Zia Parker: My aim is to advance agroforestry in the Vilcabamba Community through conversation, sharing perspectives from newcomers and “experts” alike to arrive at a rich mix of solutions through community creativity. For more information about my background, see my Curricula Vitae .

This AGROFORESTRY WORKSHOP SERIES will provide a deeper dive into the topic and also help advance the goal of reforestation for Vilcabamba Valley. Given that we are a grass-roots project, seeking funding, we need to develop according to where the human interest and energy arises. The three barrios we are visiting all have expressed interest in agroforestry and have taken steps toward planning and planting. The workshop will provide the opportunity for me, Zia, to share my experience with agroforestry (and see the videos above) and my design skills with the barrio groups as well as the workshop participants. Discussing design options will allow the expertise within the group of participants to be included in a group-design process. This is a key teaching method in our Permaculture Design Course. This is the best! We will take the three barrios one step closer to their goal, and also increase interest in this goal of reforestation for the valley.

Day 1, San Jose Barrio November 6 at our farm, Finca Vida Verde We will begin with an information-dense presentation for 90 minutes. We will look at WHY? and WHERE are we at, both globally, nationally and locally. I will present appropriate methods for reforestation for local conditions, and show examples of how rainwater penetration methods have had incredible results in many parts of the world. We will brainstorm strategy & keypoints for the goal of reforestation for Vilcabamba Valley.

We will tour our farm, the small-scale model of agroforestry for the Yupaichani Network, and discuss strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats of this model.

Following lunch, we will transfer to El Mirador, the 17 hectare mid-scale model that is up the mountain from us. The owner of this land is a hero for investing in having 800 m. of contour canals dug, and lined with vetiver grass to create rain catchment of very steep and severely eroded slopes. The #2 video above features the El Mirador property when the 800 trees we planted there had one year of growth. Now we will see how they are at the beginning of their 4th year.

Logistics: 1) For transport from town, meet at the Park Taxi Stand at 8:30 am and share taxis up. Ask for Finca de Zia & Roshni, on the lower entrance, 2nd entrance on the left at the Potable Water Tank road spur. 2) For the visit to the El Mirador property after lunch, some can hike, others can take taxi’s. It would work for people to walk if they want to cut their lunch time a little short, and start walking up. It is about a 25 minute walk, accessible directly above us on the Ridge Trail, now a 4 x 4 road.
To Bring: notebook & pen, water, hat, perhaps a snack, work clothes and a tool such as barreta (digging bar) or hand shovel OR willingness to do light-weight work such as plant seeds, or carry small seedlings.

Day2, Tumianuma Barrio, November 11 This barrio has a quite beautiful and productive community garden. When we visited them during the heighth of the COVID crisis, representing the Ccouncil for Community Collaboration, they responded quickly and extensively with community organizing for the benefit of all.

Currently, they are organizing to receive an additional half-hectare of land from the Municipio to increase their community garden. Uphill from the garden is designated for our agroforestry intervention. Introducing native forest trees there will be a benefit for their garden by helping to sink rainwater into the groundwater, providing nutrient rich organic matter, forage and medicines, and bringing water in the form of condensation on leaves. Our workshop participants will work together with the Tumianuma garden group to further our observations, consider the best options for water catchment structures, mark them and hopefully, there will be time for beginning implementation.

The Tumianuma garden group will serve us lunch.
To Bring: notebook & pen, water, hat, perhaps a snack, work clothes and a tool such as barreta (digging bar) or hand shovel OR willingness to do light-weight work such as plant seeds, or carry small seedlings.

Logistics: Tumianuma is approximately 40 minute taxi ride from the Vilcabamba bus terminal, and also is accessible by bus. We will begin the workshop at 9:00 am in Tumianuma. We will coordinate taxi-share and bus transport of those registered for the workshop.

Day 3, San Pedro Barrio, November 18 San Pedro barrio has been organizing around water concerns for years. Our workshop group will bring skills in observation, principles of water retention landscaping and some muscle and sweat to the picture. Our work will focus primarily on the GuamanLapo property, already a good model of agroforestry. We will discuss plans for an adjacent private property and a communally owned property. All were hit by a devastating fire there last fall, and the efforts to date to help the land heal are impressive. We will contribute with critical thinking backed with agroforestry principles, designing priorities given the available resources, and provide some physical labor also!

Lunch will be served.

Logistics: meet at the Central Park taxi stand at 8:30 on November 18 to share taxis to the site.
To Bring: notebook & pen, water, hat, perhaps a snack, work clothes and a tool such as a barreta (digging bar) or hand shovel. If physical work is not right for you, there is also light-weight work such as planting seeds, or carry small seedlings. The work portion of the day will be approximately 25-30%, taking design into implementation.

Workshop: Permaculture Essentials in 3 days!

This is a 3 day workshop tailored to your community, providing an overview of skills to advance sovereignty fast!
Theory with multi-media presentations, 3 evenings
Practice with hands-on experience, 3 days
Locations given upon registration.

Part One, Building Soil Fertility:  soil structure, nutrient density, microbial abundance & balance, keeping fertility up. Composting options, no-till options. Compost teas, biobrews, biols. Pro’s and Con’s of Aerobic <>non-aerobic organic fertilizers.

Day Two, Water: water retention landscaping, keyline & swales (planning priorities, low-cost tools for measuring contour), creating microclimates for increased biodiversity, roof capture & storage; safe grey-water reuse; dry toilets for preventing ground-water contamination.

Part Three, Integrated Design: home, farm or garden and community: Visioning & assessment tools. What is the potential? What is realistic? what is optimal?—for my needs? for the needs of the community?  Recognizing Zones & Outside Influences (Vectors),  where to begin, how to prioritize.

Theory and Practice will be presented, aiming for a balance of both. This information will be modified according to the interests and questions of the group. Please communicate your preferences. For some of these topics, we could spend several days. We will focus on the most practical aspects for local self-reliance.  References will be given for a deeper dive into the topic.

Presented by Zia Parker and Roshni McEldowney of Finca Vida Verde, Vilcabamba, Loja Province, Ecuador.

Bios: Zia Parker is the primary teacher. Her Permaculture experience includes homesteading in British Columbia, Canada in the 70’s, directing an agro-forestry project in Equatorial Guinea, W. Africa in the 80’s, teaching on the indigenous Navajo and Arapaho reservations in the 90’s. Since 1990, she has been teaching the Permaculture Certificate Course. In the last 7 years, has been coordinating a team of teachers for the PDC in Vilcabamba at Finca Vida Verde.

Roshni McEldowney. After practicing organic fruit farming in Hawaii in the 70s, he was drawn to 18 months of studying biodynamic agriculture at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento, CA followed by 35 years of practice. Deepening his study of Rudolf Steiner’s works with the 5 year movement studies training, “Spatial Dynamics” then becoming a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher, Roshni continues to study Steiner’s works. His life has been a consistent stewarding of landscapes, gardens and children to help them develop in a good way. Roshni is a dancer, a spiritual seeker, a storyteller and masterful catalyst of the imagination.

Both Zia and Roshni have twin careers in regenerative agriculture and movement therapy. They guide groups to connect with their senses to the surrounding environment, amplifying observation skills exponentially.  To see what they have been up to since transplanting themselves in Vilcabamba, Ecuador in 2013, see www.vidaverde.info under “Offerings” and “Projects”. 

If there are questions, contact Zia at ziaparker-zoho.com (for security reasons, replace dash – with @ for email address) , Facebook: Zia Parker, Telegram, EC Cell 098 988 7085 (Whatsap works only sporadically)

TO ARRANGE FOR THIS OFFERING IN YOUR COMMUNITY, and for questions, Contact Zia at ziaparker-zoho.com (for security reasons, replace dash – with @ for email address), Telegram, EC Cell 098 988 7085
Cost: $120.

50% will hold your place, payable by Paypal (ziaparker@yahoo.com) or Bank Transfer. To make this financially accessible for all, some trades are available, contact Zia and we will send you an application. Please apply only if this support is really needed. If you want to participate in only one or two days, please speak to Zia.

If you are interested in this class, please watch these three videos. The first two are part of our response to the COVID phenomena. We are focusing on supporting regenerative lifestyles and raising helping communities raise their index of sustainability. The third video on Rainwater Management for increased yield & reforestation has over 150,000 views.:

Community Collaboration Council, Vilcabamba

Community Collaboration Council, Barter Fair, January, 2021

Vida Verde Rainwater Retention video