Tag Archives: horticultural science

Oaxaca’s Pacific Coast Offers Biodiversity for NC State University Students

Posted on Thursday, June 6, 2019 | Comments Off

After five days around Oaxaca city and into the rural Tlacolula Valley, our group of 13 people boarded the Little Airplane That Could — the 13-passenger AeroTucan, for a 35-minute flight to Puerto Escondido.

Over the next five days we would immerse ourselves in the the bio- and cultural diversity of Oaxaca’s Pacific Coast.

There we would meet meet a mango grower and an organic peanut butter cooperative, participate in an baby sea turtle release of endangered Ridley hatchlings, swim in the bioluminescent Laguna Manialtepec, explore the delicate ecosystem that supports mangrove trees (worldwide mangroves contribute to 30% of the earth’s oxygen), climb seacoast rocks in search of rare murex snails that give up purple shell dye, understand propagation and cultivation of native pre-Hispanic brown, green and cream-colored cotton, delve into genetics and plant hybridization of corn, coconut, and beans at a federal research institute.

Protecting endangered Ridley sea turtles

Rock climbing in search of rare murex sea snail

A highlight of this part of the study abroad experience was the day we spent in Tututepec, the ancient Mixtec capitol, in the mountains overlooking the ocean. From this vantage point, 8-Deer Jaguar Claw, the most famous and powerful Mixtec warrior, ruled a vast territory before the Spanish conquest.

Tututepec murals depict history, ethnic diversity of Oaxaca coast

Luis Adan incorporates murex purple shell dye into traditional cloth

Fresh seafood makes up local diet; the daily catch

After visiting the archeological museum and murals at the cultural center, we went to the home of 27-year-old weaver Luis Adan, who is rescuing the traditions of his people. Luis Adan is researching and reproducing ancient textile patterns using traditional back-strap loom weaving techniques, and native cotton that he grows, cards and spins by hand.

Genetic seed breeding creates a healthier, more productive coconut tree

Luis Adan traveled two hours by bus to Puerto Escondido to take us along the rocky coastline searching the crevices for the allusive caracol purpura. Sustainability, we learn, comes in many forms. Luis Adan milks the snail to extract the purple color, applying the liquid directly to skeins of hand-spun cotton or silk. The snail is then return to the rocks, alive, to regenerate. The purple color is woven as as accent color into local cloth, rare and costly.

Oaxaca native cream, green and coyuchi cotton before it is carded and spun

We ate our fill, just picked, ripe and delicious

At the Mango Orchard: most of the mangoes grown along the hot, humid coast of Oaxaca are organic. Farmers use no insecticides and apply a bio-fertilizer mix of molasses and rice flour. Water from wells is pumped using a microaspersian watering system. Along the coast, farmers plant mango, papaya, peanuts and sesame. Whatever they grow depends on market demand.

Mango farmer Gil, with a bundle of ripe ones; he ships to Puebla and Oaxaca city

Growing papaya takes more of an investment because it requires pesticides. Small scale farmers can’t afford organic certification because it takes four years to get a field certified as organic. Farmer Gil told us he pays field workers 200-300 pesos a day when the Mexican minimum way is 100 pesos a day; he has a hard time finding labor.

Green beans add nitrogen to the soil, a natural fertilizer at the experimental institute

We are planning our 2020 and 2021 programming and want to offer similar study abroad opportunities to universities in the USA. Please contact us if you are interested. norma.schafer@icloud.com

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Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged agriculture, biodiversity, education, horticultural science, Mexico, North Carolina State University, Oaxaca, study abroad, sustainability

NCSU in Oaxaca: At Tierra del Sol Permaculture Farm

Posted on Monday, May 29, 2017 | 12 comments

This week I’m traveling with twelve students, three faculty members and a videographer from North Carolina State University Department of Horticultural Science. It’s a study abroad program that I organized for Professors Ricardo Hernandez and Julieta Sherk.

Go Wolfpack! NCSU students and faculty with Tierra del Sol staff

Many students are from rural North Carolina and have never been to Mexico before. They are studying sustainable agriculture, horticulture, nutrition, business, textiles, agribusiness and landscape design. They will become researchers, educators, managers and practitioners.

Making plaster clay from mud, water, straw

Mexico is our learning laboratory for comparing and contrasting the way food is developed, managed, commercialized and distributed.

At Tierra del Sol, alternative building materials include bottles and clay

A highlight of the week was our visit to Tierra del Sol in San Jeronimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca, in the Tlacolula Valley. We spent the morning on a tour to see small scale farming, sustainable agriculture, organic farming, respect for the land and the cultural history of the Zapotec people. We talked about how education is the primary mission of the farm.

Leticia Hernandez Fabian bakes corn cakes in wood-fired adobe oven for us

It is a demonstration model for young children and families who want to keep the traditional methods of growing and fertilizing vegetables that have a 10,000 year old history here.

New cabins for volunteers constructed with bamboo, waddle and daub

Staff work with residents of the adjacent village of San Jeronimo Tlacochuhuaya who want to learn more about sustainable agriculture/permaculture. They also organize programs in the schools.

Biodiverse pond supports talapia fish and a swimming hole for people

Tierra del Sol has been in existence for about fifteen years, founded by Pablo Ruiz Lavalle. The farm manager is Julio Abimael, who is also a beekeeper.

The organizers are planning an internship program and we discussed the possibility of an exchange program where university students could come to work, study, learn and earn university credit for the experience.

Garlic pesto, fresh from the farm

In addition to eating some yummy, home-baked corn bread that we slathered with garlic pesto made in the farm kitchen, the students had fun making mud plaster and applying it to adobe bricks at the base of the Gaia building, covered with a thatch roof.

We take lunch, squash greens soup with Moises Garcia’s family

Recycling is an essential part of sustainability at Tierra del Sol. Baño seco, the composting toilet, is one feature. Both animal and human waste is used for plant fertilizer. Water is recycled and there is attention to using only what is needed, and then giving it back to the earth.

Carrot crop in the Tierra del Sol garden

We compared large-scale farming methods of agribusiness, complete with chemical fertilizers and irrigation systems, with the small, ten-acre plots of land with non-GMO seeds that indigenous people in Oaxaca depend upon for nutrients.

Overall, it was an excellent day.

Bare feet are the best mixing machine

On the van, ready for the next adventure

Bamboo is a wind break and building material

Professor Ricardo Hernandez reflects on day

Lily pond flower

A long view of Tierra del Sol

Solar panels heat water for personal use.

Our guides at Tierra del Sol

After lunch with Moises Garcia and family–Wolfpack Growl!

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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Travel & Tourism, Workshops and Retreats

Tagged education, horticultural science, Mexico, North Carolina State University, Oaxaca, organic farm, permaculture, study abroad, Tierra del Sol

North Carolina State University Comes to Oaxaca for Study Abroad

Posted on Monday, May 22, 2017 | 8 comments

The Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, is sending a group of sixteen people to Oaxaca to study organic agriculture, permaculture, indigenous farming techniques, and methods of converting native plants to dye materials, food and beverage. The group includes students, faculty members and a videographer who will document the week-long program.

They arrive tonight!

Sunset at Mazunte, Oaxaca, Mexico

I’ve organized a full week of activities for them that starts with an understanding of Zapotec history and culture as a foundation for our time together. We will explore the archeological site of Monte Alban with a knowledgable local guide that includes a discussion of social and political organization, food cultivation and sourcing, and farming.

Monte Alban archeological site

We will visit Tierra del Sol in San Jeronimo Tlacochahuaya, have lunch in the home of a local family who farms the land, visit a mezcal palenque to see how agave is cultivated and made into mezcal, and stop at the home of a Teotitlan del Valle weaver who works only in natural dyes.

Corn was first hybridized in Mexico about 8,000 years ago. Remnants, discovered with DNA testing, were found in the caves at Yagul, about five miles from where I live in the Tlacolula Valley. It is one of the most beautiful sites in the region.

Shucking dried corn kernels for planting in the milpas

Then, we fly to Puerto Escondido in that teeny-weeny airplane run by AeroTucan to visit an organic coffee farm, explore the marine biology of the region and tour the Mexican National Turtle Sanctuary in Mazunte where wildlife preservation takes priority. We have plans to meet with the local university to learn more about Mexico’s commitment to doing things naturally.

I’ll be writing about the study abroad program this week. I hope you’ll follow us.