for the birds...

The last week of March I had a good friend who works for MCC in Tegucigalpa, Kathy Troyer, come to Santa Rosa to live with me for a week. Kathy has a lot of experience in gardening projects and worm-composting so we invited her to come and share her knowledge with ACDIM's women's groups.

 We planned a whole week of time to prep the training, do a demonstration with me and my coworker, and then visit the 4 community groups to teach them how to create worm composting beds in old tires.




It was a busy busy week with lots to do and lots going on. Kathy and I had quite a time wrestling old tires and trying to turn them inside-out...lets just say, we decided the difference in "space" wasn't worth our time!

Kathy gave us lots of great resources for learning more about worm composting and other gardening techniques. Together we put together a 10 page lesson covering the basics of worm composting, organic fertilizer, what the worms need to produce the organic fertilizer, and how to create a pleasant atmosphere for them in a tire. As we went to each of the women's groups, Kathy took the lead on the training and I was there to back her up and fill in some of the blanks.

After each lesson in "theory" we did a demonstration and left some starter worms in each community.

they were not to sure about touching poop with bare hands, like Kathy does :)

I learned A LOT more than I ever wanted to know about worms in this week and saw the passion Kathy has for her own worms :)  More importantly, I learned how they can really make a difference in the lives of women who care for them and reap the benefits of a nicely fertilized garden plot. Kathy has witnessed the change this kind of project has made in the lives of her friends and neighbors, and we are hopeful the women we work with with get excited about the possibility of family gardens as well.

Oscar...he is one of a kind

What I did not anticipate was having to care for my own crew of worms. The idea is to have a supply  for when women in the groups want more worms...and I thought for sure my co-worker (who purports to be expert in all things related to agriculture) would jump at the chance to take ownership of the worms--boy, was I mistaken!

I now have my own pets, living it up in collected excrement and coffee pulp. Not only did Kathy leave behind her beloved worms, but also a healthy fear of needing to protect them from the elements and predators (even fishermen who want to steal them for their hobby!). It has gotten to the point that I have found myself running around in thunderstorms with flashlight in hand to protect the rain-soaked worm bin from flooding...and wondering "what the heck have I gotten myself into?"

Overall, it was a productive week and a great chance to spend time with Kathy before her time with MCC wraps up this summer. It was good to show her my life here and share a week together, the ups and downs of life at ACDIM, living in a tiny apartment, and sharing some good laughs too.