Mid November update

Greetings Bona Fide friends and supporters. Long time no see. Chris here, I have been away from the farm for 4 weeks and I just arrived back here a week or so ago. BUSY HERE!!

We are gearing up big time here for our 3rd year with our Farm School, the Escuela de Campo. Nevis and I just had a Sunday afternoon meeting. We will be growing a lot of species and varieties that have done well in the past this year, using our saved compost, manures, and more fertile soil due to cover cropping to enhance production. The EDC will undertake a trial of tomato varieties adapted for the tropics and run a number of trials that will employ organic soil conditioning as well as nim seed cake to discourage the persistent soil bacteria that stymies our work with nightshade family plants other than hot chiles. The EDC students will also work in the nursery and with medicinal herbs and will both give and receive workshops in town and at BF. EDC will also undertake individual research projects based on Permaculture, agro-forestry, and market evaluation for sale of BF crops produced.

Finca Bona Fide is loaded (with fruit that is)!!! As you can see in the foto, we have been harvesting ripe and green papaya for fruit and for green papaya salad (YUM). BF chiles and fresh herbs make an excellent green vegetable salad for dinners and lunches. As the papaya season progresses fesh papaya will go down the hill for the children's nutritional program, Cafe Infantil. Featured in the 3rd fotos that shows four fruits (from top left to right clockwise: Araza, Rollinia, Purple passion fruit, and sweet startfruit) What do all these yummies have in common?

Both the araza and the rolllinia are newcrops introductions to the island as part of our food security efforts, the purple passion fruit and sweet 'Kari' starfruit are new varieties introduced to the island from existing species, the passion fruit should have better market appeal whilst the sweet starfruit is superior to the sour ones found on island due to the taste and the lack of need for sugar to make fruit juice from it.

WHAT ARE THOSE KIDS DOING??

The little guys and gals featured in the planting foto are planting live stakes from a spiny cactus like plant in an effort to begin to fence out pigs from our community center in Balgue. The center will be outfitted with a PLAYGROUND this week, so keep your alls eyes open for this upcoming addition to our work. HUGE thanks to Heather, Sarah, and Ken Knorr for helping to fund raise for this project, Heather was also on the ground to organize the materials and labor.
The kids cannot thank you enough!!

The island is SINKING?

Well....No, but we recieved more rain this year than we have in over 2 decades, more than 1992 when Hurricane Mitch dumped over a yard/meter of rain on us in just 3 days. WOW. The lake level is higher than most folks can remember, for those of you who have visited here, the river Balgue, usually a stream about 6-12" or 15 to 30cm in 3 plus feet, a meter DEEP! I have to ride my motorcycle on a new stream crossing upstream to get across. It is wild!


We are excited for the upcoming arrival of both long term volunteers and 3 staff members, one new this year and two returnees.

It is going to be a fine 2008-09.

Best to all,

Chris Shanks
Co-Director Project Bona Fide
Chris@projectbonafide.com