Reflections of my first week here

Wow it has been a week since I have been in Ecuador. Right now I am currently going through my training which will encompass 3 months. This training focuses on safety, training, health and technical. Our group is divided into two group the Natural Resource Conservation and Agriculture. I am in the Agriculture sector and will likely be working in irrigation system design or possibly rain water harvesting since I have a background in water. The way that peace corps works is that you are placed into a poor community and you use your knowledge to aid in the development of the region. You try to focus your project on education or if money is involved make sure that the community has a stake in it. This will guarantee that your community will embrace more of your ideas. It is important that your development not be categorized as welfare. You want to give them the knowledge, leadership and motivation on how they can improve their lives. It can be damaging to a community to simply receive hand outs from an outside government.

The highlight of this week was visiting an organic farm. I had never really been interested in the organic label but after visiting this farm the practices had a deep impact on me. I now now feel that traditional farming has been going in the wrong direction. The farm focused on symbiotic relationships or a relationship between two distinct species that work in unison for their mutual benefit. For example traditional farming focuses on killing all insects regardless of type with chemicals, making the soil richer with the use of chemical fertilizers, and also killing all the weeds. The organic farming practices looked as weeds and insects as a useful tool in the growing of crops. Weeds left next to your crop will serve to put carbon back in to your crops. Trees left on the perimeter of your field will attract birds that will eat insects. Wildflowers near your crops will attract bees and other types of fliying insects that attack larvae on crops. Planting basil on the foot of a tomato plant will ward away many pest. The main focus was on how the most important element in organic farming was keeping the microorganism's happy so they can do the work of breaking down organic matter. It was very basic the happier your microorganism's are the more fertile your soil will be.The importance of microorganism's reminded me of their roll in waste water treatment and how maintaining their health was crucial for effective treatment. Here are some pictures: