How to make compost, compost tea and compost amendments!

Sunday, July 10, 2022

9:30am – 4:30pm

Location: Global Village Farm, 50 Moroney Road, Grafton, MA 01519

Tasting the strawberries he helped plant!

Description: 

Come learn how Global Village Farm’s no-till practices are integral to their mission of building a more resilient community.

Throughout the day we will:  

  • Learn how Global Village Farm’s no-till, cover crop, and community harvest practices are informed by their ancient Mayan/African diasporic agricultural values and practices.
  • Learn how Global Village Farm’s community and educational efforts are complemented and supported by no-till practices.
  • Learn how Global Village Farm went from a meadow/sod field into a raised-bed, no-till system using all human power and hand scale tools.
  • Discuss ways in which these management practices can nurture the soil and prevent and alleviate issues including soil compaction
  • Learn about Global Village Farm’s experiments with tarps, permanent beds, perennial and living cover crop, and intercropping.
  • Learn about compost, vermicompost, biochar, compost tea and extracts and compost amendments mixes!

We will also:

  • Enjoy lunch on the farm and mingle with other farmers. 
  • Learn several methods to assess soil health onsite with simple and inexpensive tools.

Schedule/Agenda:

9: 30 – Arrival and Blessing

10:00 – 12:00pm – Workshop station  1st Block

12:00pm – Lunch Culturally appropriate lunch food provided by Activities at lunch tables for people to mingle

1:00pm – 2:00 Services they can offer NRCS Farm Tour (Jill, team) (2 or 4 teams)

2:00pm – 4:00pm Workshop station 2nd Block

4:00pm Wrap Up & Thank You

Simple agenda for outside:

About Global Village Farm:

Global Village at Tuck Away Farm is a 52 acre farm with a 2.5 garden located in Grafton, MA, working to build a more resilient community through the integration of educational experiences, justice work, and regenerative agriculture. Global Village Farm was founded in 2018 and is a project with the social and spiritual mission based on the ancestral practices of “Buen Vivir”

Informed by many ancient Mayan agriculture practices, Global Village @TAF Farm uses a raised-bed no-till system, integrating cover crops, mulch, intercropping, and other practices that work to sequester carbon back into the soil. In addition, they run a beginner farmer peer program where people are invited to come to the fields and harvest food as they choose. Volunteers who will be helping to present at this NOFA/Mass event: (More info on Volunteers below.)

About the Instructors:

Ulum Pixan – Indigenous mixed Woman (Maya, Xinca, Garifuna, Russian Jew and ladino) Mother and Grandmother, born in Guatemala, Mesoamerica, later moving to the US in 1999. She organized in her country around aboriginal, women’s, language issues and the environment. She continues her work here in the U.S. as Co-Director of Global Village and member owner at both Global Village @ Tuck Away Farm Cooperative and Access Co-op. She is a critical thinker, advocate and activist!. She is co-founder of Indigenous Peoples Network (RI/MA), a collaboration with local indigenous peoples and people all over the northeast, recognizing ancestral struggles and forming unity by sharing resources, technologies and ancestral knowledge. International Liaison of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, Board member of NESAWG (North East Sustainable Agriculture Working Group) and Stone Soup artist and activist collective. Founding member of NEFOC (North East Farmers of Color).

Dania – bio coming soon.

Matt Feinstein is Co-Director of Global Village Farms and is motivated to turn the compost piles weekly when his 2 year old son says “let’s dig and dump with the big green tractor”. He is also the Co-op Clinic Program Manager with the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and loves worker co-op development and movement building.

Jane Olsen – bio coming soon.

Jen Salinetti (she/her) co-owns a regenerative, no-till, biointensive vegetable farm, CSA and education center in the Berkshires. 

She will do an introduction into Systems & Methods of Regenerative Farming Learn the essentials of bed prep in a no-till, permanent bed system for both direct seeded crops and transplants. Dive deeper into our comprehensive system for successive crop production of lettuce to learn how to maximize yields while growing nutrient-dense and beautiful food.

Ruben Parilla (he/him) works as the Soil Tech Coordinator for NOFA/Mass where he is responsible for implementing and performing field sampling protocols. He has 15 years of experience in the Environmental Laboratory industry and is currently pursuing microscopy certification through Dr. Elaine’s™ Soil Food Web School. Ruben believes in the guiding principles of land stewardship and that we all share this responsibility. When he is not actively working the land, Ruben enjoys gathering forest medicine, fermentation and home gardening to name a few. Finalmente, Rubén es bilingüe y quiere saber de usted.

Monique Bosch is trained in landscape design, horticulture and soil biology and she teaches microscopy, composting, and soil health. She operates Wiggle Room, a vermicomposting company with her son Justin. She works as Soil Health Lead for CT NOFA. She co-founded and ran Green Village Initiative, an urban farm and school garden non-profit in Bridgeport, CT. Monique will lead the soil biology presentation and training.

Jill Ferreira was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is a descendant of Portuguese and Italian immigrants. After high school, she studied Deaf Culture studies and American Sign Language at Bristol Community College, and went on to study Anthropology & Psychology at UMass Boston, where her love of multiculturalism and community continued to expand. 

Throughout her life, Jill has worked. Since the age of 15, she has been employed at a diverse range of jobs, many of which involve food and the supply chain. Her passion for food and the work of food has evolved to a deeper desire for an intimate relationship to the land, the source of where our nutrients come from. Her work as an organizer for Global Village Farms is aligned with her values of access and education for food and land. 

Jill and her dog Ralph, are based in Freetown, MA. They spend much time in Providence, RI, where Jill is able to maintain work and connections with the non-profit organizations, Bridge to Hope International, Healing Arrows, Reclaim RI, as well as the Bell Street dog park community. She also spends time in Boston and New Bedford, as she has family and many chosen family members in these cities as well. Currently, Jill works for Equal Exchange, as the payroll administrator, and Education Committee Chair. 


About Volunteers:

Global Village Farm Volunteer program which takes place Sundays in the spring and fall, and runs during the summer as well. Volunteers help with every aspect of the Farm and bring very important energy and enthusiasm to our project, including a big array of social movements.

More Information:

Portions of our farm tour will cover uneven terrain. We want to make sure your accessibility needs are met during the event. Please share with us your needs regarding (but not limited to): physical accessibility, allergies, noise, scent, gender, intellectual accessibility, and any instructions or tips to help you fully participate.

Masks are not currently required at this location. But greatly appreciated and encouraged, also if you don’t feel fully healthy it is ok to stay at home. We will share a quick video followed by an online event.

Refund/Inclement Weather Policy:

For information on our refund and inclement weather policy, click here

Capacity:
Capacity for this event is limited to 50 people. Please remember to abide by current MA state guidelines for group gatherings and travel to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. Register ahead of time to secure your space!


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