ECOLOGÍA Y POBLACIÓN/EL MEZQUITE:
News from Our International Partner for Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean The following is excerpted from a report sent to us about ECOPOL/El Mezquite's activities from December 2024- April 2025. Ecología y Población (ECOPOL) was founded by Juan Manuel Martínez in 1992. Through his tireless efforts over 30+ years, millions of people throughout Mexico, Latin America, and Europe are using GB, and hundreds of have been certified as GB Teachers through ECOPOL's training network. This month ECOPOL launched two new websites: biointensivistas.com connecting the Spanish-language Biointensive Community, with access to experiences, publications, workshops, and multimedia resources; and escuelabiointensiva.com, their Online Biointensive School, with Spanish-language GB education. This extraordinary account is an example of what we commonly receive from this amazing organization. Juan Manuel's reports paint a vivid picture of the successes and challenges inherent in working across a huge geographic area, with different climates, cultures and languages, at a time when many places are experiencing unrest. We honor this important and often dangerous work, forging new ties and strengthening existing connections within the growing GB network.
For some time now, I've used the phrase "productive generational change" when, in the workshops I teach and with certified teachers, I ask them to pay special attention to passing on information to children and young people. Now, as I approach my 81st birthday, this phrase takes on a new meaning. I apply it to myself and am working to benefit the dissemination of GB in the countries where we operate. During recent trips Marisol and Agustín [co-founders of NGO El Mezquite, which merged with ECOPOL in 2019 – read their report on page 12 of this issue] have joined me. I've already introduced them as my successors and am "training" them to teach not only the philosophical and technical aspects of GB, but also humility and empathy for the personal circumstances of the participants, which are equally important. In the first quarter of 2025, we traveled to Honduras and Panama with the intention to consolidate the relay in all Central American and European countries this year and next. Below, I summarize the situation: In Guatemala: GB practitioner Kumiko Tsui Tsui doing a spectacular job. In the Dominican Republic, we held workshops in La Vega and Jarabacoa. The first included the best technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture and producers who pledged to disseminate GB throughout the country. The second was diverse, with professors and students from a university, officials from the Ministry of the Environment, producers, and people interested in learning to grow their own food. We are discussing the possibility of holding a workshop later this year with the Association of Former Japanese Scholarship Recipients in the DR; logistics and costs are being analyzed. Kumiko will serve as translator, and Isidro Alejo will liaise with the Japanese community selected as the venue. We gave six workshops in Honduras, including one for 31 technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture who are responsible for propagating the knowledge, experiences, and techniques we share throughout the country. There are already 20 GB teacher certification candidates from this event. A certification workshop (requiring participants have at least three GB beds in production) is tentatively scheduled for September. Nicaragua: After Mexico, this country has the most certified GB teachers and GB Sustainability Centers. Their ongoing work and perseverance are an example for neighboring countries. : We held a workshop in Chiriquí, with 18 participants in which organic farming association members decided to work towards teacher certification and establish a GB Sustainability Center. More than 30 people initially registered, but workshop organizers forgot that a famous fair was being held a nearby on the same dates. One of the participants, Dexiana, an empowered, generous, and compassionate woman, expressed regret over the low attendance and offered to organize another workshop this year with at least 45 participants. She and Geovani Ostia will carefully select them with the intent of organizing a teacher certification workshop later. Given the quality and scope of participants, both the Panama and Honduras workshops included a specialized module on soil and water quality using a potentiometer and participant soil samples. They were given instructions on how to improve their soil and thus do the same with water quality. The activity was so successful that the organizers committed to acquiring this tool for the participants. Costa Rica: although it has potential and progress, trendy organic farming methods are distracting them. We will visit in the coming months to try to revive their interest in GB. El Salvador: The only country in Central America where we cannot work right now, as the government is focused on controlling violence. I met with officials there in 2024 to suggest some of the ~70,000 people in their prisons be trained to produce their own food, as this represents a burden on their treasury. At first, they liked the idea, but a month ago they said they do not dare allow prisoners access to tools, as they do not even provide them with cutlery to eat. In South America: Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay pose no risk. In addition to Marisol and Agustín, there is a large group of certified teachers and outstanding Biointensivists working very well every day in their fields. But in other areas, the situation is complicated. Workshops are on hold in Bolivia (internal conflicts) and Ecuador (relations with Mexico are suspended); Colombia and Peru are experiencing violence; flights are sporadic and expensive to Venezuela; Argentina is very volatile, and Chile is immersed in political problems. So, we are postponing trips to the region. Instead, we will try to visit European countries in 2025-2026, but again, external factors have their influence: our partners have suggested that, due financial turmoil and cost volatility, we schedule events for the fall to allow time for costs to stabilize. All the above does not mean that I am abandoning what I have done over the past few years. I still feel a sense of responsibility, and it is a very satisfying job that allows me to learn about other cultures, make friends, and connect with good people. I try to carefully select participants for my workshops, ensuring that:
I confess that traveling tires me out, but the fatigue disappears when I am in front of groups. Then my energy is the same as always. I still enjoy demonstrating the double digging, fertilizing and transplanting the beds, and showing the way to new friends. I have strongly incorporated the health component into the workshops I teach currently. Given that chronic degenerative diseases are becoming pandemic-like, I have found that all participants are very interested in this topic. Afterward, we discuss GB as an alternative to breaking the vicious cycle of ill health caused by ultra-processed foods. (I suggest reading the books: Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself and Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food). Turning to our work in Mexico, for three years, two Zapatista communities in Chiapas (Frontera Comalapa and San Andrés Larrainzar) requested workshops but postponed several times due to the dominance of organized crime (cartels). In the first community, we moved participants and the workshop to a nearby town for safety. On the first day we had ~40 participants, but on the second, they were prohibited by the cartel from attending, and no one showed up. However, despite the criminals' siege on this community, a group organized to support those who have or want GB gardens, and so help them survive food shortages/price hikes. In the second (an emblematic community where agreements to end the Zapatista war were signed) we had 25 participants, almost all indigenous, without incident, participatory and enthusiastic. But the temperatures reached almost 45°C (113°F) during the event, so we had to adjust our practice schedules. As heatwaves have become widespread throughout the country, we are limiting hands-on workshops during the summer and work online with the Escuela Biointensiva website, Learning Circles, and conferences instead. In the first quarter of 2025, nine GB teachers were certified, bringing the total to 204 certified across our network. Thirty-eight (35 domestic, and 5 international) are in the certification process, with Learning Circles I and II. Our work continues. Grow Hope Grow Abundance Grow Biointensive! ♥ top | Newsletter Home |Table of Contents| Archive
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