GLOBAL NEWS
Venezuela
Centro Madre’s Innovation Highlighted at the Agricultural University of Higuerote
Rector Geronimo Sanchez of the University Argelya Laya of Higuerote requested the staff of the Centro Madre Master Unit to present appropriate sustainable agriculture techniques at the Science and Technology Regional Fair from September 23 to 25. Three displays demonstrated hydroponics, the production of spirulina and guava tree seedlings. Dada Atmapranananda, Didi Ananda Sadhana, Mario Mota, Homero Mendoza, Sélène Viallard and Oscar Brito were present to explain and answer questions – about 20000 people visited their stand over the three days.
The first display showed hydroponics, with fish giving the necessary nutrients to plants. The fish defecate in the water, fertilizing it, then the water is pumped up into two containers that are automatically emptied every 10 minutes with a simple inter-tubing system. The fertilized water is passed down PVC pipes where there are plants growing, and into a container with floating styrofoam, then into another container of clay pebbles. After that the clean, oxygenated water goes back to the fish to continue the feeding cycle.
The second display showed the production of spirulina (arthrospira), a sweet water algae that was a food source for the Aztecs. This super food floats freely in warm water that is very alkaline. A normal-sized aquarium tank can produce enough to feed a family of four. Spirulina make their own food, but they need the following mix of nutrients to thrive: baking soda, potassium nitrate, sea salt, potassium phosphate and iron sulphate.
The final display showed Centro Madre’s automatic computerized watering system and the production of guava tree seedlings using young branches pruned from fruit-bearing trees for larger productivity. The cycle from transplanting the branches into bags of soil in the nursery, until they are hardy enough to transplant, takes about six months; more than 30,000 seedlings have already been sold at Centro Madre.
Large banners were displayed in front of the University of Higuerote addressing the holistic development of Barlovento Region. One of these explained the goals of grassroots “block level planning”: 1) to produce all the food needed by the population, 2) to process natural resources locally for economic self-reliance, 3) to create jobs for everyone, 4) to improve the standard of living and quality of life.
NAIROBI SECTOR
Kasoa, Ghana
Since 2005 we have the dreamt of starting a neohumanist school on our land in Kasoa, Ghana. In 2012 Didi Shivapriya organized Korean members of Ananda Marga in materializing a charity lunch to raise money so we could clean and dig the area. Due to lack of further funds the project didn’t progress until now when Mohamukta and teacher Rutger Tamminga came forward organizing fundraising with their sympathizers in Asia. With their kind help we could at least start a classroom so we can have classes and library activities with the community. We hope be able to gather enough funds to complete this project soon. It will help more children in Africa to get access to quality primary education, as well get teachers trained in Neohumanist Education and provide a place for people to come and learn about the healthy lifestyle and practices associated with the neohumanist approach. If you are inspired to help the project move forward please contact me at . Any contribution is great, indeed help is still much needed!