New Feature Added to the Home Farm Program
We’re excited to add Lombricultura, or vermiculture, to the permaculture and regenerative methods we share with participating rural Guatemalan families. This addition was announced at our April 27th Field Day -- Dia de Campo -- at the home of don Jacinto and doña Herminia in the village of Lolemi.
Nearly 100 local families and assorted invited guests listened to members of the Seeds Field Team talk about important Home Farm topics such as the nutrients of various plants, soil preparation, nutritional needs at various times of life, and caring for chickens and rabbits. There were also informative tours of don Jacinto’s fantastic garden.
The featured event was a demonstration of Lombricultura, a self-sustaining system that uses the Red Californian worm (Eisenia Fetida). Lombriculture is particularly exciting because it turns kitchen waste into rich fertilizer and a high-protein food for chickens, and it’s very affordable.
Here’s how lombricultura works: a modest number of the worms are placed in a large tub or bin with an ample supply of organic material, such as kitchen waste. In Chocolá, hulls from the local coffee harvest might also be used. The worms eat the organic material and produce nutrient-rich fertilizer in both liquid and compost form, all the while happily breeding and increasing in number.
When too many worms crowd the bin, the extras are moved to the chicken coop as a low-cost, high-protein food for the family’s chickens. The remainder go back to work as before.
The family’s responsibilities with lombricultura are also pretty uncomplicated:
- make sure the worms have enough food and keep it sufficiently moist.
- harvest the rich fertilizers
- shift the extra worms to the chicken pen,
and, of course,
- use the fertilizers to improve the soil and productivity of their nutrition garden!
Each family attending the Dia de Campo received a “starter batch” of Red Californian worms, and during upcoming weekly home visits, our Extensionists will help families make sure their lombricultura process is going well.
With the help of participating families and doña Herminia, a delicious lunch made with fresh produce from participants’ home gardens was enjoyed by everyone at the Dia de Campo/
Judging by conversations heard during lunch, we anticipate some of the families will join together as a micro-business, to produce lombricompost for sale to others in the community.
It’s a great pleasure to add the affordable, environmentally sound, and highly beneficial lombricultura process to the Seeds for a Future Home Farm program!