Rio Hondo: Old Time Farming

In the days of Old MacDonald, farmers raised pigs and chickens, oats and beans. Industrialized agriculture has steadily eroded the family farm that flourishes with a bit-of-everything. In the coffee-growing region of Colombia, there are now smart, small-land holders who are practicing varied agriculture, interspersing the rows with orange and banana trees. They also raise a variety of other fruits, vegetables and flowers and take great care of their livestock. Also pictured is a bio-gas bladder that takes advantage of the pig-poop and shaded ponds for tilapia farming. The women produce delicious "panela", an unprocessed sweetener from sugarcane. Overnight visits are welcomed and free-range eggs are served for breakfast. 

Farmers can sell their produce directly to customers of the outskirts of the cities, receiving 100% of the profit. The in-city marketeers are resisting direct sales as it threatens their profit margins, but even this may change before long.

Nashira, women's eco-village

A half-hour north of Cali, Colombia, in the agricultural village of El Bolo, a sizeable group of women have been laboring for 6 years to create an eco-village on the grounds of a former finca. It's a "sweat-equity" project for single Moms whose great dream is to own their own home. The project was initiated by Angela Dolmetsch de Cuevas, a local lawyer and activist who also started ASOMUCAF,  a non-profit that helps women within Cali. ASOMUCAF offers a store where they sell lovely handmade art papers from recycled materials.

During 2009 and 2010 I was invited to participate at Nashira under the auspices of a sub-project, La Vida es Teatro, directed by Veronica Wiman, an independent curator from Sweden, who now makes her home in Cali. An ardent champion of women's rights, Veronica invites various artists, designers and architects to contribute to the childrens' area at Nashira. In 2009 we were able to design and finance the construction of a play structure that gives the children a wonderful, shaded and elevated "place of their own". It is made from guadua, the local timber bamboo, an economical and entirely ecological material. Eco-Bamboo in La Candelaria was a tremendous resource, lending tools and expertise to the project. 

In 2010 we had less funding and a more modest goal: to make an educational garden in the field next to the play structure. We created a small garden in the shape of a butterfly and planted it with a wide variety of perennials that should attract even more insects. The plants were provided by Plantas Selectas, the compost came from Nashira's quail pens, and the border was made from locally felled eucalyptus trucks. With care, more rain and luck (always), there should be a lovely garden next year so the children can study, write and draw the phases in butterfly growth.

Water Issues

Water Recycling

A model treatment plant at Recinto del Pensamiento outside Manizales takes all the graywater from the facility and passes it through a series of filtering and oxygenation ponds. This multi-use eco-park was created by the region's large coffee growers and is a showplace for herbal plantings, butterflies, bonsai, bamboo, orchids and bird watching.

Water Conservation

When there was a water shortage, a former Mayor of Bogota, Antanus Mockus appeared on TV programs taking a shower and turning off the water as he soaped, asking his fellow citizens to do the same. In just two months people were using 14 percent less water, a savings that increased when people realized how much money they were also saving because of economic incentives approved by Mockus; water use is now 40 percent less than before the shortage.

"The distribution of knowledge is the key contemporary task," Mockus said. "Knowledge empowers people. If people know the rules, and are sensitized by art, humor, and creativity, they are much more likely to accept change."

This wise water-use comic appears in Bogota's public bathrooms.

Composting Toilets

While not yet widely used, this is a model two-chamber composting toilet that was constructed in the growing eco-village of Nashira in the Valle del Cauca...complete with comic-book instructions that you can read while using. Manual water flush for pee and sawdust for solid waste.

And the Bad News...

Many rivers are still badly polluted by industry, agriculture  and low income settlements along the banks. The government fines are simply paid by the factory owners who continue to discharge.

This is the Rio Cauca as it passes through Barrio Juanchito as one exits Cali travelling north towards Palmira. The government has announced plans in 2009 to clean this 800km river, but....