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CHON and the 3 M’s

5/14/2016

5 Comments

 
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On the first day of the trip, the #agroCOUGology group took a trip to Pacho Gangotena and Maritza Rubio’s organic farm called Chaupi Molino in Puembo, Quito, Ecuador. Here, at this farm of four hectares with four dairy cow and ten workers, we were fed well and educated fully. Maritza Rubio nourished us with salads of freshly picked greens, tomatoes and homemade cheese, a soup of farm grown squash and the secret (but not so secret anymore) ingredient magui (an herb similar to angelica and celery), a lasagna, and a dessert of maduro bananas and cream. Pacho toured us around the farm and instilled in us the importance of CHON (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen) in the functioning of plants and agroecosystems and of the three M’s (manure, organic matter, and microbes). We learned how to grow our own beneficial soil microbes with a recipe including rock powder, molasses, rice husks (or wheat, corn), water, and mantillo soil (from a rich healthy soil). We sniffed, and even tasted, farm brewed biofertilizers. We walked among rows of flowers hosting beneficial wasps and other insects intentionally planted among the kale and other brassica crops. Their broccoli crops are undersown with a mix of oats and vetch. The zucchini is planted at the same time as radish, but the radish is harvested before the squash gets to a mature size. Weeds are embraced and allowed to grow, but are mowed down before setting seed. Pacho left us with the wise words of:
If you are looking for agricultural advice, “don’t go to the [agricultural] engineer, instead go to your grandmother or grandfather. But first, ask nature.”
“Con agua y mierda, no hay cosecha que se pierda.”
“After your degree, and you become a professor or an engineer, have a farm or a small garden. It is important to keep yourself grounded. It will be there for you when you are exhausted of teaching or your other profession.”
“If you are going to farm, do it together. Farm with your partner."

By Julianne Kellogg
5 Comments
Nancy Kellogg
5/15/2016 05:31:41 pm

He sounds like both a guiding spirit and a kindred soul.

Reply
European Louisiana link
3/5/2021 06:36:44 am

Nice post thankks for sharing

Reply
Vallejo Land Surveyors link
7/30/2022 03:16:13 pm

Thanks for thhis

Reply
Furniture Movers Davie link
5/11/2024 09:44:59 pm

Loved reading tthis thank you

Reply
Benedito Antonio Corá
10/27/2024 06:36:08 am

Sabedoria de quem vive com os pés no solo, e essa sabedoria deve ser compartilhada, felizmente hoje ,muitos jovens engenheiros agronomia e agronomos já estão cientes deste método, e os praticam.

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    About this blog:

    2016 is the first year for Kevin Murphy’s Neotropical Agroecology class in Ecuador. Students will spend two weeks in Ecuador meeting with, learning from and working alongside farmers, artisans, naturalists and/or ecologists in two distinct ecosystems. During the first week, we will focus on the agroecology and social ecology of northern Ecuador. This will include visits to Puembo, Cotacachi, Otavalo and Peguche in the Andean highlands, followed by three days in the Intag Cloud Forest region on the western slope of the Andes Mountains. The second week will be spent in Quito area in Ilalo, followed by a journey south to the high altitude areas around Riobamba and Cañar. In Quito, we will visit agrosilvopastoral farming systems, seed sovereignty organizations, local farms, Slow Food Ecuador, among other exciting adventures. In Cañar, we will visit and work with an indigenous Cañari farmer association of seed and grain producers. The trip will end in Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador.
     
    We invite you to virtually join us on this trip by checking in on this page where we will be posting photos and sharing our experiences while we are in Ecuador.

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