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The Hummingbird Project

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Commenced:	01/08/2011
Submitted:	13/10/2012
Last updated:	07/10/2015
Location:	Cleveland, OH, US
Website:	http://www.hummingbirdproject.org/
Climate zone:	Cool Temperate

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Living Soil Educational Courses, India (Winter 2011-12)

Project: The Hummingbird Project

Posted by Marilyn McHugh over 11 years ago

The Hummingbird Project first took root as an educational outreach program to teach Indian farmers about the importance of healthy, living soil after we learned that suicides claimed the lives of at least 17,368 farmers in 2009.

Our first successful Living Soil courses were taught at an organic farm in northern India that forms part of the international organization, Navdanya, which is directed by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a renowned scientist and organic activist. Navdanya is devoted to reducing dependency on GMO seeds, training farmers in organic methods, and re-establishing sustainable agriculture throughout India.

As part of Navdanya’s existing Organic Farming Training Course, THP taught its Living Soil class—which included basic laboratory training— to a total of 110 regional farmers residing in areas of chronic food insecurity. The farmers were amazed at discovering for the first time, and with their own eyes, that there is life in the soil. Our Soil Lab microscopes showed farmers the living organisms in healthy organic soil compared to the sterile chemical soil of industrial farms. The Soil Lab also provides resources for visiting farmers to test their own soil and learn specific organic methods for improving its health.

Additionally, we taught Navdanya staff to use a compound light microscope and digital microscope camera in order to identify both the beneficial and detrimental microorganisms in the soil. They were also trained to sample soil, identify microorganisms, build compost, and brew compost tea. For maximum impact, the soil laboratory provides a system of organic, low cost soil building techniques that are easily incorporated into the Organic Farming Training Course.

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