We have been super busy with community projects this year, including an intense worl-wind of a national campaign to protect food sovreignty given the threat of a heinous UPOV-type seed law. I am very impressed with the capacity of grassroots organizing here in Ecuador, and proud to be part of it. For now, the constitutional ban on GMOs holds, and all tenents of seed freedom are upheld, thanks to the collaboration of many organic farmers associations, consumer awareness work and food sovreignty all working together, both locally and nationally. The results of our local efforts can be seen at protectancientseeds.weebly.com and the Facebook page of the same name--both with Spanish versions. 

Next came a torrent of activity with a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a valley-wide rain-water harvesting and reforestation project. 

We are now completing our fourth PDC here in Vilcabamba, which is continuing work on the community reforestation project. I'm so impressed with the sophisticated work our participants are putting out on this, it will help further the local team's efforts immensely! The teams working on furthering our small-scale model on our 1 hectare farm, as well as the large-scale watershed project are awesome. The third team is pumping out great ideas for a local guesthouse/spa that is eager to become an eco-lodge. 

I hope the Permaculture Global will accept our graduates posts this year--we have had trouble with that up until now--because we are posting from Ecuador?