Stepping outside this morning, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to smell the strong, rich smell of the earth after the gardens were watered by IMAP employees. I felt the heat on my face and heard the birds singing, a true enrichment of senses. If I could describe this smell to anyone in the Maritimes of Atlantic Canada, I would tell them to imagine the smell inside of a greenhouse on a warm day. Although even with this thought in mind, it doesn’t truly capture the smell I experienced this morning.
Atitlán and Tolimán volcanoes in the early morning.
We started the day with a smudge offered by Sutik and Joe Googoo of Wagmatcook and We’koqma’q First Nation, supported by me, Tracy Marshall of Potlotek First Nation. The three Mi’kmaq delegates for this trip were honoured and grateful to come to these lands and not only receive so much knowledge and ceremony, but give back to the delegates and employees of BTS and IMAP through a smudging ceremony.
(left to right: Joe, Sutik, Ines, and Tracy) Joe and Sutik gifted Ines the smudge bowl and some white sage after the smudging ceremony.
The day was full of so much richness as everyday has been so far, but the main topic of today was to learn about permaculture through Gregorio – whom everyone calls Goyo. Goyo described so many essential components of permaculture with us and although the lessons were short in comparison to the knowledge that is there, our brains received an incredible amount of knowledge in stepping into the world of permaculture. Stepping into the ancestral knowledge of the Maya Kaqchikel, the most important pieces of permaculture were shared with us in a way we could adopt and practice in our much shorter growing season in Atlantic Canada. Goyo shared that we have two very important tools to use in this life: 1. Thinking and 2. Observing. If we use these tools, we are able to find solutions to any problem.
The most interesting lesson today was working with the moon cycle. Goyo described when to plant, when to harvest, when to tend, and when to start – each phase of the moon cycle has a dedicated activity, not only in the garden but also with other things in your life, like when to cut your hair depending on if you want your hair to grow faster or slower.
Moving into the hands-on activity piece of Goyo’s teachings, we carried tools down to the community garden where we gathered around a small, flat, empty plot of the garden where Goyo introduced us to Rene, the husband of the owner of the garden plot. Rene will be working the garden, therefore he described where he might want the paths to the garden space to be. Goyo took a stick and traced a design into the solid ground. Using tools he showed us exactly how to move the earth to shape it into a natural shape with no pattern followed, simply following the natural shape that works best for this particular space.
Goyo, Rene, and the delegates in IMAP’s community garden.
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