Garden to Garden Releaf
Garden to Garden Releaf is a whole systems model that begins with the garden and ends with the garden.
The first stage is sourcing relief assistance from nature through living food as source of nourishment and medicine through our green smoothie relief efforts, dehydrated and powdered medicinal herbs and plants to assist in immune system boost for evacuees.
We are also ready to assist in organizing proper ecological solid waste management in evaucuation centers to assist in health and sanitation. We can look at how biodegradables can be integrated in preparing the compost for these gardens and how residual and recyclables can be incorporated in the regenerative home/structures the community builds together through a mud house or an adaptive earthship structure during rehabilitation period.
Towards rehabilitation phase, we aim to assist in co-createing permaculture community gardens for future food security and means of self-sustainability.
Last November 9, the strongest hurricane on global records passed through the Philippines leaving a trail of more than 10,000 estimated dead. As the country recovers through recovery and relief efforts, we at Green Releaf would like to assist through our Garden to Garden Releaf Response.
Currently we are building linkages on the ground particularly in Palawan where some areas are hard hit in Culion, Coron, and Busuanga. We are also working online to coordinate and create more sustainable relief and response guides to assist communities we cannot reach but can help share educational content with.
To extend your financial support for our model, please click on our PayPal link above.
Our Actions So Far
2011
Green Releaf's Garden to Garden Model began during our initiatives as a response to Hurricane Washi/Typhoon Sendong in 2011 through live food education and green smoothie making training in evacuation centres in Cagayan de Oro as a healthy alternative to canned/instant goods donated to survivors of this disaster that displaced thousands of families. This was an initiative in partnership with Bahay Kalipay and Maia Earth Village through Daniw Arrazola who led the green smoothie workshops and discussions about the importance of live enzymes for health and well-being.
Earth wisdom in the healing arts inspired some modules for pyscho - social support to children of Balulang Elementary school as designed by Sarah Queblatin of Create EartHeart for Kids for Peace Foundation under Save the Children. Plans to integrate a creative community mudhouse building in creating a new community center and a CFS (Child Friendly Space) was part of the intention as a way of creating a collective memorial for the victims and the time of renewal for the survivors.
2012
Green Releaf joined Maia Earth Village as its Transition Initiative. Maia is an intentional ecovillage in Palawan that is modelling self-sustainability. Maia has 6 structures made out of natural building resources (mud, bottles, wood, etc.). Food is sourced from gardens guided by permaculture design and energy is sourced from solar power and adaptive technologies.
Next Steps
For 2013, we are preparing to support an initiative by the Community Based Health Services (CBHS), a non-profit based in Cagayan de Oro that supports a network of 42 rehabilitating communities called The Survivors' Collective. The CBHS is working on capacitating the community with alternative health practices. Green Releaf comes in to develop live food nutrition and assist in strengthening their community garden program by connecting live food as medicine and as source of nourishment. The pilot starts in April of this year.
Trainings and workshops are being designed for communities in transition into self sustainability as on site activities at Maia Earth Village through experiential retreats on ecovillage living and learning, permaculture, ecovillage design, and earth based transformative arts.
