The Seed Huntress
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Sefra Alexander, The Seed Huntress, sorting seed packets donated by Hudson Valley Seed Library at the PR Resilience Fund’s week long Seed Brigade.
Francisco G. Gómez
1-18-2018
Sefra Alexander
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Seed Brigade Volunteers
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Seed brigade volunteers sorting seed for distribution by the PR Resilience Fund. Bulk donations had to be separated into individual seed packets for distribution. The help of dozens of volunteers every day for a week made it possible to ge the seeds sorted and ready for distribution.
Francisco G. Gómez
1-18-2018
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Art Packs
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Art packs from Hudson Valley Seed Company donations were set aside specifically for schools. The art packs would allow those teaching agriculture to integrate the arts into their activities and lessons. This is essential because art and music classes have been taken out of the schools due to budget restraints.
Francisco G. Gómez
1-18-2018
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Sorting Seeds for Semitecas
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Sorting seeds sent by Hudson Valley Seed Company for Semitecas, or mini seed banks. These mini seed banks are designated for schools. Due to a lack of funding, schools in Puerto Rico no longer offer music and art so Hudson Valley Seed Library seed packets were chosen for school donations due to their art packs. The art packs will help the teachers and community leaders running agricultural projects at schools integrate the arts into their farming and gardening lessons and activities.
Francisco G. Gómez
1-18-2018
Sefra Alexander
Adnelly Marichal
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Categorizing
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Raíces Volunteer Crew Member Christina Proxenos categorizing seeds for distribution by the PR Resilience Fund into a system designed for storage and transportation in donated buckets.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
Christina Proxenos
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Seed Envelopes
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Seed brigade volunteer labeling seed envelopes to split bulk packages of seed for distribution.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
Nicole Wines
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Sorting Seeds for Donation
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Some of the seed donations that came to the PR Resilience Fund were in bulk packages and had to be sorted, separated into smaller envelopes and labeled. Volunteers from all over the world worked for five days to get the seeds sorted and ready for distribution.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Working at the Seed Brigade
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Volunteers Rahnawn and Gregory sort seed donations for school seed banks.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
Rahnawn Littles
©Raíces Cultural Center
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Sorting Seeds at the PR Resilience Fund’s Seed Brigade
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
seed saving
Volunteer and San Juan resident Rahnawn Littles sorting a set of seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Library for donation to school gardens, organic farms and agroecology projects, community gardens, and home growers throughout the island of Puerto Rico.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
Rahnawn Littles
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Tara Rodriguez Besosa at the PR Resilience Fund’s Seed Brigade
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
disaster relief
Creator and leader of the PR Resilience Fund initiative Tara Rodriguez Besosa receiving donations brought to Puerto Rico from members of our home community in Central NJ by the Raíces Cultural Center crew. Included in the list of supplies requested by the PR Resilience Fund were natural products like handmade soaps and organic teas.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Relief Supplies - Handmade Soap
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
disaster relief
Handmade organic soaps were donated by Rivka Greenburg, a supporter of the Raíces Disaster Relief Fund. Rivka was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico and is a resident of Raíces Cultural Center’s home community in Central NJ.
Nicole Wines
1-18-2018
Luz Cruz
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Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Tarped Roof
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
beekeeping
apiary
The roof on the wooden casita at Tainasoy Apiario was damaged over one room in the storm. When FEMA came to tarp the roof three months after Hurricane María, workers walked on undamaged sections of the roof, causing further damage and leaks. As a result, the full roof was tapped and held down with ropes until April 2018, when Raíces Cultural Center’s Disaster Relief Support Fund purchased the roofing materials and the PR Resilience Fund’s Guagua Solidaria work brigade came to install the roof. The build was led by Carlos Chaparro, one of the farm owners at Tainasoy, who is also a carpenter by trade.
Francisco G. Gómez
1-17-2018
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Aguada, Puerto Rico
Service Learning in the Greenhouse
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participant Sunita Dharod from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program weeding the garden beds in the greenhouse at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Sunita Dharod
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Hands-On Service Learning in the Garden
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participants Darian Kolb, Sunita Dharod and Mackenna Crisally from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program gaining hands on experience by volunteering in the garden as they learn about permaculture and agroecology principles.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Darian Kolb, Sunita Dharod, Mackenna Crisally
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Harvesting Purslane
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Rebekah Sánchez, a resident and team member at Plenitud PR, harvesting purslane from the greenhouse garden bed. Purslane is often thought to be a weed, but when allowed to grow and harvested for food, it is an extremely nutritious and delicious green.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Purslane
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Christina Proxenos, a volunteer with Raíces Cultural Center who came on our January 2018 relief support trip to Puerto Rico, harvesting purslane from the Plenitud PR greenhouse to include in the day’s lunch salad.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Watering Seedlings
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participant Duncan Anderson from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program watering seedlings in the greenhouse at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Rebekah Sánchez
Duncan Anderson
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Cilantro Flowers Attracting Pollinators
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Some herbs, greens and flowers are allowed to go to flower and seed to help attract and feed the pollinators as well as for seed saving for future plantings. Cilantro flowers are great at attracting pollinators, especially honeybees and native bees.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Checking Seed Starts
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Plenitud PR resident and team member Rebekah Sánchez checking the progress of seedling starts in the greenhouse at Plenitud. Seedlings are grown under the plastic roof of the greenhouse to control the amount of water they receive and protect them from driving tropical rains.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Weeding the Greenhouse
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participants Sunita Dharod and Darian Kolb from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program weeding the garden beds in the greenhouse at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Darian Kolb
Sunita Dharod
©Raíces Cultural Center
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Service Learning - Watering in the Greenhouse
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participant Mackenna Crisally from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program watering the greens growing in the greenhouse beds at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Working in the Greenhouse
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Many hands make light work. With about a dozen service learning volunteers, the entire greenhouse can be weeded and watered in about 15 minutes.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Mary Timm
Tobias Knight
Aryan Willkom
Vivienne
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Watering the Greens
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
Service learning program participant Mackenna Crisally from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program watering the greens growing in the greenhouse beds at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Mackenna Crisally
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Watering in the Greenhouse
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
The greenhouse at Plenitud PR is used for food production and educational programs. Greens are more easily grown in the controlled environment under the greenhouse plastic, where the amount of water the plants receive can be monitored and controlled. Here, service learning volunteer Duncan Anderson from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program helps to water the tender greens growing in the greenhouse beds.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
Duncan Anderson
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico
Watering
Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria
agroecology
All visitors to Plenitud contribute to the work on the farm or in the community in some way. Service learning program participant from St. Thomas University’s VISIONS program watering plants in the greenhouse at Plenitud.
Nicole Wines
1-17-2018
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Las Marías, Puerto Rico