Exchange student learns sustainable
gardening
Published: June 10, 2013
BEA AHBECK CASSON/bahbeck@mercedsunstar.com Xochitl Juarez, of Oaxaca, Mexico, in her experimental garden at Riverdance Farms in Livingston Thursday. (5-30-13). Juarez is doing training through the MESA program (Multi-national Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture). When she returns to Mexico she wants to start a demonstation farm and combine farming and education and help educate her community in sustainable farming practices.
BEA AHBECK — Merced Sun-Star
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MERCED — In the small town of Mitla Oaxaca in Mexico, a little girl drew inspiration from her grandmother's colorful garden more than 10 years ago.
Though the family wasn't very wealthy, the dinner table was always filled with fresh and nutritious foods.
"When I was young, my grandma always had a garden," said Xochitl Juarez, now 26. "She was really poor, but she always had fresh fruits and vegetables."
After falling in love with agriculture at a young age, Juarez sought to help her community learn new farming techniques to become more sustainable.
"A lot of people that come here are from small towns and they have to grow their own food," she said. "If they have the opportunity to be sustainable, we'll have a better life with more healthy foods and better nutrition."
Juarez left her hometown of about 10,000 people and traveled to the United States for the first time as part of the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture program.
"Our mission is to advance the next generation of sustainable farming leaders," said Leah Atwood, co-executive director of MESA. "We do that by creating this grass-roots effort of activists and farmers for sustainable food systems."
In Merced County for the past three months, Juarez learned organic and sustainable agriculture techniques while staying at the Riverdance Farms, owned by Cindy Lashbrook and Bill Thompson.
At the beginning of her nine-month experience, Juarez visited a farm in Washington state before heading to the Central Valley and staying at farms in Gustine, Modesto and Merced.
"I'm learning a lot, since Cindy and Bill have an organic farm," she said. "I'm learning about planning and working with permanent crops, like blueberries and cherries. I'm also learning about water conservation."
Juarez built a 10,000- square-foot garden in the shape of a circle because "everything in life is a cycle," she said. The garden has organic potatoes, zucchini, cabbage, corn and squash.
She also learned different gardening techniques such as double digging and a "lasagna" gardening method, which includes six layers. Juarez, who didn't know English when she arrived, has learned marketing skills.
Next, Juarez is traveling to a farm in the Bay Area before heading back home to Mexico in August.
The goal is to take what she's learned back to her hometown, but Lashbrook said she's also learned a great deal from Juarez.
"Watching her diligence, and her methods and energy has made a big difference with me," said Lashbrook, who paid about $1,050 each month to host Juarez at her farm. "We're sharing information, so I've learned a lot from her as well, including methods of creating tomato support systems."
Juarez will leave Merced County this week, but Lashbrook said she plans to keep in touch through the Internet.
When Juarez returns home to Mexico, she plans to build a demonstration garden and hold educational workshops.
"In my country right now, there are a lot of changes," Juarez said. "I want to go to the small towns to work with these people."
Reporter Ramona Giwargis can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or rgiwargis@mercedsunstar.com.y
