Installation of ZURZA Community Garden

May 3, 2013

On Friday May 3, 2013, the Environmental Cleanup Foundation, known as FUNDSAZURZA put the final touches on their Urban Community Garden, located on the rooftop of the Foundation's main office.

Some of the original participants in the recent garden training workshop were part of this activity as well as other members of the Foundation and their children.

To create the garden, we followed the following procedures:

  1. Met on the roof terrace of the FUNDSAZURZA offices to explain the dynamic of the work we would be undertaking.
  2. Arrive at a group decision regarding the best spots to put the planter boxes.
  3. Form work groups. In this case, we formed four groups – one for each planter box.
  4. Place the cement blocks in the areas agreed upon by the group.
  5. Set the garden boxes on the cement blocks, making sure they are stable and that the blocks do not stick out from under the edges of the boxes.
  6. Line the boxes with plastic bags, making sure they are tight enough and that the plastic does not form any folds.
  7. Cover the boxes with propylene bags.
  8. Line the bottom of each planter box with coconut shell fibers.
  9. We made the substrate with a mixture of organic soil and worm castings.
  10. The substrate mix is then placed in the boxes that already contain the bits of coconut fiber on the bottom.
  11. We made sure the substrate was evenly spread in the garden boxes.
  12. The edges of the boxes were measured carefully to determine the space between the placement of the staples, or roofing nails.
  13. Proceeded to place the staples along the edges of the garden boxes to be used to attach the string being used to form each grid.
  14. The string is attached to each box, forming the grids.
  15. Planting was carried out in each box.
  16. Made labels to identify content in each box.
  17. Labels are placed in corresponding boxes.
  18. The area is cleaned up.

Since its inception the program has created a total of 26 vegetable gardens across the country in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal, Baní, Monte Plata, and Azua.

9 Private Schools
Babeque Secondary School
Loyola School
Centro Educativo Los Prados
Rene Descartes School
Calasanz School
Saint George
New Horizons
Escuela Hogar del Niño
Centro Educativo Quisqueya

10 Public Schools:
Fray Ramón Pane School
El Llano Elementary School
Canadá School
Las Barreras Elementary School
Capotillo Education Center
Ave María Polytechnic School
Republic of Paraguay School
Youth in Development School
Quisqueya Education Center
Braulio Paulino Polytechnic School
Unión Panamericana Secondary School
Escuela Básica Concepción Bona

6 Community Centers:
Club Banreservas
Women’s Association of La Nueva Esperanza
Children International’s Community Center in Bayaguana
FUNDZAZURZA
Fe y Vida Abundante Church Center Foundation
Batey 50 (El Seibo)

5 Family gardens:
Figuereo and Yumary Castillo Family
Bernardina Agramonte Family
Matos Vargas Family
Stalin Feliz Beltré Family
Ramón Rodríguez Bueno

Support:

Banco de Reservas
Children International
Fundzazurza
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
Centro Cultural Perelló
Red Nacional de Apoyo Empresarial a la Protección Ambiental