A BUSY AUGUST : PART 14

CLEANING THE RIVER

Such interesting activity with the volunteer and green communities did something on the river.
Encouraging and giving awareness to the river...
Hoping people more aware to the river for supporting our life.
Better life by nature...
Mostly photos were taken by volunteers.

Ready to the river after opening ceremony.

The leader was directing...

Their actions on the river side

They looked so happy...

Enjoying time in the river.

The hectic month have over...

Just a little thing...
Hoping all that we did will make our life better... 
And next year we can organize the project better.

A BUSY AUGUST; PART 5

SHORT COURSE FOR GARDENING COMMUNITIES : GARDENING SKILL

The third day of this course, we improved our gardening skill.
We learned about making potting mix, planting, weeding, fertilizing, and many more.
Lovely outdoor activity....

A BUSY AUGUST; PART 4

SHORT COURSE FOR GARDENING COMMUNITY : FOOD PROCESSING

August 7-9, three tiring days... 

We held a short course for women gardening communities.. 

Here, we sharing about urban farming, gardening and also food processing.

First day we were discussing about urban farming and gardening.

And the second day we were practicing about food processing.

We processed food from so many ingredients that mostly found in our home garden.

Look... these were that we cook on that day.

Steamed cake from cassava, Peanut cookies and pudding from sweet potato and coconut milk.

'Nagasari' is a  kind of pudding made of cassava flour and banana.

'Abon Ikan' or Fried-Shredded fish from cat fish, great eaten with warm rice.

The participants were making 'Bola-bola Talas' or colocasia root ball with shredded fish inside.

That's all really funny experience...

A BUSY AUGUST; PART 3

DISTRIBUTING THE GRANT OF PEPPER PLANTS

August 2, our gardening community got  grant from local government.

About 300 pepper plants that we have gotten.

All plant had to distributed to the member of our community as soon as possible.

These were curly long pepper.

The pepper plants looked so poor, a tiring shipping.

Soon I contacted the members to took some of pepper plants to be grown in their own garden.

We needed four days on distributing these plants.

Now, most of these plants are growing so happy and have shown the little fruits.

Thank you...

ENJOY FLOWERS ON NEIGHBOR'S GARDEN

A WEEK FOR OUR RIVERS : PART 6

So various community that I met in this congress, mostly are communities which have awareness to the sustainable living, especially river's life.

A Seeds Community... sound so strange.

Yes, the community's members have an awareness to sustainability of so many plants which have been rare.

They collect so various seeds from so many places, especially from the road side.

When they across a bare land, they will 'throw' the seeds there.

They let the seed germinated and grow naturally on our hot humid climate.

They hope, some day the seed will turn to a big tree and make the environment become greener and fresher.

Another community is a bean community.
A community that concern to development of alternative food sources, especially beans which have been rare.
As an alternative food source, beans have so many benefits.
Bean is a cheap and great protein source. 
Bean also an easy growing plant, and also drought resistant.
This plant also a great green manure, cause it will fix the nitrogen from the open air and then add the nitrogen into the soil.
A great natural fertilizer.

This community makes leaflets to educate peoples about beans.
And the interesting thing, this community shared lots of little seed's packages.
Each package consist of seven varieties of rare beans.

How lucky I get seven packages.
I will share the package into my own community, so they can 'conserve' these rare beans on their own garden.
For all of the communities, thanks for your awareness to our rivers.
Thanks for sharing us the seeds, compost, leaflets, knowledge and also experience.
You all really inspiring me.

A NEIGHBOR'S GARDEN : PART 2

This was about the garden that I talked about yesterday.
Now, I will share about her strawberry patch.
I'm so envy to her strawberry plants, on our hot climate her patch is so lush and productive. 
She got a little strawberry seedling about eight months ago.
Right now, she's having more than thirty pots of strawberry plants.
She shared me a strawberry seedling to be grown on my tiny garden.
Thank you friend!
Lets check it u her strawberry patch...

A NEIGHBOR'S GARDEN : PART 1

Last Monday I visited my neighbor's garden.

She is a member of our gardener community.

Just a simple 'garden tour'.

Actually, her home garden is so close from mine.

It's just a little garden, only 30 meters square.

We can find more than thirty varieties of vegetables that grown here.

Lets enjoy her tiny garden...

A little patch of carrot welcoming all of the guest.

Green onion and garlic chives grow so healthy there.

A patch of broccoli seedling looks so lush.

Just two eggplant plants with a lots of long deep purple eggplants were hanging here and there.

Lovely and healthy...

On the end of bed we can find a bamboo trellis that climbed by bitter gourd vine.

Some little bitter gourds were hanging on the vine.

Next to the bed there's a row of cabbage and strawberry on so many stage. 

The biggest stage was lay on the front side. 

The medium stage looks so lush...

And the baby seedlings was side by side...

Look... she was checking the cabbage and strawberry row.

A view of the row from her porch.

Kangkung or water spinach grow so healthy on the cookies tins.

Long yard bean grow so healthy on the edge of the garden.

Cassava stalks have planted as hedge.

She can pick greens from that hedge next.

A very productive garden.

VISITING DAY

Yesterday was a very busy day for us in our gardener community.

We had lots of guests from Food Sustainability Council and also parliamentarians of Central Java Parliament.

They were special guests for us.

They wanted to know about the activity in our community.

Garden visiting was the main schedule for them. 

For them, our community was so special, especially about the spirit to encourage each other on gardening and sharing a lot of things, and also our creativity on reusing wasted materials and optimizing space for gardening.

We also did discussion about growing vegetable, especially container gardening.

We welcome them with all of our simplicity and hospitality.

They were so impressed.

We accompanied them on garden visit through our neighborhood.

Visiting some 'gardens' one by one.

Yeah... our garden were so special...

Wall, porch, balcony, roof became our gardens.

You can see about our extra ordinary garden here and here.

All part seems so interesting for them.

They amazed how we provide healthy food for our families from very very limited space.

Thanks for visiting and encouraging us, and also your appreciation.