Rain, Rain, and More Rain!!

Written by F2F Volunteer, Leah Tewksbury

The months of February and March typically are part of the dry season in the Dominican Republic, but during a recent F2F assignment focused on soil health, volunteer Leah Tewksbury encountered heavy rainfall nearly every day of her visit. This atypical rainfall may suggest that the Dominican Republic is experiencing the uncertainties and changes associated with climate change, and therefore farmers learning how to improve agricultural practices to protect soil resources is more critical than ever. Most of the farm sites that Leah visited were located in rural, mountainous regions, where accessibility to these remote locations already takes considerable effort, but with the intense rains, some of the roads became impassable.

Many Dominican farmers grow crops using conventional chemical applications on steep, denuded slopes, which are subject to serious soil erosion from frequent tillage and intense tropical storms. The recent storms showcased how fragile these precious soil systems are as the local rivers were raging torrents of rainwater and vast amounts of valuable topsoil.

Leah and her Dominican field reps Jose and Rafael visited several remote communities where they conducted classroom sessions on soil life, permaculture practices, and on how sustainable farm systems can avoid the use of tillage, cultivate strong, healthy soils, and eliminate the custom of bare soils. In the field, Leah demonstrated how to build sheet-composted permanent raised beds, with permanent walkways, and how to follow the contour of slopes. Learning to incorporate a continuous cover of living and/or dead mulch on the soil was an integral part of teaching about sustainable farming practices.

Like many farmers around the world, Dominican farmers prefer to see their fields “clean and neat”, with bare soil prominent. Unfortunately, this practice is highly detrimental to soil health, and ultimately to the health and yields of food crops. Reversing this custom will take perseverance, but hopefully these growers will see the tremendous benefit of continuous mulch, and learn to find their farms beautiful while every inch is covered in plants or plant debris!

Participants also learned how to use soil blockers, a highly effective, simple and economical method of starting their own seedlings. The soil blocking method eliminates the need for expensive black cell plastic trays traditionally used in greenhouses (and which also end up in the landfill), and also showcases how to grow exceptionally healthy, robust transplants. Soil block devices are durable and easy to sanitize so can be used by many community members for years to come.

Dominican farmers are blessed with a year-round growing season, so opportunities are endless for the variety of fruits and vegetables they can grow. By adopting more soil-smart techniques, these farmers will begin to see significant improvement in yields, reduce or eliminate their need for tillage and synthetic inputs, and most importantly, see the health of their soils flourish and their soils stay in place!!