Just Coffee

The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project is calling for support for its 2009 program. You can help by sending seeds or making donations. With global food stockpiling and rising prices, Timorese families need to renovate their traditional farming systems organically and address the annual hunger and nutrition gaps, as well as invest carefully in other crops (forestry and small-commercial farming systems) sufficient to support trading. To do this, they need seeds, tools, supplies, and training.

The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project continues to have successes with groups who have received in small commercial quantities of seed at six locations in Ainaro. All locations report good germination rates and we have avoided distributing seeds of crops that people are unfamiliar with. There has not yet been direct contact with the groups in Ainaro that were contacted through the Ministry of Agriculture but we hope that there will be in the near future; Such are the difficulties of maintaining regular communications with groups in the mountains. Carrots have all performed exceptionally well, as have silverbeet, some of the open hearted lettuce varieties, rocket, zucchini (summer and winter squash) and the more traditional crops of the area like cabbages and kale. In the next phase of the project we would like to start to concentrate on groups that are ready to move on from simple seed saving to seed multiplication. There are many groups that want seeds and not presently enough seed to go round.

Earlier this week myself along with members of Fundasaun Hari'i Au Metan (FHAM-Foundation to Raise up the Black Bamboo, a local Timorese NGO who sponsors the Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project), Hector Hill, Merita Alves, Luis Alves, and Maun Leonardo, took a trip to visit Grupo Agrikultura Mau-Roma Horaiqiq south of Maubisse in the district of Ainaro.

The 2007 year ended difficultly for this vegetable and coffee producing group as they lost an investment in potatoes of over $1000 due to giant winds and torrential rains in December. Sr. Batista Tilman, the coordinator of the group, also suffered the death of his five month old baby in November.

Yesterday I took a trip into the mountains of Ainaro where I met with committee members of the Ainaro side of the Madison Ainaro Sister City Alliance (MASA).

The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project's 2007 'holiday gift option' was a great success thanks to the many people who purchased gifts for families and communities in East Timor. Thank you to these thoughtful and supportive donations from around the globe! Everyone involved with the Seed Project here in Timor-Leste is most excited about starting 2008 on such a positive note!

The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project and Fundasaun Hari'i Au Metan here in Timor-Leste would like to formally thank Family Farm Defenders and John Peck of Madison, Wisconsin for their consistent generosity and support! For each sponsored box of seeds that has been sent (see 'Adopt a Box Program') Family Farm Defenders has matched the donation by sending another box of seeds.

Instead of purchasing another lame holiday gift for the person who has too much already, try something different this year. The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project is offering the following alternative: Purchase of one of the following kits for a family or community in Timor-Leste in the name of your friend, colleague, loved one or yourself. Your gift will directly assist to empower people across the globe to sustainably create their own system of food sovereignty.

ROMIT Group:

From the vegetable seeds that we have received, we organized ourselves in order to prepare a site as a vegetable garden.

1. First we cut/turn the earth.

2. Second we fence the site.

3. Third we plant the vegetable seeds.

The Seed Project is looking for people willing to Adopt-A-Box. We now have over 20 (twenty) boxes of seeds waiting to be mailed to Timor-Leste (East Timor). The cost per box to send Global Priority Flat Rate is $37 per box. These boxes hold approximately ten (10) pounds of non-hybrid seeds which have been donated by various individuals and seeds companies. These seeds are desperately needed by the Timorese.

With the Adopt-A-Box program you as an individual will receive a photograph of the box which you have adopted, as well as a 12oz. bag of coffee compliments of Just Coffee. And you will be able to check updates on our website to see pictures of people growing food, directly benefiting from your generous donation. Please think of this as not only a box, but as a way of helping people desperately in need of food sovereignty.

To Adopt-A-Box please email Mark Bystrom: thespark (at) justcoffee.net, or call Just Coffee (608) 204.9011.
Just Coffee
1129 E. Wilson
Madison, WI 53703
please make checks payable to Family Farm Defenders

August 15, 2007

Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project Update:

Greetings! We hope this letter finds you well. Below is an update of work being done by the Gardners of Eden Seed Project here in East Timor. Please read on to find out more about all of the hard work we have been doing and about how to donate to this important project! Photos of the project can be found here.