Garden plots

The Samaritan Foundation is excited to introduce Ed & Sylvia Rypstra, recently retired farmers from Bowmanville Ontario, who have the background, knowledge and desire to oversee a newly established agricultural program in Paraiso and Esperanza. For the past 12 years they have brought many teams to develop and construct an orphanage in Puerto Plata with the assistance of local Pastor Joel but have recently felt God’s calling to longer term missions in helping the poor.
They accepted the challenge and are now partnering with the Samaritan Foundation to establish garden programs in the two villages teaching the local people how to grow their own food. Their first job entailed repairing the fences to keep out the cows that had been happily munching on the foliage and fertilizing the garden area. Afterwards they marked out the initial 10 garden plots of 200 square meters each which is large enough to feed a family of 4 throughout the year using staggered planting times and crop rotation.
A meeting was held to explain the garden contracts and the first plots were distributed to individual families. It will be interesting to see which edible plants will be grown on the individual plots. In the meantime, a test garden plot has been planted in Esperanza by the IN agricultural team and Ed and Sylvia which is overseen by 8 older men in the village. They used a layered planting strategy in which 3 different heights of plants can grow in the same spot ... tall corn, medium height bean plants, and low lying root vegetables. With this program of crop placement and rotation, we know everyone will be blessed. One of life’s biggest challenges for most the parents is ensuring their families have enough to eat and are healthy.