Winter Solstice 2011 Friends of ENCA Farm E-Newsletter

Season's Greeting's from ENCA Farm,

While winter has indeed reached the US and the mountains here are filled with snow. The growing season is alive and well in the Philippines after a very wet typhoon season.

ENCA is continuing with production of indigenous pako, a native edible fern, and growing a variety of other crops including, tomatoes, lettuces, root crops and a bounty of various herbs. WWOOFing volunteers continue to visit the farm offering their volunteer labor in the fields and enjoying the peaceful scenery of ENCA Farm.

We are actively building partnerships with the local food community in the Denver area and look forward to hosting another Friends of ENCA Farm event in the Spring of 2012.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and stay tuned for more ways to get involved and support ENCA Farm in the coming new year.

Reflections on Visiting ENCA Farm

By Matt Gray

Friends of ENCA Farm

Board Member Elect

There are places we dream of, though we're not sure they exist: candle lit homes, well cared-for land, organic farming that supports indigenous food movements, consciousness about earth and water, quiet conversations under full moons and cicada songs, freedom to sit and think and breathe fresh air, fields of green, and greener hills.

In the west, we talk poetically about land stewardship and living with the earth, but we are so often far from it. We rage at politicians for their lack of environmental protection reform, but we rarely tread that lightly in our own travels. We blame parents who fill their children with fast-food propaganda and insecticide-herbicide-fungicide cocktails, but we soon enjoy that same In-n-Out burger or Subway sandwich.

Matt enjoying the hike down to ENCA Farm

Then suddenly, tucked away in a hidden and unfamiliar country, we find a family protecting a little patch of our world. We discover their care and concern for the topsoil, for the watershed, for the free-range animals and composting nutrients. We realize the family wants to open this land for others to visit, to see, to believe, to share in the human experience of tending the garden with tenderness.

This is ENCA Farm: a place I found rest and relaxation for a few short days this summer as a tourist in Southeast Asia; a place that has obvious importance for the Cosalan family who owns the farm, for their Auntie Olive who runs the farm, for the workers who care for the fields. Important for all of them? Yes. But ENCA Farm is also a greater symbol of hope, a gesture that true compassion for the earth, and the possibility to live with the earth in harmony, can occur.

As a board member-elect, as a friend of ENCA Farm, as a person who cares deeply for humanity and nature, I encourage you to support ENCA however you can, because ENCA Farm is not just important for the Cosalans and for the Philippines. ENCA Farm is important for the longevity of life on this planet.

DONATE TO ENCA FARM THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND GIVE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING... SEEDS

$10- 5 packs of organic seeds to plant five beds at ENCA Farm.

$25- basil, cilantro, sage, oregano, and dill seeds providing a vibrant year-round herb garden.

$35- One seed basket of popular crops, such as carrots, lettuce, bell peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. These seed baskets will supply seeds for one season and ensure consistent market sales of the most popular crops.

$50- Experimental organic seeds such as asparagus and artichoke so that ENCA can experiment with planting lesser-known crops to test their validity and market appeal.

Please visit our website Friends of ENCA Farm to make your donation or send checks payable to:

Friends of ENCA Farm

34827 SE Moffat Street

Snoqualmie, WA 98065

Thanks for your support and Happy Holidays!

Sherry Manning

Executive Director

Friends of ENCA Farm

sherry@encaorganicfarm.com

Winter Solstice 2011 Issue

Reflections on ENCA Farm