The Livestock/Animal Science Program is going to be tight-knit this spring as I am working directly with just one intern, Amanda Rosenberg. Amanda is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Brown University. She is enthusiastic about living in the Kalu Yala valley and is hoping to begin a bee-keeping project over the next few months.
I first came to Kalu Yala in May of 2011 as an Outdoor Recreation Intern after my graduation from the University of Colorado at Boulder. After living in the Kalu Yala valley for two and a half months, I recognized that there was an immediate need for organic farming on the property. This will not only give interns the opportunity to begin producing some of their own food products, it will allow the processes of permaculture, livestock and crop rotation and agro-forestry to become a foundation of the Kalu Yala culture.
For the current semester which runs January 16th through April 13th, Amanda and I will be working together closely to bring Kalu Yala its first farming infrastructure. Beginning in two weeks, we will start the process of building a hoop coop and a hen house which will house chickens by early March. We will also be working closely with the Agriculture Program to build a bamboo greenhouse in which we can start growing our first organic vegetables and herbs. Additionally, we hope to construct several loafing sheds to provide shelter to goats, cattle and horses, which we plan to purchase in the near future. My overall vision for the next three months is to lay the correct framework needed to run a full-functioning organic farm. With the help of Amanda and all of the other valley interns, I hope to kick-start a healthy and successful farming endeavor that will directly benefit our interns living in the valley each semester, as well as our surrounding neighbors in the future.