Plenty Belize has been especially active this Spring. They put on an all day Food, Agriculture and Health Fair at Laguna Village on March 22. The fair took place under a large tent that had been erected by the local PTA. Students from the village school who have created one of the best gardens in our GATE (school gardens) project, teachers, parents, village elected officials and family members attended. In fact, most of the village was there. There were talks by Laguna Village Alcalde, Manuel Mis and School Principal Trancito Romero.

There were workshops in sustainable agriculture, nutrition and healthy cooking and the students led a tour of their vegetable garden. Of course the events of the day were topped off with a huge feast including a variety of dishes focusing on local foods including vegetables grown in the school garden.

On the weekend of May 15, Mark Miller, and Plenty Belize Administrative Assistant, Leah Cho, along with Peace Corps Volunteer, Ryan Burgess, took a busload of 54 students and 12 parents and teachers from six of the 11 schools participating in the GATE project to the Belize capital, Belmopan, for the annual Belize Agriculture Show.

Plenty and our partners from Sustainable Harvest International had a booth where information and posters about sustainable agriculture and good nutrition were on display along with lots of fresh produce.

The school students had created many of the posters in the display describing their school gardens. More than 30,000 Belizeans attended the fair over the weekend. ( Leah Cho in forground)

Plenty Belize midwife instructor, Christina Kahlou, has been in Toledo this past month meeting with all the village midwives, troubleshooting any issues or problems they may be having and interfacing with the Ministry of Health. She's also checking their birth registers and prenatal activity and reviewing how they managed births, prenatal exams, and any emergencies. She's distributing new supplies and will be holding an organized Continuing Education session with the full group of twenty-two Toledo midwives.

Ed Eaton of Our Sun Solar and Camp-Us, who has held solar energy workshops with Plenty in Belize in the past, will be holding a five-day workshop on design, installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems for Toledo villagers and paying participants from outside Belize. The workshop will take place in Punta Gorda December 6-10, 2004 Base course price for paying attendees is $350 (not including airfare and room and board). For information email hareef99@yahoo.com.