On August 23, 2004 work was started on a new reinforced concrete 30 foot by 30 foot kitchen for the school in the village of San Felipe. The British High Commission is providing over US$16,000 to Plenty for the construction of this important new building. Construction (which is being done below normal pay rates by the residents of San Felipe) is estimated to be completed late October or early November. San Felipe is one of the two newest schools to join the voluntary Toledo School Feeding Program (SFP). San Felipe is a Kek’chi Mayan Village of around 300 people. The school has about 85 kids. Plenty works closely with the SFP to help the (now 13) primary schools provide nutritious meals to their students.

As the primary schools reopen in Belize on September 6, Plenty’s GATE Project will continue to assist these schools with technical and material support for their organic school gardens, logistical and technical support to the school feeding programs, training for school cooks, workshops for teachers, cooks, children, and parents, educational supplies, resources for teachers to integrate the voluntary feeding and garden programs into their curriculum, and more. It is our goal that working with the local Education Department, all schools (approximately 50) in the Toledo District will be able to offer school lunches and school gardens in the years ahead. To accomplish our work this semester, Plenty will be using the talents of Office Assistant Leah Cho, Peace Corps volunteer Ryan Burgess, recently hired Agriculture Education Extensionist Xiomara Mejia, volunteer Marcy Bowers, and Programs Coordinator, Mark Miller.

Ed Eaton of Our Sun Solar, in collaboration with the Ecovillage Training Center at the Farm and Plenty Belize, will be holding a five-day workshop on design, installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems for residents of the Toledo District and paying participants from outside Belize. As one of the workshop goals, participants will install a water pumping system in at least one Mayan village participating in the GATE program. The workshop will take place in Punta Gorda from December 6-10th. The base course “early bird” (Nov. 1st deadline) price for paying attendees is $350, which does not include airfare and room and board. See http://www.thefarm.org/etc/belizesolar2004.html or email hareef99@yahoo.com