Last week, Wilner and the ATC (Agricultural Training Center) staff and students worked on their big pepper planting project. Six weeks ago, they had planted pepper seeds in the protected soil of the shade houses. They watered and cared for the seedlings as they grew until they were strong enough to survive outside in the intense sunlight and strong winds.

Last week, the ATC team was able to transplant 645 pepper plants into the prepared open gardens. Many of you have done the same sort of thing in your home gardens, but our ATC staff’s next step is one you probably did not do. After the seedlings were transplanted into the large open gardens and watered in, the team covered the young pepper plants with small branches of Neem leaves to protect them from the harsh sun and winds, and also from hungry, harmful insects, because the Neem leaves have natural insecticide and repellent in them. Wilner teaches the students to use crushed Neem leaves in the homemade organic insecticides we make at the ATC. Now, in another month, they will start harvesting many hundreds of bright, healthy peppers. The kitchens will be happy about that.

A huge Thank You to Joe Perkins and Ron Lusk of Sustainable Food Production (formerly Global Compassion) for donating and erecting these critical shade houses, as well as Hope Seeds International for their important, generous seed donations.

We also give a huge Thank You to all of you donors who help support our Development for Sustainability outreaches because you are making an impact for generations to come, not just for today.

God bless you.

Rad Hazelip, Assistant Executive Director