Earlier this year, Fertile Ground volunteers spent several months preparing compost and creating a new demonstration garden in Sadiya, a remote area of northeast Assam.  

Through the "Kids to Kids" project, LeighAnn Vaughan, her son Onyx and Sarah Kerr, were also able to provide school supplies to several village schools.

Costs for fencing, tools, seeds and other materials for the garden primarily came from a donation made by Rotary Clubs here on Vancouver Island, including the local Strathcona Sunrise club.


Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Kel Kelly and his team of helpers, we were also able to build swings and teeter totters for some very excited kids in two villages situated near the garden  .Last week, photos taken at the site arrived via our friends at NEADS, the Assamese NGO that has set up a new community resource centre in Sadiya. 

Great work, team Canada!   The garden looks in great shape, tomatoes are ripening up, and people of all ages are making their way to the garden to learn how compost made from banana stalks, water weeds and cow manure can help them improve the sandy soil conditions in their area.

Pompy Ghosh, who has worked with Fertile Ground for the past 4 years, wrote to say that organic farmer's groups have sprung up in two villages - the families are determined NOT to lose control of their local seed varieties to the big multinationals, and to stay away from expensive chemical fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides that are finding their way into even remote areas like these.