Earthquake Consciousness takes us to Ecuador Summer 2016

Because we live in “earthquake country” ourselves may be why our community responds to help wherever earthquakes occur in the world.  In March of 2015 we assisted in producing a fund raiser garnering close to $5,000 in local donations for earthquake relief efforts in Nepal.  CFI sponsors the SherpaCares.org Classroom in the Clouds (HEBS Himalayan English Boarding School) campaign to rebuild a school in Lukla Nepal where construction is underway. See featured video above.

Last month the coastal area of Ecuador experienced a 7.8 earthquake that destroyed many towns and infrastructure in the province of Manabi. Since that time Ecuador has registered over 700 aftershocks, dozens of them over 4.5. The country has united to respond but recovery will take years. Cloud Forest Institute is facilitating placing people as volunteers with relief efforts in July and August this summer. We are fundraising to support communities and partner organizations to build shelters and provide food and water. With an eye on the future we are promoting a long term redevelopment strategy that addresses local food, water, and shelter security by stabilizing deforested slopes with food forests and native building materials

If you or anyone you know of might be interested in going to Ecuador to help this summer please contact Freeda Burnstad, 707.357.1000. freeda_burnstad@yahoo.com  If you are able, thank you in advance for sending a tax deductible snail mail donation to Cloud Forest Institute, PO Box 1435, Ukiah, CA 95482 or click on the Network for Good online donation option on this page. 100% of your contribution will go to earthquake relief efforts and we will report back to you about how your contribution is being used. Optionally you may donate via crowdrise Ecuador Earthquake Relief Cloud Forest Institute | Freeda Burnstad's Fundraiser

2016 is the 20^th Anniversary of Cloud Forest Institute.  We are a tax exempt 501 c3 educational and scientific non-profit corporation founded to create an educational and cultural exchange between Mindo, Ecuador and Mendocino County, California.  Locally, we have been an umbrella organization for a number of groups who work for the public benefit. We fiscally sponsored the Mendocino Organic Network and Common Vision between 2000 and 2012 until they acquired their own tax exempt status.  Currently we sponsor Ukiah Bicycle Kitchen, Chadwick Legacy Project, Butler Cherry Ranch Project, the MEC Environmental Education Fund, and have been working with Earth Cycles and Yokayo Farm School to develop a Forest Stewardship Collective.  Visit the projects page to read more.

In Ecuador we have partnered with Fundacion Cambugan to purchase tracks of land to conserve as continuous wildlife corridors in virgin wilderness in the Andes and with the Amazon Myco-Renewal Project (now known as Co-Renewal) researching the use of oyster mushrooms in the final phase of oil spill remediation.

What Came Home from the Forest

End view of bark stripped all in one piece

For two weekends in March a small crew of people worked together to build a small diameter pole addition onto the back of a garage at MendoDragon Community in Boonville.  It is likely destined to be a greenhouse but we are going to allow ourselves to "sit" with it a while before determining our next steps.

Our friends, George and Kate, invited us to come to their property in the hills above Philo to thin Douglas Fir poles out of a densely growing patch of trees mixed in with Redwoods and native hazelnut.  We cut down 7 or so very tall doug firs and afterwards you could feel the remaining standing trees breathe in the space and light.  We learned that it is not necessarily planting new trees that sequesters carbon but giving the space to old trees allows them to sequester more than a new tree is able.

This next shot shows Lucy, Janet, Nic, Tom and Corey and Marco unloading poles from our trusty workhorse, Warren, the '66 Ford F100.

We found the sap just beneath the cambium layer of the bark to be quite juicy enabling us to strip the bark in no time. Below we see Tom and Corey having just carefully stripped the whole bark intact.

This is only the beginning of the story.  Please bear with me. More to come!

Practicing Reciprocity