Cienega Mexico Greenhouse

Cienega, Mexico

Global Children's Gardens dome greenhouse build in Cienega, Mexico. This was a partnership with the Tarahumara Indians. Click here for the slideshow of this dome build.

In early June of 2008, a team from Evergreen traveled to Cienega Mexico to build a geodesic dome greenhouse at the local middle school. Cienega is a small farm town spread out along the edge of a lagoon about 25 miles south of the city of Cuauthemoc in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. There were ten of us in all including 3 students from Evergreen and supporters from both Italy and Manhattan Beach, California. The Mexican students were actively engaged in the building process as well. In two amazing days of spirited collaboration the dome was constructed, friends were made, and GCG launched its first international project.

This greenhouse will be an ongoing outreach project for the students at Montessori Middle School of Evergreen with a community of students in Mexico now sharing experiences in a similar greenhouse. It is also an opportunity for the Montessori students to use the Spanish they study at school in communication with the students in Cienega. We anticipate an ongoing relationship based on sharing experiences, resources and enthusiasm for the wonders of dome based organic gardening. In Cienega the students will be starting seedlings in their school greenhouse in February and then transplanting them into their home gardens once the treat of winter freezing has past, thereby extending the growing season in their high altitude village.

GCG members are planning to return to Cienega in the autumn of 2008 and winter 2009 to insure that this new program gets off to a successful launch.