At long last, here come updates on our site in Niteroi (more specifically, Ititioca, for those familiar with the area). Over the past two weeks, this:
Before…
has become this:
It isn’t until seeing these images side by side that I realize we have really made a dent in the work there is to be done in this space- the waiting does not end, but it is nice to see that even though things happen slowly, slowly, they do happen.
The work began with Courtney, Patrick (a friend from Princeton who came to visit for two weeks) and I pulling up plants and digging up trash on the left side of the garden. We decided to give it three days of digging before giving up on using the existing soil, as we have some friends who already attempted to dig in the plot and said it was trash all the way down. As we dug, we found some exciting prizes:
After three days of digging, endless trash, and numerous batteries and other toxic materials found, we decided we’d put forth a good effort and it was time to commit to gardening with raised beds in part of the plot, and composting in the other to gradually remediate the soil for future use. And that’s where things slowed down again.
We had all agreed before beginning work in the plot that the site needed a wall to protect from pigs, dogs and horses rambling through and destroying our plants. We also agreed that the sewage running through a lower corner of the plot really made it a less than attractive site for a garden. Unfortunately, the first quote we received for the building of a wall and sewage management was about double our budget. We didn’t panic- we sat down and looked through our finances again. Nope, no way, but at least we checked! We then set about trying to make compromises- could it be done more cheaply? No. How about a different kind of wall? Nope. Could we only fence the upper part? Then squatters might come and take the rest of the land. Could we not do the sewage, since we won’t be planting in the soil anyway? No way, you really just can’t have sewage by a garden.
And then, so very luckily, a second proposal came along that cut costs by about half, and offered to do the work in two weeks rather than five. The price was still about 3000 reais more than we could pay, so we sat down last Thursday for some hard bargaining, and wound up with the price that was about exactly what we could afford, leaving a little bit of money to provide for the garden’s future. We were exhilarated to realize we would (finally!) have a wall, we could go ahead with our digging in the dirt, and our Portuguese was good enough to manage the intricacies of business bargaining and contract writing. After a big hug with Marilia, the director of the creche and certainly our biggest garden supporter, we took the boat back to Rio in a blaze of glory. Of course, so much remains to be seen. We have our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly with the wall-building and sewage, since although our costs are fixed, who knows how the work will turn out. In addition, all of our current work in the garden is a gamble- the animals and people that wander through could tear the beds and plants to pieces in a single night, since the wall is not up yet. At the same time, we don’t have another option but to continue- we will only be in Rio for two weeks before other projects (Courtney’s anthropology research, my thesis writing) must begin, and take on greater importance as was always our plan.
More updates on our new garden ally Joel, vegetarian moqueca, and Princeton work buddies to come very soon!
Cultivating Restorative Spaces 