Empowering Self-Reliance and Sustainable Living & Microbiomes
Empowering Self-Reliance and Sustainable Living & Microbiomes
Diabetes is no longer a rare condition. It is now one of the most common health struggles in Ecuador and across the world. Around 589 million adults worldwide live with diabetes, which means almost one in every nine people. The number is expected to continue rising, especially in developing countries. …
The Beginning of Living Ground Sometimes you do not set out to build a project. Sometimes a project builds you. Living Ground did not begin with a clear plan or a grand design. It began with an ache for self-reliance, a longing to live closer to the land, and a …
Pilgrimage usually brings to mind sacred paths across continents, places where saints left traces of miracles behind them. My pilgrimage has stayed closer to the ground. It has taken place in the living experiment of the Project site, a journey fueled by a clear vision and an unclear route. I …
At our Gratitude Café, we are bringing life back to the table, from the soil to the plate. Each week we prepare something special from our gardens and kitchens. Some weekends it will be a full celebration meal like roast beef or turkey, and other weekends we will feature hearty …
There is something deeply moving about working with plants in their most concentrated form. To distill their essence into a small bottle is like capturing the soul of the garden. Each drop carries not just aroma but the story of the soil, the care of the hands that tended the …
I never imagined that I would one day use banana flowers as medicine. But, here in Ecuador, they hang in the garden, bold and purple, their petals opening one by one to reveal tiny hands of bananas inside. They looked more like ornaments than remedies, too grand to be anything …
We have all heard of taking turmeric (curcumin) with black pepper (piperine) to enhance the bioavailability and absorption of curcumin. Piperine, the bioactive compound found in black pepper, has been shown to significantly increase the absorption of curcumin by inhibiting metabolic enzymes that break it down and increasing intestinal permeability. …
Reishi has always held a certain mystery for me, the kind of presence that feels both ancient and majestic. If Chaga is the king of mushrooms, then surely Reishi is the queen. Her polished, lacquered body glows with a deep red sheen, shaped like a throne or a crown, rooted …
Alfalfa has always struck me as a bridge between the earth and the body, a plant that works as hard beneath the soil as it does within our cells. When I walk through my gardens scattered with alfalfa plants, I see the familiar green leaves and tender stalks that the …
In the quiet of an Ecuadorian night, while you sleep, a bustling army marches across your garden. Small, coordinated, and persistent, ants can strip a plant of its leaves, harvest every fallen crumb, and carry more weight than their own bodies without you noticing until the damage is done. For …