Grant

Self-sufficiency and Holism (or The Spirit of the Garden) (printable version)
by Maqui

Last March, Pete Pinney from Anchorage, a member of ZMS, offered his services in the form of a grant writing workshop for the stewards and people in the area with the fees going to ZMS. For that, we at ZMS are grateful. During that workshop, which Buffy and I attended, ZMS wrote a grant to Keep New Mexico Beautiful for $1,000 to plant native trees, buy a cistern, and install irrigation. Well, we received the grant and implemented it, submitted receipts and got reimbursed. Then to our surprise, we got a phone call last month, informing us that we had won an award for the best wildlife, native plant grant given by Keep New Mexico Beautiful. Thank you again, Pete!

This excitement has created a desire to do it again. This last month, we were contacted by Shea, a member of Women Build Houses, who would like to build a small straw bale house here at ZMS. Their idea is to empower women to learn carpentry skills, while showing the benefits of small scale housing and its low cost. In a three week workshop, Women Build Houses, with the help of 8-10 women, will put up a 10x14 A-frame straw bale house. The cost of this workshop is $300, which will go to Women Build Houses, aside from food costs. We will be supplying the materials and the cooking. As to the use of the building, we are currently flip-flopping back and forth between designating it as visitor/sleeping space or a massage & meditation space. Both are of great importance at this time.

Another area of development will be our garden area. In the past two years, ZMS stewards have attended workshops for permaculture with Ben Haggard, holistic management with Kate Brown, and avant-gardening with Frank & Vicki Giaangelo. Our intention is to write a grant that would encompass all of the above mentioned aspects with the installation of a garden space here at ZMS. Many things have to transpire before much more information can be passed along. However, we anticipate the garden will include a pond, paths and design elements exploring the philosophy of feng shui, a chicken run, a garden shed, benches, the straw bale hut, flowers, vegetables, and trees. Because of a lack of nutrients in our soil, we will be amending it as well.

Camping will be available during this time -- but I want to let you know that spring in the high desert can be unpredictable, windy, and sometimes cold. We will try to accommodate everyone as much as possible. If you have any interest in these projects, please send us your inquiries, so we can personally keep you posted!

We are currently composing the grant to include straw bale materials, lecture fees, and garden materials -- in the hopes that individuals can attend for low costs. The total budget could top $5,000. When applying for a grant, it is possible to apply with matching funds; if there is anyone who would like to donate to this grant please earmark your check! Also, if there is anyone who would like to contribute to assist in covering the expense of a woman attending the Straw bale workshop, please specify this as well.

The lecture series will take place approximately from the second week of May through the middle of June. Each weekend, a different lecture will be presented with two speakers presenting related topics. The cost for the total series has yet to be determined. We usually request $10 per day, with nobody turned away for lack of funds.