NORTHERN Marianas College’s Cooperative Research, Extension, & Education Services has concluded regenerative agriculture workshops on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.
On Nov. 4, the NMC Saipan campus hosted a family food forest and commercial agroforestry workshop, which was also conducted on Rota on Nov. 8, and on Tinian on Nov. 13. Each workshop featured a hands-on learning portion.
The hands-on learning portion for Rota occurred on Nov. 9 at the Rota NMC Campus while the hands-on workshop on Saipan was held on Nov. 11 at the NMC-CREES As Perdido Research Station.
On Tinian, the hands-on workshop was held on Nov. 14 at the CREES San Jose Research Station from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
According to a media release, participants mapped and planned a food forest alongside Dr. Craig Elevitch.
Elevitch previously partnered with NMC-CREES to host agroforestry workshops in July. He is the author of “Breadfruit Agroforestry Guide,” a free-to-download publication he cowrote with Diane Ragone.
According to the guide, agroforests “integrate trees, shrubs, and other perennial plants with crops and/or animals in ways that provide economic, environmental, and social benefits.”
Participants at Saipan’s regenerative agriculture workshop hands-on demo gather for a group photo with their newly completed agroforestry farm.
At the recently concluded workshops on Rota and Saipan, participants planted calamansi, mango, and other crop bearing plants.
Elevitch said these workshops help preserve values that have long been practiced in indigenous cultures.
“These workshops are an essential first step in recognizing the regenerative values of indigenous food forests, values that have been invalidated, lost, or forgotten over the past two to three generations,” Elevitch said.
He was pleased with the outcome of the workshops.
“We had a wonderful turnout at the workshops on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. Even more than the turnout, the participants were highly engaged and motivated to learn about regenerative techniques,” Elevitch said.
There is a “high potential for the CNMI to excel in regenerative agriculture,” he added.
The next agroforest workshop will be held in spring 2024.
