2010 UCLA Architecture Brigade - graduate students

Affiliated Organization: Global Brigades USA
Group: Architecture Brigades at University of California, Los Angeles

Volunteer Activity Description
THE FARM

Benjamin Rodriguez is the President of Granja Gatuncito, an eight hectare farm in Gatu that yields a wide variety of crops, including corn, fish, rice, peppers, plantains, cabbage, beans, guandu, otoe, mango, tomatoes, limes, chickens, and pigs. Benjamin owns the farm with 5 other socios, and 29 people in total generate their sustenance from this land.

THE PROBLEM

Granja Gatuncito suffers structurally and financially, the two issues being heavily linked. Since 2007, strong winds have blown through Gatu every February, destroying crops and rendering structures unusable. The farm has had their two main structures, a chicken coupe/ grain dryer and a community rancho, heavily damaged by these winds. The rancho, used for group meetings, cooking for farmers, storage of tools and wood