[MittleiderMethodGardening] Looking For a Few Friends to Attend a 1-Month Mittleider Gardening Training in Russia With Us.
ANYONE UP FOR AN ADVENTURE - LEARNING FOR 1 MONTH AT THE MITTLEIDER AGRICULTURE COLLEGE IN ZAOKSKY, RUSSIA?
Most of you have heard about the great work Dr. Mittleider did in Russia from 1989 to 1997 - starting a small agriculture program at a new Adventist college, and helping it grow to the point millions of people have been blessed with the knowledge of the Mittleider Gardening Method.
The young men Jacob left in charge there built the program - and the College - into a fully accredited University that is known and respected throughout the Commonwealth Countries of Russia. One of those men, Dr. Vladimir Tkachuk, is now a Vice President and Director in the 7th Day Adventist Church, with responsibility for 13 countries in the middle east. I expect he will find some (limited) time to be there with us.
The other man, Dr. Aleksey Chizhov is still at the University as the Dean of the Agriculture College.
I learned that they are conducting a 1-month intensive training program starting March 1, and Araksya and I have been invited to participate. This will be the first time I have been back to Zaoksky since 1993, when I was there assisting Dr. Mittleider, so I am really excited to return and work with these good people once again!
And they have room for about a dozen people from the USA or other countries who might want to accompany me. It will be all day every day - 5 1/2 days per week - with time off for Sabbath observance. Here is what they will be teaching:
1. Basics of the Mittleider Method of gardening
2. Crop production;
3. Soil - agronomy; (method of narrow beds with ridges & boxes with sawdust and sand)
4. Growing indoors - Seedling production and growing plants to maturity in the greenhouse
5. Agro-chemicals (feeding the plants (natural mineral fertilizer));
6. Plant nutrition and lack of (foliar diagnosis - nutrient deficiency symptoms and corrective treatments)
7. Plant protection;
Costs of the program are very little, really. I'm told the School will charge nothing for the classes (I hope that doesn't change with "rich" folks from America coming). Lodging is 200 rubles/night and food is 240 rubles per day. With the ruble currently at 72+/ dollar, that amounts to $3 per night for lodging and $3.60/day for food. That amounts to just about$200 per person for the month. Those numbers will change as the ruble changes against the dollar, and I recommend you plan on as much as double that amount. You will also need to have extra for personal items, etc.
Airfare to Moscow will likely be around $800-1000 R/T depending on where you are coming from and how soon you book your ticket - at least that's what I found tonight. So, I would count on total costs of $1,500 plus per person. But what an experience!!
We are excited at the prospect of going and participating in their program. Whether we will learn lots, teach them a few things, or whatever, it is likely to give opportunities for several outcomes, depending on your personal desires, preparation, and efforts while there..
This will NOT be a walk in the park, and it will not be a vacation in Moscow. Zaoksky is a small village in the Tula Region, more than 100 miles from Moscow. And for those of you who have attended the FFE Boot Camps in Kidder, Missouri I expect this situation to be similar - a great opportunity for learning and working with Mittleider growers and expert instructors, and little time or opportunity for tourist stuff.
Also, the food provided in the University Cafeteria will most likely be vegetarian - at least that's the way it was when I was there before, and the same has been the case at every Adventist School I have visited and taught in since that time.
You WILL have good instruction and side-by-side working with Araksya, her mother, and me, along with the highly competent staff of the University - and maybe David Gillmore, unless seminars here in the States keep him too busy to go with us.
We anticipate arriving in Moscow on February 28th, in order to be in Zaoksky before classes begin.
I encourage anyone who is interested to check your schedule, figure out air fares, plan your budget, baby sitters, etc. and let me know ASAP if you can join us.
If my first experience there is any indication, this promises to be a great experience for all who are lucky enough to go.
Jim Kennard
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Posted by: jim@growfood.com
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