Elizabeth's Secret Garden

  Part of my preparation to continue a sustainable project in Haiti, is the study of Herbal Medicine. Herbs can be useful in developing countries when prescription medicines are unattainable. It is my desire to become certified as a Family Herbalist and later a Community Herbalist so I can teach those who are in need of other options for natural healing. The Holistic Living School is a 501c3 nonprofit educational organization with the mission to “Cultivate the sustainable community by empowering individuals through philosophy-in-practice education that promotes holistic living.” This summer, I am an intern at the Florida School of Holistic Living and will be attending a week long intensive course to be certified as a Family Herbalist. This blog entry is on the Roots of Herbalism course which I took as a preparation for the Family Herbalist Certification. Roots of Herbalism class:  http://tinyurl.com/7w5jave The Roots of Herbalism course was May 12 – 13, 2012. Emily Ruff ...

To begin this blog entry, I wanted to share this video containing the different projects and activities my dad and I were part of during our trip to Haiti. I thought it would be a nice introduction by showing you an overview of our trip before displaying our individual projects. My trip to Haiti with my dad, John Mann, was an incredible experience where I was able to share knowledge, but also learn much while spending time with the people of Haiti. Our trip was April 28 – May 4. One of the activities I worked on during our trip was an agriculture project. I worked on the project for 3 days with pastor Josue Jean and some of the men who assist him. They have already established a productive garden, so I was able to share with them sustainable gardening techniques and new ideas they can apply in their existing garden. Recycling is a important tool when applying permaculture techniques. The definition of permaculture is the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be s...

My father, John Mann, and I went on a mission trip to Haiti on April 28 – May 4. It was the first time for me and my father’s 4th time. It was such an incredible experience and it has truly changed my life. I was able to see God open so many doors as my father and I developed relationships with the people and taught at the Eben-Ezer Mission of  Gonaïves.  http://www.ebenezermission.com/ministryhaiti.htm To reach Haiti, we first took a plane to Miami from Orlando, FL and then arrived in Port-au-Prince. I was able to get a good photo of Port-au-Prince from the plane. Our driver had to make his way through some traffic jams to get us to Gonaïves safely. There are no stop lights so drivers had to maneuver their vehicles and stay alert. Flooding along the streets slowed us down. It took about 3 1/2  hours instead of 2 1/2 hours. We passed by several markets along the way. “Tap Taps” are a popular form of transportation. The name is derived from passeng...