There are now twelve new and proud owners of egg laying baby chicks that, in about 4-6 months, will be hatching fresh eggs in their owners’ backyards! 

On Friday, April 3rd, Guåhan Sustainable Culture (GSC)  issued live day-old baby chicks to individuals who had attended a Backyard Egg Production workshop last month that was hosted in partnership with Dr. Bob Barber, Mark Acosta and Jessica Nangauta from the University of Guam’s College of Natural and Applied Sciences. 

In addition to raising healthy chickens for their fresh eggs, attendees also learned how to build a movable chicken pen to help control weeds and provide fertilization to regenerate the soil for their gardens. 

This was just one of the many projects GSC has organized to help promote food security in our community. Additionally, raising chickens at home gives people a better understanding and appreciation of their food and its origins. 

During times of economic hardship, such as the one we are facing now, it is even more important for our people to be self-sufficient, self-reliant and less dependent on outside economic support. 

March 07, 2020

Guåhan Sustainable Culture welcomed over 30 future chicken farmers to a Backyard Egg Production workshop that was conducted by the University of Guam’s Extension Specialist, Dr. Bob Barber along with Mark Acosta and Jessica Nanguata who are also from UOG.

The workshop discussed how chickens, when kept in proper conditions, can be wonderful stewards of the earth and valuable assets to your garden, lawn and compost pile. Attendees were able to see a live chicken pen and also build a moveable chicken coop using materials that are affordable and easily sourced on island.

After a detailed discussion of how to care for day old baby chicks, everyone was given the opportunity to place orders for their very own baby chicks to start raising for a consistent supply of fresh eggs at home.

We hope every attendee absorbed the valuable knowledge of backyard egg production. This is one step towards becoming less relient on imported foods and more sustainable in your home-garden practices.

February 01, 2020

As part of its year long programming, Guåhan Sustainable Culture held its popular microgreens workshop for the seniors and residents of Summertown Estates. Through this activity, participants were able to bring their finished plantings home to care for and harvest on their own. 

The workshops are designed to encourage seniors and the Summer Town community to get involved in gardening activities to improve their physical, social and mental health. 

We look forward to returning for the next gardening workshop this summer. 

February 21, 2020

Guåhan Sustainable Culture founders enjoyed talking to Oceanview Middle School students about their goals and ideas as well as the importance of food security and a career in farming.  Students afterwards participated in a hands-on activity  transplanting their very own eggplant seedlings to take home and care for on their own.

With so many great career possibilities out there, we wish every student success in their future endeavors. Good luck , Knights!

Guåhan Sustainable Culture (GSC) is currently organizing an archival research and oral history project on the Histories of Agriculture and Farming on Guåhan. In order to envision a future of environmental sustainability and food sovereignty on Guam, GSC hopes that a look into history will provide the island with knowledge of sustainable practices lost to time, reconnect people with their ancestors, and, most importantly, encourage profound connections to the land and island. In other words, knowledge of innovation in farming and agriculture on Guåhan requires a revitalization of cultural practices rooted in Guåhan’s culture.

At GSC, we believe that food security and environmental sustainability translate into the well-being of our island community. Since we began in January 2019, GSC has educated over 500 community members and held over 20 workshops and outreach in cultivating self-sustaining food systems through small-scale family farms and gardens as well as community gardens in collaboration with the University of Guam, Guam Economic Development Authority, Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, other non-profit organizations, and local businesses.

We acknowledge that a critical examination of island histories is essential to ongoing conversations regarding sustainable futures for island communities and it is a key component of our current food sovereignty and food security projects. This project attempts to highlight significant developments and turning points in Guåhan’s history of farming and agriculture.

In September 2019, we (GSC) received a grant from Humanities Guåhan and the National Endowment for the Humanities for GSC to research and share local knowledge related to the histories of agriculture and farming on Guåhan through archival research, oral histories with various families, community engagement through a community workshop, and a culminating interactive exhibit that will be launched in August 2020 at the Sagan Kotturan Cultural Center in Tumon. We can’t wait to share this information and exhibit with our community and those interested abroad.

On January 14, Guahan Sustainable Culture joined the Maria A. Ulloa Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Conference and “Carabao Connection Fair”.

Students and families were able to plant herbs and vegetables at GSC’s booth to take with them to grow and harvest at home. 

Thank you to the faculty and staff at Maria A. Ulloa Elementary for the opportunity to connect with the community and encourage parental involvement with their students!

On January 11, we partnered with the Hyatt Regency Guam Hotel for an awesome workshop where we demonstrated how to grow your own microgreens. Hyatt Executive Chef Mirko and his team then prepared some wonderful creations to taste test and demonstrate what microgreens can be used for at home.

View more pictures in the slideshow below.

Thanks to those who joined us! Special thanks to Hyatt for their sustainability efforts and the investments they continue to make for our island and our community. 

Be sure to look out for our next workshops ‘Chicken Farming’ and ‘Mushroom Cultivation’ . Join our e-mail list to receive new workshop notifications. We hope to continue to get our community involved in these events so spread the word!

View more pictures below

October 2019

Earlier this month, Guåhan Sustainable Culture was recognized in a Guam Legislature Resolution and a Proclamation of the Governor, which announced October as Farm to School Month.
The Farm to School Program partners with local farmers and non-profit organizations to introduce locally grown vegetables into the Guam Department of Education’s lunch programs. It is an initiative headed by the Governor of Guam Lou Leon Guerrero, Guam Economic Development Agency, and the Department of Agriculture to grow and support the agricultural industry on Guam, as well as increase nutrition in school lunches.

Alongside other non-profit organizations, GSC has been tapped to be a central distribution hub for farmers to deliver the produce for the Farm to School program. In the Proclamation of the Governor, it was announced that “the Farmers Cooperative Association of Guam, Farm to Table Guam, and Guåhan Sustainable worked with over 20 farmers to prepare for the upcoming school year by creating safety plans, growing schedules, and delivery timelines, and payment coordination so they would be equipped to meet the requirements of DOE in time for the first order in November 2019.” At this point, GSC will work with farmers who produce microgreens, but hopes to expand to other fresh vegetables and fruits as the program grows.

This Resolution and Proclamation represent GSC’s continuing progress in building partnerships in order to cultivate strategies of food security, food sovereignty, and environmental sustainability within our local community.

Dededo, Guam – As part of it’s Food Security and Sustainability outreach, Guåhan Sustainable Culture (GSC) and the Summer Town Estates organized a growers workshop for twenty four (24) residents at the Summer Town Estates for Seniors on Wednesday, August 28, 2019.

Healthy lifestyle opportunities and how to properly grow food in their provided raised garden beds were the focus of a very successful workshop.

The group enjoyed a very informative gardening session led by GSC Co-founders Michelle Crisostomo and Marlyn Oberiano, and was complemented with hands on activities and starter gardening kits with seedlings distributed by GSC Board Director, Denise Crisostomo. The organization plans to return to Summer Town Estates to continue their educational outreach, see the progress of the garden beds, and work on
establishing a community garden for the Seniors and other residents.

GSC is a non-profit organization that cultivates ideas and strategies of environmental sustainability within our local community through practical education, social engagement, and collaborative partnerships. Since January of this year GSC has hosted successful workshops in partnership with organizations such as the University of Guam, the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Farmers’ Cooperative Association of Guam. Food security workshop topics include Growing your own Microgreens, Aquaponics for
Beginners, Introduction to Hydroponics and Edible Gardens, to name a few.