Turtle Island Peace Camp
In Sonora and  Michoacan, Mexico
    en Espaņol
Navopatia Field Station -
contact, in Sonora: ahannuksela@alamoswildlands.org
Check map-directions
in Michoacan: islat_mx@yahoo.com
artesania language study
Village Solar/Conservation Workshops
bamboo/skin kayaks
     Turtle Island Peace Camp is a non-profit outdoor education initiative promoting cultural exchange, language study, artesania, solar energy outreach, organic gardening and natural construction.
       The base we built in Sonora is located 450 miles south of  Nogales, Arizona, and two hours from Alamos, Sonora, or El Fuerte, Sinaloa, on the estuary of Agiabampo at Navopatia.  It is now under the management of the Alamos Wildlands Alliance and is well-equipped and staffed to accommodate students, travelers, kayakers and birding groups.   For more information, please contact:    www.alamoswildlands.org .
      
     Our new base in Michoacan overlooks Lake Patzcuaro and the native Tarascan heartland.  Called the "alma" (soul) of Mexico, it is a region of rich bio-diversity and deep-rooted historical and artistic traditions.  Here we are participating in a permaculture campus called Rancho Fresno, that has for over seven years been transforming the tropical mountain hillside into a lush expanse of fruit orchards, ponds and gardens.  The buildings include straw-bale, cob and adobe construction, and are equipped with rainfall catchment, compost toilets and a full solar-electric system.  The site is nestled into an old-growth oak-pine forest.  During the winter seasons we will be visiting turtles reserves on the west coast of Mexico, and welcome help in that vital work.
       In this new base we are ready to facilitate studies in language, history, organic gardening, solar energy, conservation, and natural building.  The area has generated many initiatives for networking, including www.tierramor.org, www.lascanoasaltas.org and www.gira.org.mx.     
        Turtle Island has collaborated with the University of Arizona in the Coteco Project to protect the wild and diverse fog desert.  We are also working with the Alamos Wildands Alliance to preserve the Agiabampo wetlands system. They are in their third year of establishing a research facility in ornithology, botany, and biology at Navopatia. 
        The estuary camp now has two official Christmas bird counts under its belt, a new educational network and an office storage complex, thanks especially to the interest and support of Dr. Steve Herman, Dr. Robert Harrill and Peter McAllister, and the continued dedication of AWA stalwarts like Adam Hannuksela, Sallie Herman and Heather May.   They have pledged to help carry our peace camp into a new chapter of discovery, and to preserve the community-based and environmentally sensitive character of our first decade here. 
  
  We  will remain active in the new programs of study and conservation at the estuary.  We are also returning to the turtle preserves of Michoacan in the Fall, and welcome volunteers for that vital work .

     
    To find out how you can participate or contribute to efforts to protect these wild areas, please contact us: islat_mx@yahoo.com.
aqui les esperamos,   Kenny and Maggie Dessain
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