Ecology Action's message reached high school students, teachers, anddacha gardeners in Uzbekistan and Russia in April and May of this yearthrough workshops given by a three-person Biointensive for Russia team:Director Carol Vesecky, Darina Drapkin, and Patrick Williams. The threetraveled under the auspices of Winrock International Institute forAgricultural Development, on a Farmer-to-Farmer program funded by theU.S. Agency for International Development. Carol and Darina both speakRussian and are trained Biointensive gardeners. Patrick is Co-Directorof the Santa Cruz Homeless garden and was a participant in a Three-DayWorkshop this year.

Enroute to Uzbekistan, during a 12-hour layover in Moscow, the threegave a short demonstration at a chemical, greenhouse-basedcucumber-growing enterprise in Moscow. They were joined there by IvanAntiushin, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture's pedagogical collegeand a graduate of a 1996 Ecology Action Three-Day Workshop.

After arriving in Uzbekistan, the team split up. Darina and Patricktaught Biointensive workshops in Chirchik, where their host was theAgroparadigm Project. The fourth Biointensive for Russia team member, who had trained with the group, could not travel due to a last-minute emergency. Winrock was fortunately able to recruit Ned Kalb, a recently-retired ag extension agent from Purdue University -- now living in Tashkent -- to replace her. He and Carol journeyed to Nukus, in the western end of the country, to teach workshops there, hosted by the Nukus Farmer Center.

From Uzbekistan, the three flew to St. Petersburg, Russia, where they made a presentation at the School for Young Naturalists, and taught a workshop in three nearby towns. These presentations were coordinated by Albina Kochegina and Natasha Krestiankina, who participated in EA's 3-Day Workshop in 1995. In all locations, the team distributed Russian-language books and articles, tools and seeds to the organizations involved. A great deal of interest and enthusiasm for the method was generated in both countries.

The St. Petersburg visit and the donations of literature, tools andseeds were funded by Biointensive for Russia, with some help fromWinrock's Moscow office. We invite you to read more detailed accounts of each of the three main sojourns: Chirchik, Nukus and St. Petersburg, and to begin the process of becoming a member of BfR by writing to us via our Contact info. Soyedinaitye s nami!