This cafe has a lot of interesting features, including a seed library, local produce stand, potted plants, local jewelry, local honey, and more. Games are available for customers to play while they are there.

Kind of fruit tree:

Mango

Grow Notes:

Within frame of seasonal greenhouse

I nominate this land to grow more plants for the benefit of its inhabitants.

🖼️ Proposed Grow Area

🌱

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location approximate

Approximate location

Most active on Sunday afternoons/evenings

What was sighted:

When it occurred:

June 10, 2025

👁️

Here is a map of ICE sightings that goes through an approval process.

If you want to post instantly, you can post here!

How about sharing free things, gardens, missing persons, emergency info, etc?

See their fruit map

FitShortie duo, Simon & Tina, hosts fruit retreats in countries throughout his region for people to eat fruit, get refreshed, and have fun.

Website

Flying Frog Mushrooms sells fresh gourmet & medicinal mushrooms and other mushroom products, every Sunday 10am-2pm at St Augustine Farmers Market.

At the Panama City Farmers Market, Coastal Fungi sells fresh & dried gourmet mushrooms, tinctures, and powders.

Website | FB Page

At this farmers market on Saturdays 7:30-11:30am, Care2Grow seasonally sells gourmet & medicinal mushrooms, in the form of fresh mushrooms, powders, tinctures, and beverages.

Website | FB Page

Gratitude Garden grows diverse crops, including fruits, vegetables, and gourmet mushrooms.

Their website includes tinctures, retreats, recipes.

Lucky Buddha sells fresh gourmet mushrooms at the Haile Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:30-noon.

FB page

The Life Farms store & farm are open on Mondays 10am-5pm, Fridays & Saturdays 10am-3pm.

• Fruits
• Veggies
• Gourmet Mushrooms
• Flowers
• Baked Goods
• Animal Products

Website

Fungi Jon sells diverse gourmet mushrooms at the Winter Park Farmers Market on Saturdays (8am-1pm).

Website

Play of Sunlight sells fresh gourmet mushrooms at the Tallahassee Farmers Market, Saturdays 8am-noon.

Website

FB Page

White Oak Mushrooms vends at the Downtown Lakeland Farmers Market (doubles EBT), Saturdays 8am -1pm (varies seasonally).

White Oak Mushrooms sells fresh gourmet mushrooms, mushroom jerky (vegan), pickled mushrooms, mushroom coffee, lions mane tincture, and more.

Etsy

FB page

ZephyrGills mushrooms are sold here at the Bushel Stop (accepts EBT). Ask for Maria

Varieties:

• Lion’s Mane
• Pioppino
• Chestnut
• Black Pearl King Oyster
• Blue Oyster
• Italian (Phoenix) Oyster
• Elm Oyster
• Florida Oyster
• Gold Oyster
• Pink Oyster
• Coral Tooth

For requests about availability, or more info, check out their website

Cactus Hat offers fresh goumet mushrooms (lion’s mane, oyster variations) at this market.

Via their website, Cactus Hat offers mushroom consulting, from business to farming.

At this farmer’s market, Saturdays 9am-1pm, Vale of Paradise (VoP) sells fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, tinctures, extracts, adaptogenic mushroom drinks, grow kits.

All but the fresh mushrooms are available for purchase on their website.

Shroom King sells at the Deland Farmer’s Market every Friday night, 6-9pm.

• Lion’s Mane
• Blue Oyster
• Gold Oyster
• Phoenix Oyster

They also sell extracts on their website:

Learn more

Eery Saturday, 8am-noon, Mushroom Guy is set up at the farmer’s market here.

He sells various gourmet mushrooms, including:

• Oyster
• Shiitake
• Lion’s Mane
• Reishi
• King Trumpets
• Morels

Learn more at their facebook page!

2 here, 2 at a nearby septic mound under trees.

Map where you sow!

we make epic food from local ingredients

we start adventures in gardening

Book a BYTE: 415-875-0115

Lots of tree debris on the road on Monday afternoons.

5 Flags Produce, including Tim’s Gator Goobers, is a great lil produce stand right by springs.

They sell tasty boiled peanuts, made in a simple broth of spring water and herbs. Apparently vegan??

The operators of this produce stand thought it would be a good idea for produce stands to work together to make sure they are all stocked. I think that’s a great idea! In fact, they bought and resold produce from us.

State parks like this often have mowed lawns where there could be a community garden with vegetables growing public consumption.

“Welcome to my micro bakery, where I specialize in crafting delicious sourdough bread and made fresh to order! We pride ourselves on using clean, organic ingredients to ensure every bite is not only delightful but also wholesome. Experience the perfect blend of tradition and quality in every loaf and pastry. Treat yourself to the goodness of artisanal baking today!”

learn more

Nearby is a food forest that is managed using permaculture methods.

We have sourced loquats and mint from there, with bananas, figs and others to come.

Post a garden

We source various organic produce from Nicoya Farm at their booth in the Haile Farmer’s Market.

Oliver grows many tropical fruits to share with friends, and plants to sell to those who want to grow their own.

Oliver’s greenhouse boasts a fruiting jackfruit tree, Surinam cherries, Starfruit, and more. He is most known for growing diverse varieties of avocados.

🐝

We deliver produce boxes for a reduced price at Ginnie Springs!

See our current box deals

Order your produce box to arrive here by leaving a comment or text 352-210-0453.

We deliver produce boxes for a reduced price at Gilchrist Blue!

See our current box deals

Order your produce box to arrive here by leaving a comment or text 352-210-0453.

We deliver produce boxes for a reduced price at Off The Beet!

See our current box deals

Order your produce box to arrive here by leaving a comment or text 352-210-0453.

This family-run produce stand carries all the standard produce and a bit more, usually much affordable than the grocery store!

Sources from south FL where possible.

Hours: 2-7pm, Sunday-Wednesday

It started as:

If you live nearby, delivery is possible.

We love picking up fruit from David. He provides fruit that he picks up from small farms in southern Florida, as well as some select imports.

See what David has in stock!

We at Radical Roots have sourced caimito, coconuts, eggfruits, lychees, soursop, and mangoes from him, much of which David acquired in Homestead, FL directly from a farm that also grows mamey, mango, sugar apple, and sapodilla. Look out for these being offered by us soon!

We are Radical Roots, a group that brings you locally-grown food, tropical fruits, and edible neighborhoods.

Donations of produce, manure, mulch, etc are welcome! Text 352-210-0453

Learn more at our website or see updates on our Facebook!

The Harper family raises cows in their pasture. These healthy cows are grass-fed & grain-finished.

They also grow other produce, including:

• watermelons
• squash
• tomatoes
• corn
• jalapeños

From a home nearby, Ash & Ember bakery mills organic wheat from Lindley Farms in North Carolina, making small batches of epic sourdough loaves.

The baker keeps a lush food forest for the enjoyment of family & friends year round.

Our distributor sources blueberries from a farm in Citra, FL.

This blueberry farm is also a u-pick! Grows blackberries, peaches, and flowers!

U-pick blackberries! Thornless 🙂

Wholesale produce grown in Florida and abroad.

Post a garden

al-ATCH-oo-uh

Everything else is no

I saw some blackberries growing here.

Info

This is the source of a lot of great produce and plants, run by my friend Eric. He sells at farmer’s markets around the Gainesville area.

He and his team grow:

• Collards
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Pineapple
• Papaya

and much more!

If interested in purchasing, meet them at Haile Farmer’s Market.

Many US immigrants from El Salvador have been extradited into this prison without due process. Once entered, there is no accountability about what happens to prisoners.

President Trump is inquiring with President Nayib Bukele if US citizens can be entered into their prisons.

Apparently there is an execution bloc at this facility.

Hi,

a very skilled friend nearby offers classes in:

• making compound salads
• making bone broth
• building worm castings
• biochar composting
• making mushroom logs

Classes start from $50 per person per session, or can be in exchange for equivalent useful materials, such as:

• several pounds of homegrown produce
• interesting edible plants
• pallets, slabs of plywood, cinder blocks

This list will change as needs are satisfied.

Inquire for a class in comments below.

This center performs a high amount of extractions and crown procedures on young children.

Please ensure that the biohazard disposal bins are untampered and handled appropriately by legal waste collectors, or hygienically composted.

I cannot stand the thought that my child’s teeth were harvested and processed into products.

There’s a farmer’s market here (San Felasco FM) that needs more fresh produce venders. Fruits, veggies, mushrooms.

Still a young market, also needs more publicity.

Motorized Springs Paddleboard & Snorkel

Summer River Night Paddles

Explore the springs!

Let’s eat tropical fruit and sow the seeds,

compost our manure with charcoal

avocado, jackfruit, lychee

skldflkslkdalsdlk

Here is a huge old oak that has a profound connection to the land. Under it, you can discover deep insights.

I provide acupuncture and Reiki both in person and remotely. I offer various one-on-one and group containers. If you’d like to book a session here with me in Gainesville I do a sliding scale of $85 – $125.

I absolutely love seeing and nurturing the divinity within each person. I believe we come to this earth with spiritual and creative gifts that we are meant to embody and share. I’m passionate about helping people transmute emotional blocks into their most powerful offerings to change the world.

I was trained in Reiki 6 years ago. I learned from three different teachers, each one offered something unique and powerful to me. I graduated from The Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in August 2023 and have been offering acupuncture in Gainesville since April 2024.

My number 860-874-7944

Instagram
@katehemingwayacupuncture

Email
katemhemingway@gmail.com

This guy was giving away crinoids from Tennessee!

• Jaboticaba
• figs
• mulberries
• persimmons
• pomegranates
• avocados
• plums

text 727-402-9745 for purchases and visitation

Future directions: building tiny homes, HipCamp, Airbnb, agritourism, permaculture and foraging workshops

• Event:
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• Start Date Time: 07/18/2024 05:00
• End Date Time: 07/15/2024 13:00

• Event:
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• Start Date Time: 07/27/2024 12:00
• End Date Time: 07/27/2024 16:00

As seen by @_fruit__tella on IG

Kind of fruit tree:

Banana

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Tropical in temperate Mediterranean climate

• Event:
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• Start Date Time: 07/21/2024 03:05
• End Date Time: 07/31/2024 07:10

flower, Reproductive portion of any flowering plant (angiosperm). Popularly, the term applies especially when part or all of the reproductive structure is distinctive in colour and form. Flowers present a multitude of combinations of colour, size, form, and anatomical arrangement. In some plants, individual flowers are very small and are borne in a distinctive cluster (inflorescence). Each flower consists of a floral axis that bears the essential organs of reproduction (male stamens and/or female pistils) and usually accessory organs (sepals and petals); the latter may serve both to attract pollinating insects (seepollination) and to protect the essential organs. Flower parts are arrayed usually in whorls but sometimes spirally. Four distinct whorls are common: the outer calyx (sepals), the corolla (petals), the androecium (stamens), and, in the centre, the gynoecium (pistils). The sepals are usually greenish and often resemble reduced leaves; the petals are usually colourful and showy. Pollen is produced in the stamens. A pollen-receptive stigma rests atop each pistil. The pistil, made up of one or more carpels, encloses an ovary that contains the ovules, or potential seeds. After fertilization the ovary enlarges to form the fruit. Flowers have been symbols of beauty in most civilizations of the world, and flower giving is still among the most popular of social amenities.

• Event:
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• Start Date Time: 12/07/2024 00:00
• End Date Time: 12/07/2024 06:00

What’s in Season:

Everything I Grow:

How to Access:

Meet the Grower:

🌱

• Receive Payments:
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• PayPal Account:
  Leela@leelamaps.com
• Payment Button Text:
  Buy a thing

Give this guy something.

• Receive Payments:
  Receive Payments
• PayPal Account:
  eligoldnew@gmail.com
• Payment Button Text:
  Share the love!
• payment message:

  Everything helps <3

While this feature is being tested, let’s throw her a little something.

Mom!

Mom is a great person!

Mom is a great person who is making positive changes!

Mom is a great person who is making positive changes in herself!

Mom is a great person who is making positive changes in herself and in her environment!

Mom is a great person!

She made me!

Thanks, mom!

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Full Season Biweekly CSA

Oct-June $720

Full Season Weekly CSA

Oct-June $1400

Fall CSA example: Sweet potatoes, radish, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, peppers, kale, lettuce, and arugula.

Winter CSA example: Beets, carrots, turnip, broccoli, chard, spinach, green onions, and parsley.

Spring CSA example: Potatoes, acorn squash, onions, cauliflower, cucumber, bok choi, arugula, and peaches.

Growing Practices

Other places our products are sold:

Is this your farm? Contact me to get authorship privileges over this post.

Products

• Basil
• Parsley
• Lettuce
• Bok Choy
• Kale
• Cauliflower
• Radishes
• Eggplants
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupes
• Summer Squash
• Butternut Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Peaches

Growing Practices

The Family Garden, or TFG, grows with dignity and respect for the land and the people who care for your food. The amazing thing about organic farming is that it doesn’t only benefit the farmer and the consumer, but also the the land and the people who tend to it. That’s why every season we strive to use the most sustainable and mindful practices possible. Not only does this produce the best food, but it also strengthens our connection to the land and enriches our lives. We’re committed to demonstrating the value of this connection, and the joy that it can bring to the entire community!

Other places our products are sold:

• Alachua County Farmer’s Market, Sat 8:30-noon

Is this your farm? Contact me to get authorship privileges over this post.

Kind of fruit tree:

In the region of Apopka, a gardener has a mango in ground, breadfruit in container

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Mango is generally assumed to be “too tropical.”

Grow Notes:

What’s in Season:

Jackfruit

Contact the Grower for Location

🌱

Here at the eco teaching farm, there are examples of lush gardens, natural fiber materials, earthen constructions and recapture technologies.

This includes:

• Paper, Baskets, Pots, Figures, Utensils
• Cob Temple & Oven
• Rainwater Capture
• Biogas Reactor

To learn more, visit the ISKCON temple and ask about the Eco Teaching Farm managed by Akuti.

They produce biochar here, from morning to 4

(Doesn’t meet July-September)

Kind of fruit tree:

Durian

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Ultra-tropical, hardly anyone tries to grow it

Grow Notes:

There are folks who struggle to grow durian in even more southern tropical climate; common belief has been that it’s the climate that’s the issue, but it seems more an issue of soil

If anyone can find this grower, check their growing practices

(This is an approximate location, apparently the tree is on Pine Island somewhere)

Kind of fruit tree:

• Jackfruit
• mango
• Avocado

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Considered tropical, local lore is that the region’s hard frosts would kill any of these trees before maturity

Reported by Year of the Durian

Within a few miles of here is a food forest stewarded by Craig, AKA Florida Fruit Geek.

The food forest was an orange orchard, comprised of grafted trees. The base of the trees were sour oranges, so when a hard frost killed back the grafted tops, the sour orange base started shoots.

Craig’s sour oranges are absolutely electric. For cautious eaters, I recommend them to be used as a salad dressing.

Craig runs a nursery from which you can order online.

Craig’s food forest includes:

• Oranges
• Clementines
• Mulberries
• Bananas
• Loquats
• Papayas
• Avocados
• Kale
• & much more (including a Jackfruit!)

Buena Fortuna Gardens

Website w/ Calendar

Volunteer: Thursdays 11-2, 2-5

Farm Stand: Sundays 2:30-5pm

Weekly herbal circles: Sundays 2-4pm

Website w/ Calendar

Store: Walmart

Notes:

Unlike other Walmarts, this one sources Latino produce and provides tons of plantains at a competitive price.

However, there were no Papayas when I was there.

Mamey Sapote is listed as produce they occasionally stock.
〰️

Nearby is a food forest.

📷

🌱 Plants

• banana
• mulberry
• sugar apple
• coconut
• barbados cherry
• avocado

📷

Kind of Animal:

Thousands of Beagles, dogs

Living Conditions and Duration (if known):

Cramped cages, subjects of horrific experimentation

Know of other animals in distress? Map an AID‼️ note!

I have met a witness to the destruction of large ammonite fossils, over 1 foot in diameter

The motivation for destroying fossils is to ensure the continuing operation of the mine, as these fossils are otherwise protected.

Additionally, Alpena has a much higher cancer rate due to proximity to mines.

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, heartbreak

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, family

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, stood up by famous neuroscientist

Diet: vegan, aspiring raw

Check out my giant zucchini 😳

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, marijuana, narcissism, gender euphoria

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, sex, drugs, cybersecurity

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, marijuana, sleeping on a workshop storage shelf

Diet: vegan, cooked; grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruit, marijuana

Kind of fruit tree:

Banana

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Semi-public, where swimmers and walkers can access; native to SE Asia

Grow Notes:

Odd Todd’s is only open Thursday morning, Fridays and Saturdays.

This area is in a dead zone for major cell services, but you can get wi-fi if you ask the cashier to turn on the hot spot.

Local Businesses:

Microgreens

Gourmet Mushrooms

Kind of fruit tree:

Avocado, mature fruiting

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

This region is generally assumed to be too cold to grow subtropical fruit trees

Grow Notes:

Here there are bat houses that were installed for an Eagle Scout project by Justin Graham, December 20, 2010.

Refills Available:

• Grocery
  • Pasta
  • Beans
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Snacks
  • Oil
  • Nuts & Nut Butters
  • Tea
  • Spices
• Hygiene
  • Shampoo
  • Soap

🫙

Reaction to massacres of Palestinians in Gaza.

Word is that Mosswood Farm is home to many permaculture experiments.

“Joe grows some 50 types of bananas, and has experimented with more tropicals up here than most people i know. His property uses biochar, self grown mulch, etc”

Crones’ Cradle Conserve is an organic farm, open every day, 10am-3pm.

CCC’s store sells many plants & greens, as well as home wares, thrift goods, and locally-made foods.

Periodically CCC hosts ecofriendly events.

Flavor: Ragumay is described as tasting “sweet and thick.”

Structure: Ragumay has seeded pods stacked around a core stem, surrounded by spiky stems that peel off when ripe.

Relatives: Based on this structure and origin location, it is probably related to jackfruit, cempadak, utu, breadfruit, durian and similar.

Source: “Fruitarian Farmer” on Facebook.

Here is the first aid kit on the 2nd floor of the Discovery Center.

📷

Contents

• Antibiotic Ointment
• Antiseptic Wipes
• Aspirin
• Bandaids
• Gauze
• Medical Tape
• Non-latex Gloves
• Thermometer

Access Instructions

Upstairs by the staircase, by the fire extinguisher

1st Floor Fire Extinguisher

First Floor Defibrillator

Evacuation Routes

first floor

second floor

Kind of fruit tree:

Cacao

Why this fruit tree is unexpected:

Super tropical

Grow Notes:

In ground

Grower: “My plan was never to cover it since it’s under the canopy of Mamey trees. Anyhow, it didn’t even get into the 30s this winter usually January has temperatures in the 30s but not even the high 30s reached this winter.”

Harbison Farm is a ranch market run by a very welcoming family. This is by far the nicest place to pick up produce, especially if you have explorative kids.

There are chickens, ducks, turkeys, Guinea fowl, and friendly dogs for the little ones to enjoy.

Anyone looking to buy or sell a home in Alachua County? Would you rather work with a vegan?

Free pizza with every purchase

Harris Max, Pais Realty (352)283-1027

HarrisPaisRealty@gmail.com

Many tropical fruit trees have grown in this zone!

It Bears Fruit: Tropicals in a Temperate Zone

What’s the secret? Deep mulch!

Learn more about Unexpected Fruit Trees!

Many tropical fruit trees have grown in this zone!

It Bears Fruit: Tropicals in a Temperate Zone

What’s the secret? Deep mulch!

Learn more about Unexpected Fruit Trees!

Many tropical fruit trees have grown in this zone!

It Bears Fruit: Tropicals in a Temperate Zone

What’s the secret? Deep mulch!

Learn more about Unexpected Fruit Trees!

Kind of fruit tree:

Papaya

Grow Notes:

At Ocala Community Garden, alongside plots with fruiting eggplants, tomatoes, zucchinis and cucumbers, brassicas (esp kale, bok choy), fennel, pineapple, and more.

Here at Loblolly Park is where jackfruit seeds were sown.

Key Foods stocks a number of tropical fruits, including:

• Mamey Sapote
• Dragonfruit (yellow, white)
• Pepino
• Tamarillo
• Starfruit
• Tropical Avocado
• Passionfruit
• Burro Banana
• Pineapple
• Mango
• Papaya

Urban Ore diverts waste from the dump to be reused and recycled.

Large sections include:

• Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Desks
• Doors & Doorknobs
• Windows
• Lamps, Light Fixtures
• Sinks, Faucets
• Toilets
• Bicycles
• Power Tools
• Luggage
• Records
• Clothes

The Google Location

The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse sells secondhand craft materials, tools, books, and household goods.

Large sections include fabric, yarn, paint, markers, and pens.

The Repurpose Project is a secondhand store that receives and sells materials, crafts, tools, etc at low cost.

See Sister Projects

Chun Ching has 3 distinct produce sections.

Front – fruit:

• jackfruit
• rambutan
• longans (sometimes from Florida)
• lychees (sometimes from Florida)
• dragonfruit (yellow, red)
• yellow mangoes in boxes
• red mangoes
• Thai bananas
• oranges
• asian pears
• apples
• avocados
• persimmons (seasonal)
• soursop (seasonal)
• cherimoya (seasonal)
• canistel aka eggfruit, yellow sapote (seasonal)

Back – bulbs, roots & savory fruits:

• ginger
• potatoes
• yams
• tomatoes
• green tomatoes
• shallots
• onions
• garlic
• durian (in freezer; $4/lb)

Side – refrigerated veggies:

• carrots
• celery (western, Chinese)
• leeks
• green onions
• broccoli (western, Chinese)
• bok choy
• choy sum
• gai lan
• basil
• mushrooms
• kohlrabi
• banana flower
• zucchini
• bitter melon
• okra
• eggplant
• bell peppers
• papaya

Are you a part of this store or a recent customer and would like to update this post? Contact in the comments or make a note!

This defibrillator is beside the pickle ball courts.

Here is where I scattered papaya seeds & skin in the naturespaces throughout the beautiful dispersed playground of Coehadjoe Park.

Here, there is a kid-friendly obstacle course, swings, slides and cool kid hangouts.

Available at gallery each day, 10am-5pm.

This office has deeded & insured land in Palestine to the Sheikh family, which includes my former housemate, Shereen.

Have your baby’s cloth diapers refreshed by professionals!

This service provider is interested in coordinating with compost diaper service.

Home

Booth at the Ocala Downtown Market on Saturdays, 9-2.

Service Area

Phone #: (352) 304-8069

Discount store has a lot of $1 items, most is well below market rate, household goods & food; lots of plant-based/vegan options.

At this time there isn’t fresh produce yet.

A friendly couple vends produce from the back of their pickup truck most days, starting in the afternoon (2-4pm).

When I was there in December, they sold:

• collard greens,
• mustard greens,
• cabbages,
• eggplants,
• bell peppers,
• tomatoes,
• cucumbers,
• grapefruits,
• pineapples.

They only take cash and sell near the Dollar General, where cashback may be an option if purchasing from a cashier (but not self-service). Nearest ATM is at the Circle K ($4.25 ATM fee) across the street.

Conch Blow _ 50

Dream Interpretation _ 200

text 724-326-3426

USDA hardiness zone 8b

“Our kale was still growing until a foot of snow dropped on it. Anchorage, AK.”

From Organic Gardening group on FB

Raspberries, watermelons and tomatoes fruiting in November

^{Roberto Cisneros/AFP/Getty Images}

^{People protest during a march against the government contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum and its subsidiary Minera Panama in Panama City on November 3, 2023.}

Anti-mining protests that have roiled Panama for the last two weeks turned deadly on Tuesday when a man allegedly shot and killed two demonstrators, according to police.

A chilling video posted by bystanders on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed a disheveled elderly man apparently frustrated with the logjam trying to force the protestors to remove a barrier blocking the Pan American highway about 50 miles south of the capital, before pulling out a pistol and opening fire. Panama’s National Police later said they arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of the shooting.

The unusual scene of violence is the latest flashpoint in some of the largest protests to hit the Central American nation since Panamanians flooded the streets en masse to demonstrate against the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega in the 1980s.

For weeks, tens of thousands of protestors have vented their fury at a controversial mining contract given to Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining company, to extract copper, a key component in electric car batteries.

The contract allows Canada’s First Quantum Minerals to restart an open-pit copper mine surrounded by rain forest for the next 20 years, with the possibility of extending for another 20 years.

Environmentalists say the mine could contaminate drinking water and devastate tracts of the 32,000 acres the company negotiated use of, in exchange for yearly payments of $375 million.

Panama’s government has promised, however, that the mine will bring thousands of jobs in addition to the badly needed revenue. First Quantum Minerals did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the protests.

Roberto Cisneros/AFP/Getty Images

Teachers march to protest the deaths of two people during a demonstration against the government’s contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum and its subsidiary Minera Panama in Panama City on November 8, 2023.

Roberto Cisneros/AFP/Getty Images

A march against the government contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum and its subsidiary Minera Panama in Panama City on November 3, 2023.

‘Panamanians are suffering’

Opposition to the mine has united environmentalists, indigenous groups and teachers’ and construction unions who see allegations of backroom dealings between the government and the mining company as further evidence of widespread official corruption.

The protestors accuse the government of selling off the nation’s natural resources at the same moment many Panamanians have been hit with the costs of rising inflation and are feeling the impacts of climate change.

“Panamanians are suffering from lack of water, suffering from droughts, principally in the central provinces, animals that die, harvests that don’t happen,” environmental activist Martita Cornejo told CNN en Español.

“The government did not guage the opposition from Panamanian society to a mining contract.”

But former US ambassador to Panama John Feeley said while much of the outrage is real, the new contract announcement has also presented an opportunity for some groups to try to force their own concessions and win sweetheart deals from the government.

“This is the horrible thing about Panama: Even when you protest corruption, you are probably facilitating it as well,” he said.

Weeks of road blocks set up by protesters have shut down the country, preventing farmers from bringing crops to market and sequestering Panamanians in their homes. According to Panama’s association of company executives, the standstill inflicts $80 million in daily losses to local businesses. Celebrations to mark Panama’s independence from Colombia in 1903 were also widely cancelled last week.

Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo has defended the mining deal after its announcement on October 20, saying the agreement would create jobs and revenue for Panama.

The mine had provided a rare economic bright spot for Panama where tourism has been slow to recover from the pandemic and the drought has reduced traffic though the Panama Canal, which is expected to a cause a drop of revenue of $200 million in 2024.

“We made the right decision, not the easiest one,” Cortizo said. “After a difficult and complicated negotiation for more than two years, a contract was agreed in 2023 between the company Minera Panama and the Panamanian State, which guarantees much better terms and conditions for the country.”

But as the protests have dragged on, Panama’s government has offered concessions that have done little to deflate the crisis: Last week, congress passed a moratorium on all future metal mining and Cortizo called for a nationwide referendum in December on the controversial project.

In 2017, Panama’s Supreme Court declared another contract to operate the copper mine as unconstitutional, forcing the mining company and government to renegotiate the deal.

Opponents now say they are hopeful that an announcement by Panama’s Supreme Court this week that it is examining the legality of the contract could once again kill the deal.

Whatever the resolution to the crisis, it may be too late to repair the damage done to Panama’s reputation in the region as a rare bastion of political and economic stability.

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