J Wynne

Hi everybody!

I am currently assisting families on the steep slopes of southern Ecuador.
Many of which have greenhouses which have been dug a foot or so into the mountain side... because of this there is a lack of healthy organisms in the soil and i believe what they have essentially done is removed the top soil.

Can anybody suggest ways of building soil? I am introducing them to compost however a lot of it will be needed to cover the size of the greenhouses... which are about 80m x 20 m .
I have been considering lasagne bed technique... but many use plastic sheeting to suppress the weeds, which is another obstacle.
Mulching / ground cover? but this could take a very long time. I understand theres no 'quick fix solution' but suggestions would be great.

Another issue we have seen is some greenhouses have an abnormal amount of insects and pests... I believe it is because there is not enough airflow in the greenhouse. so it has literally become an incubator for pests? Is this true, and can anyone provide solutions. (pests included are white fly for strawberries. Caterpillars. Beattle larvae. Cabbage moth, and many more.)

Thank you for your time and help!!!

Hi.. I would appreciate any help or advice.

I am currently in Southern Ecuador introducing permaculture to families here. They live in the mountains and many work on lands over 50% slope.
Currently many of the families are only planting corn here so I want to introduce them to the three sisters...

However on the steep slopes there is a large problem with water retention and run off.
At first I wanted to introduce swales but have read that on steep slopes they are not a viable option.... We are a team of two working by hand so large scale works are not an option. (impossible for machinery to reach some of the land we are working with. )

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated....THANK YOU!

attached are some images to show...