What could you do with an extra US $113 a year?
In 2006, local partners, with support from ONE DROP's Water, Culture and Agriculture Project (or PECAN, the project's French acronym), helped put that much more income into the pockets of many Nicaraguan farmers by guiding them as they learned how to control water, keep hens and deal with eroding slopes.
The Carmen Cruz family of La Ceiba, Nicaragua, is a perfect example of what people can accomplish with just basic knowledge of farming. The transformation of the family's life is equalled only by the transformation of their land. “Hard work” barely begins to describe the challenge of ploughing soil that has never been broken in properly or excavating large rocks from a hillside to build long stone walls and terraced fields.
PECAN technicians were on hand throughout the entire process, even advising Silvia del Carmen Cruz on how to get more eggs from her hens. Any surplus food she yields from her farm is now sold at the local market. This has a two-fold positive effect: By selling excess produce at the market some families now bring in an additional US $113 per year, which means more money for other foods as well as for medication and clothing, and less stress caused by indebtedness.
Learn more about the Water, Culture and Agriculture Project in Nicaragua.
Published on September 8, 2007