By Suzanne de Berge | President
Exciting Day in Socorro!
On December 9, Seeds for a Future inaugurated a new Demonstration Center in the village of Socorro so local families can see a working example of a Casa Granja (Cah-sah Grahn-ha, or "Backyard Farm"). The Casa Granja is designed to produce nutritious plant and animal foods in an integrated and sustainable way. In the year or so since we began focusing on the Casa Granja concept, from the 1000+ families who have benefitted from our Family Gardens program, 83 families have already advanced to establish their own successful Casa Granja, and more families are asking every day to learn how to start this comprehensive approach to raising their own food.
The Demonstration Center is a wonderful example of the dedication and commitment of the Seeds Team and the spirit of cooperation of the families, exemplified by Doña Dominga, one of our most loyal and supportive participants. She generously gave permission to use her existing garden and animal areas for the new Center, and our staff added teaching information, additional garden areas, and other planting and animal facilities.
After a few words of welcome and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, women and children from the area toured simple passageways of bamboo covered with vine crops, checked out the tilapia pond and saw how to re-cycle big plastic pop bottles for growing plants in small spaces. Garden rows are protected by fences formed of bushes that produce nutritious leaves or fruits. Banana, cacao and other fruit trees shade certain plants; in other areas, trees have been removed so sun-loving plants thrive. Being able to see these and other features of the Casa Granja system put into practice is a great learning resource for an area where most people learn best by seeing and doing.
The high point of the event was the delicious lunch, prepared completely from products of Seeds’ Casa Granja and Demonstration Center: green tortillas (tortillas enhanced with nutritious greens), a hearty soup of rabbit meat and native root veggies and greens, tamalitos with chipilin wrapped in leaves grown in the Center, and a refreshing and nutritious drink made from Chaya leaves. What better way to experience the benefits of a Casa Granja!!
Your support has allowed the Seeds Team to fine-tune theoretical knowledge with real-world experience, to experiment and risk failure -- something a poor family can ill-afford to do. This distillation of knowledge and experience allows the Team to coach and advise the families as they develop their own Casa Granja. Having expert assistance during the early stages is especially important, as each family's space is unique, and their Casa Granja needs to match their particular needs and resources.
We appreciate your support in helping families have better nutrition, cooked and served in a clean and healthful way, to give themselves and their children a better chance for healthy, productive lives. Please continue your support of this self-help, learn-by-doing program so in the coming 12 months we can double the number of families that are able to live better with a successful Casa Granja.
Click the GIVE NOW button below, share this report with your friends and colleagues and follow us on our Facebook page.
A HEARTFELT THANKS FROM OUR TEAM!
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
