Home Gardens for 200 Families, Oaxaca, Mexico

Greetings GlobalGiving supporters,

The implementation of the home gardens is going well and has contributed to generating savings in the families’ economy since they have been able to consume what they produce. The participation of women has included a process of capacity-building in the use of organic compost, biofertilizers in their gardens, care of seedlings, and workshops on recovering traditional knowledge around the use of medicinal plants.

It has not been easy, since there are many shortages and difficulties in the communities as the cost of basic goods has drastically increased. Concern about Covid-19 also remains high in the communities, since there is limited access to adequate medical attention.

Despite this, we have been following up on the gardens and continuing with the cycle that had already begun to ensure the continuous production in the family gardens. We also recently held a series of meetings with the Universidad del Pueblo in San José Chiltepec to implement a new batch of gardens, where the process will be accompanied by students. The director of this institution is convinced of this collaboration with the Fondo Ambiental Regional de la Chinantla, Oaxaca. A.C. (FARCO) and EcoLogic will enhance the students' practical training as agroecology technicians and link them to rural communities. 

We are set to begin another 10 gardens in the coming weeks. We are thrilled about this collaboration and are looking forward to responding to the interest of teachers, communities, and students to continue implementing family gardens in rural communities and seeing the fruits of perseverance and the work we do in the region.

We send you our warmest greetings and sincere appreciation for all the support and interest you have given us during all this time. We look forward to the next update!

Severiana Dominguez

Field Technician

Dear GlobalGiving Supporters,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy. We wish you all the best in 2022.

Despite the ongoing challenges presented by Covid, we are steadfast in our commitment to work day in and day out in support of communities in Oaxaca. We are excited to continue to expand this initiative, with your help!

We would like to share the testimony of Doña Elvira, one of the participants in the Home Gardens Program from Rancho Faisán, Santa María Jacatepec:

"We send you many greetings. The benefit we get from the home gardens is that we are going to have what we plant. We needed to learn how to plant. It is important to know when different plants are going to sprout, and what to do to make them work. We have to take care of the garden so that it produces what we sow.

We invite the women of the community to put their hearts into it. COVID-19 affected us a lot because we could not get together to do many community activities. We were very afraid, we are still afraid... but fortunately, the measures we implemented have worked. Now, we see many friends getting sick. Things are getting better but we have to persevere, thank you very much for your support."

In addition, we wanted to share that our field technician for this project, Severiana Dominguez, was recognized by the Human Impacts Institute for their Climate Crossroads project. Severiana was among the ten Indigenous women and youth from the Global South that were featured in the Climate Crossroads Exhibit. Illustrated by Indigenous and Afro-descendant artists, the portraits were showcased during COP26. 

I look forward to sharing the next update with you, including news of production and harvest from these efforts in the following report. Until then be safe and take care. 

Thank you for your support!

Marco Acevedo, Mexico Program Officer