Home Gardens for 200 Families, Oaxaca, Mexico

Dear GlobalGiving Supporters,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy. I don’t need to tell you that last year was challenging. In particular, COVID-19 took a big toll on our communities. 

But, we continue to work day in and day out in support of these communities. Since the last update we sent, we have been able to fully establish 10 home gardens in the community of San José Chiltepec. Our field-technician, Severiana Dominguez, coordinated a group of volunteers who worked on installing the mesh rolls to protect the home gardens and proceeded to plant the seeds directly on the prepared land. The families were excited because they were planting their own crops.

When we designed this batch of home gardens, one of the agreements was to save some of the plants to produce seeds for future distribution to other families. However, due to COVID-19 they asked us if we could reconsider the previous agreement because the next harvest will be very important for their families to alleviate the impact of the pandemic. We agreed to this change, but will continue to work toward local seed production and distribution.

I hope you enjoy the photos I’ve included. I look forward to sharing 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
Program Officer
EcoLogic Development Fund

Dear GlobalGiving supporters,

Greetings from La Chinantla! First of all, thank you so much for your generous support during GlobalGiving’s recent Little by Little Campaign. You have made it possible for us to move forward with the implementation of home gardens where they are greatly needed in the community of San José Chiltepec. Over the last weeks I have been focusing on:

Getting the green light from local authorities the Municipal Council of San José Chiltepec to hold our workshops. As I mentioned in my last update, during the pandemic we have prioritized safety and have been following all guidance from national and local authorities. As such, we needed to get permission from the municipal authority and present a plan outlining the safety protocols and measures that would be taken, based on the recommendations of the Secretary of Health. In advance of the first workshop, we carried out a disinfectant cleaning, distributed face masks, and hand sanitizer to workshop participants. In addition, during the workshop, we ensured that the proper distance was maintained between each participant.

Holding a workshop on the establishment and management of home gardens. Last week, I led the workshop on the use and management of home gardens. The 10 families we worked with emphasized their importance due to the improvement in food security. They are very interested in producing their own food with fast-growing species that they can use in the shortest possible time, such as radish, onion, squash, cucumber, green beans, and chili peppers. These vegetables are part of their daily diet and due to the increase in prices and shortages in local markets, they have become a necessity.

Visits to 10 families where the home gardens will be implemented. After the workshop, I visited the sites where each family will establish its home garden and made specific technical recommendations for each place. At each site, we decided where the best place would be and established the basic layouts to begin orchard management tasks. The next step will be to prepare the substrate to establish the seedbeds and finally planting the seeds.

I look forward to keeping you updated as we move forward--we truly could not do it without you! I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy.

In solidarity,

Severiana Dominguez, Project Technician

Oaxaca, México