Home Gardens for 200 Families, Oaxaca, Mexico

Dear GlobalGiving supporters,

I write with an update about the home gardens we’ve helped establish in Chiltepec, Oaxaca with your support!  The production of vegetables obtained so far has been used by the families for their own consumption. Eventually, the surplus will be sold locally to generate additional economic income for the families.

In Chiltepec there has been a greater appreciation of the home garden, based on the ecological and social impact that the participating households--particularly women--have seen when they got additional food and fresh vegetables for their families.

At this moment the home gardens have vegetables such as pumpkins, chives, wild coriander, chili, cucumbers, radishes, and peppermint. So far cucumber production has been excellent and the communities are excited. Doña Norma was so grateful, she wanted to make me a cucumber salad! We expect the same results with the pumpkins and the wild coriander in the coming months.

All the home garden species were selected through a participatory process, with the families prioritizing the herbs and vegetables they wanted to grow. As a side note, we have also produced a few cedar and mahogany in the nursery tree for reforestation and forest restoration.

Thanks again for your support and we look forward to the next update--we couldn’t do it without you!

Severiana Dominguez, Field Technician, FARCO, Oaxaca