Home Gardens for 200 Families, Oaxaca, Mexico

Dear GlobalGiving supporters,

I hope you and your loved ones have been able to stay safe and healthy during these unprecedented times! Just like in most countries around the world, in Mexico, we are feeling the effects of COVID-19. Since March, we have been on orders to stay at home and practice social distancing. Our priority is to keep our staff and communities protected. The number of Coronavirus cases in my country have been steadily increasing, but have concentrated mostly in urban centers. The more isolated and rural communities where we work remain vigilant, practicing safety measures, and keeping outsiders from coming into their villages.

We had scheduled a workshop with the communities for March 15 to implement an agroforestry parcel with cacao and home gardens. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the activities because of COVID-19. Of course, our work hasn’t stopped over that time. We keep in touch with the communities through phone calls and providing vital information about the situation and the safety measures that should always be considered.

Overall, the EcoLogic team and our partners have also taken advantage of this time to share experiences with each other, discuss our work on the ground, and how we can improve or enhance our interventions. It has been a very enriching experience, to have the time to take a step back and have these discussions with our own team, and outside experts as well. The virtual workshops that we had included topics like agroforestry with cacao, gender inclusion, community empowerment, home gardens, and similarities and differences in all the countries where EcoLogic has presence and projects.

These home gardens are providing resilience and helping rural families in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras navigate these challenging times right now. Thank you! But we anticipate there will be broader food insecurity as the ability to get key supplies or sell their products in town centers continues to be restricted. This is, of course, a big concern. We are in dialogue with our local staff and partners, to continue providing support in this regard--expanding our work with home gardens to respond to immediate needs.

We’re eager to resume our activities once the government gives the “green light.” I look forward to keeping you updated on the experiences of these communities as we move forward in these challenging times. Thanks again for your support, it gives me the strength to keep fighting for my people and my country each and every day!

In solidarity, 

Marco Acevedo, Program Officer, EcoLogic Development Fund