Help Rural Communities in their access to food

The Arete Guazu community  is a Guarani community in Caimancito town, Jujuy Province, that we accompany with the presence and work of an agroecological promoter who constantly assists them on their way to improve food self-production in their community garden. 

Located in the transition between the Yungas and the Chaco, Caimancito belongs to the northern sector of Ledesma Department and has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. The economy is based on the forestry industry, representing the main timber extraction area of the province, with a significant concentration of microenterprises of sawmills and carpentry characterized by a low degree of formalization and reduced levels of capitalization involved in primary production, with little or no industrial processing and of reduced economic magnitude.

The Arete Guazu Community was founded in 2016, and is only composed of 18 families living in precarious and overcrowded conditions in the railroad tracks sideways, in the "neighborhood"of Caimancito. The land was ceded by the Sugar Company "Ledesma" where 6 families live. They do not have access to basic services. Despite these conditions the community organized itself in order to take advantage of the land, distributing it in family plots of 50 meters x 300 meters, growing vegetables for self-consumption and sale, and carrying water from the urban center.

One of the members of the community has an Android phone, with the Kokue mobile application downloaded, so they can monitor the crop with strategies and information provided by the app. Thanks to the accompaniment of the agroecological promoter and Kokue as complementary tool, the community increased the size of a small garden they had on the land, and they were able to harvest a large amount of vegetables, which were destined on the one hand to self-consumption, and on the other, to the sale of surpluses in the town.

With the presence of the promoter and Kokue, they acquired basic fundamental knowledge for the management and monitoring of the garden, and are excited about being able to continue improving the productivity of their crops. Working in the garden means having a community meeting space, especially where women and children can interact and improve their sense of belonging. The garden is a space that makes them feel safe, accompanied and where they can learn every day to improve their food security.