Seeds and Skills for Women to Grow Vegetables

Hi folks,

Today’s project update comes from GrowEastAfrica, an SPI partner who works with IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) families in Soyama, Ethiopia. If their name sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve been working with them since 2016 back when they were DBCO, and we’ve shared some of their story before.

“GrowEastAfrica’s agricultural projects work with vulnerable farmers, many of whom are women, by training them in improved practical agricultural methods, helping them access quality agricultural inputs and technology, and linking them to viable markets. Such efforts help farmers grow more food for themselves or to sell. In doing so, farmers are able to prevent hunger, preserve land for future use, and obtain long lasting food security.” — Yohannes Chonde

GrowEastAfrica’s co-founder, Yohannes Chonde, has adapted their programs over the years to meet the most urgent needs of the families they serve. They not only provide a short-term solution for folks who are fleeing their homes and establishing new lives, but they are moving toward long-term solutions that enroll and integrate local communities in ways that benefit both groups.

For instance, water is scarce in Ethiopia, and water access is critical for everyone — not just farmers. Rather than competing with the community, they’ve worked to establish reliable water sources for their farmers in collaboration with the local community.

Yohannes knows that access to farming resources — like good seed, tools, and training — can change life for someone who has been displaced. To be clear, these resources are not a handout. Farming is hard work that requires both manual labor and expertise. GrowEastAfrica’s programs strive not only to provide access to resources, but also to educate and train farmers who can pass on their knowledge and training to other farmers.

Fate is one farmer who has forged a new livelihood from the resources and education she accessed through GrowEastAfrica. Fleeing dangerous conditions, she left everything behind to start her life over in Soyama. Soon after arriving, Fate participated in farming and postharvest training with the Soyama Women’s Association offered by GrowEastAfrica in collaboration with the Burji District Agricultural Department. As one of the first participants, she’s witnessed how her community has changed because of GrowEastAfrica and her community’s determination to reestablish themselves:

“Just a few years ago, we were a community that was worried about what we would eat tomorrow and what the future looks like. … Today, not only are we growing our own food, but we're making plans for the future of our people and our community.”

Fate’s journey is one of survival and resilience. Building upon her training, she’s stepped into leadership with her Association to increase her community’s self-reliance:

“We are creating markets for ourselves, we're inspiring and empowering each other, and we're saving money and contributing to our own development. … We’re building on what we’ve already accomplished to include neighboring villages and communities. Hope has come back to us, and we hope to grow our project so everyone — us, our communities, our villages and our country — can become fully self-reliant.”

Fate and her Association are continually seeking new ways to learn and grow. Working with GrowEastAfrica, they are refining the Association’s supply chain to reach larger markets. They recently visited a commercial farm to see different techniques demonstrated that they can incorporate into their own practices. Photos from that visit are attached to this report.

Your support makes these programs possible. Thank you. Earlier this year, Fate shared a letter of gratitude for your support and the partnership between SPI and GrowEastAfrica. We’ll leave you with her words.

“Because of the support from Seed Programs International and Yohannes, we now have access to water where there was none. ... Thank you for choosing to invest in our community and in our well-being. We are going to be good stewards of your trust and your resources and will continue to share updates of our growth and successes, as well as challenges, for many years to come.”

The SPI Team

P.S. If you’d like to read more frequent updates about GrowEastAfrica, they will be featured in our new Gardens Give Hope, Health, and Income in E. Africa project here on GlobalGiving.

Hi folks,

This month, our update comes from Tecpan, Guatemala, where a group of Mayan women have recently begun gardening again with SPI’s support. These farmers aren’t newcomers—in addition to their traditional knowledge, most have vegetable-growing experience from a program that was supported by Wendy de Berger, the First Lady of Guatemala from 2004 - 2008.

When the government changed, support for this program was ended and the Tecpan farmer’s gardens went fallow without access to good seed. However, their group didn’t disband. Led by Paula López, women continued to meet regularly to preserve their Mayan culture and find ways to support each other. Gardens are one way to facilitate the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge and also provide nutrition and income to communities. This is such an important activity for people whose communities and cultures have been disrupted by generations of political violence aimed at destroying their identity.

With your support, we were able to provide Paula with good seed. The group immediately gathered to determine how best to share radish, cucumber, eggplant, cabbage, and carrot seeds amongst the 55 women. Over several meetings, Paula distributed the seed and reviewed basic planting instructions. These are strong, self-organized women, and they only needed access to a few resources to re-establish their gardening program.

Since most of the women already have gardening knowledge and experience, Paula led several discussions about post-harvest topics like how to cook and incorporate new vegetables into a traditional Mayan diet. She also encouraged the farmers to favor a native Guatemalan cuisine that features natural, unprocessed ingredients like fruits and vegetables instead of relying on processed foods. If that sounds like a boring meeting to you, we can assure you it wasn’t. After discussing the project, the women played traditional games, sung Mayan songs, and danced!

“This project has the potential to benefit the women’s group in Tecpan in many ways, for example, it will help foster connection with the mother earth, team work, and family work, as well as, increase the production of food without insecticides. People will to learn and get used to having a garden at home and saving money. But the one of the most important benefits is that this project will help the women and families eat healthier by consuming products that come from the earth. The women are very happy about this project.” — Paula López, Women's Group & Gardening Project Leader

We’re proud to partner with Paula and the Tecpan Women’s Group and hope to see the project grow in the coming year. You might remember Naima and Nancee’s visit with Pop Atz’iak in San Cristobal, a Mayan women’s group who similarly established a gardening program with support from SPI. Both Nancee and SPI volunteer Alejandra Sanchez have visited with the women and Alejandra’s report is promising.

“After my most recent visit to Guatemala, I have very high hopes for the gardening project in Tecpan. Paula is a woman that learned from a very young age how to garden, and all the women in the Tecpan group also have some sort of experience in gardening. After talking to some of them, it became evident that they know very well what they are doing, and everyone is excited about the project. Some were already planning on selling the surplus of the harvest and using that profit to buy more seeds and make the project bigger.” — Alejandra Sanchez, SPI Volunteer

As always, thank you for your support. A little goes a long way with determined people who just need good seed to transform their communities. Again, thank you!

The SPI Team