Vegetable gardens in the Sierra Gorda

The women of the Sierra Gorda who now have their own vegetable gardens thanks to your support are delighted to report they are harvesting a variety of organic vegetables.  The seed sowing and soil preparation techniques the women learnt during the initial training workshops have really paid off with delicious sweet tomatoes and glossy leaved Swiss chard being harvested on a daily basis. Many of the women are growing enough to feed their families healthily and some even produce extra to sell or exchange with neighbors and friends. The vegetable gardens are helping to bring families and communities together and the women’s success is encouraging other people to start their own vegetable gardens. The women are noticing the benefits of the bio-intensive techniques producing four times more than with the conventional technique.

They are enjoying the flavors, colors and textures of what they harvest, in addition to the health benefits. There has been evidence of health improvements amongst the families who suffer from diabetes, obesity, malnutrition and hypertension. Those who are over weight are losing weight and many are noticing they have more energy thanks to the nutritious organic produce they are now eating. We are hoping to see further health improvements including improved infant development as the project develops. 

The vegetable gardens are creating many benefits in communities that suffer from poverty, lack of employment opportunities and poor education and health care standards. Sadly many families eat a nutritiously poor diet filled with junk food and sugar loaded fizzy drinks. With your support we will provide regular meetings and training sessions for the women where they care share their experiences and learn more. We hope to hold workshops including healthy cooking and seed collection. The results are evidence in themselves that creating vegetable gardens in the Sierra Gorda has only positive results however we need your support to further develop the women’s skills and help other women start vegetable gardens in their communities. With seeds, tools and training these women are changing the way their communities eat, how their children grow and the health issues they suffer. Please help us continue with this project, which is making a permanent change to the well being of so many families in the Sierra Gorda.

Links:

• How to establish a vegetable garden