IDEX Program Officer, Katherine Zavala visited EduPaz in August 2009 to see what they have been able to achieve so far.

With your support, EduPaz is in the process of constructing their Agroecology Training Site. They have already have started growing organic vegetables – including squash, radishes, peanuts, chayote, chipilin (herbs for broths) and green tomatoes.

“While I was there,” says Katherine Zavala, “I was able to see where they’re planning to build a chicken coup, and a space for farm animals including rabbits and sheep, as well as fruit trees (avocado, lemon, apple, pear and banana plants) AND a greenhouse to grow tomatoes. It was quite impressive, and this is only the beginning.

They've already built a space for a biodigestor. The biodigestor will use pig manure to create natural gas to produce energy for the center. The goal is to encourage people to use this kind of technology in their own homes.

I also visited 2 community groups in Tziscao including an organic coffee cooperative. Both have received microcredit loans from EduPaz. They shared how helpful it was to access microcredit through EduPaz and how much better it was than going through a bank which requires a lot of complicated paperwork and restrictive lending terms. Plus the banks only loan large sums of money, which is not necessary for these groups’ projects.

All in all, it was incredibly rewarding to learn more about EduPaz's work and meet some of the people that are benefiting from their programs and working so hard to continue that they are successful.”