Support Sustainability for Guatemalan Farmers

Support farmers in Guatemala

Summary

Families in the village of Villa Linda will be able to increase their incomes through various economic and agricultural projects and, in turn, buy the land that they are working. project reportread updates from the field

How You Can Help  Help

Make a donation

Received $10,227 from 102 donations from people like:

More Information About this Project

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

Ten million Guatemalans live below the poverty line, earning less than $1 or $2 a day. Nine out of 10 Guatemalan farmers do not own enough land to feed their families. Trapped in a cycle of basic survival, they pay exorbitant rents for poor quality land or work for desperately low wages as migrant laborers. Agros restores hope for such families by purchasing farmland, providing agricultural training, and much more. Families pay back the cost of the land, proudly earning right to its title.

Activities

Agros offers families the opportunity to earn land over time through the fruits of their own labor. This year they plan to start gardens, small animal husbandry projects, a community bank for small businesses, and training in natural medicine.

Funding Information

Total Funding Received to Date: $10,227
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $7,290
Total Funding Goal: $17,517

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).

Resources

Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

The Agros model works to ensure economic, environmental, organizational, and social sustainability. Sustainability is not only key for the villagers, but for the long-term and integrated approach to address these issues.

Project Message

We see a radical change in these families’ lives once they move onto their land. Enabling farmers to earn land enables them to rediscover their dignity.
- Mario Morales, Executive Director, Agros Guatemala

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in GuatemalaGuatemala and can also be found under MicrofinanceMicrofinance.

For more information about Guatemala, read the Human Development Report on Guatemala or the Wikipedia entry for Guatemala.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on January 28, 2010.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on January 11, 2005

Latest Update from the Field

Villa Linda Autumn '09 Update

By Shannon Gallagher - Villa Linda Autumn '09 Update, January 27, 2010 03:32 PM

Friends of Agros,

Thank you so much for your continued support of Agros villages like Villa Linda! This quarter the community is proud to report a successful coffee harvest.

Twenty families harvested their coffee fields this quarter and they are expecting about 1,500 pounds each, or $1,266 total income per family. Ten of these families participated in an activity to improve the health and production of the coffee plants by applying lime to the base of each plant. And two of these families planted 0.75 acres each of terraced coffee at a higher elevation in order to prevent erosion of the mountainside. The income earned from this coffee will help the families to make a loan payment on their land.

Read more about the village development in the attached Autumn update for the Agros village of Villa Linda. Or if you prefer, you may read the report on the village webpage at: http://www.agros.org/ag/villagepdfs/VillaLinda.pdf This report measures the success and outcomes of a village's development looking at Community Organization, Land Ownership, Housing and Infrastructure, Community Education and Training, and Sustainable Economic Growth.

Please submit any feedback you might have and let us know if you're finding these reports valuable, or what other kinds of information you might like to receive from us as relates to this project.

Enjoy, and mil gracias!

Links:

Attachments:

Want to support this project's continued work? give now

Read 13 more "Updates from the Field" Subscribe to Email Update Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by E-Mail Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to RSS Feed

Was this report valuable...
vote divider
Loading...
Tell us why (your comments may be shared publicly).
Rules for Comments 
Comments

How Else You Can Help

Spread the Word on your Profile, Blog, or Website

Put a widget for this project on your profile, blog or website to turn your friends into givers. Using our widget, it's quick and easy to add this widget to your profile or blog!

get this widget