By Andrea Tapia | Project Leader
Meet Mr. Jesus Lopez and his wife Casimira. They live in La Libertad community at the Jiquipilas county in Chiapas, Mexico. They have 6 children (4 boys and 2 girls) and 3 granddaughters ranging from 7 to 9 years old.
Jesus joined the Educampo program 5 years ago searching for an alternative to support his family. He started the program with only 3 hectares and for the 2011 spring-summer cycle he will work with 8 hectares. Since becoming part of Educampo, Jesus harvests 7 tons/ha on average, although some of his land had a yield of over 8 tons/ha.
As a member of the group called “La Libertad”, Jesus and other 6 neighbors are currently working on legally creating the group. They understand that having an established cooperative will allow them to borrow money from public entities at low interest rates, and acquire a tractor or other useful equipment, amongst many other benefits.
Prior to Educampo, Jesus used to grow corn, borrowing money at a 10% monthly interest rate. Sometimes he paid off his debts with the corn he harvested and whatever was left was for self-consumption. With Educampo, he does not have to borrow money as the program includes an interest-free financing for inputs. He also has enough to sell and earnings to make arrangements to his house, support his family, and have his grandchildren in school.
His wife Casimira is extremely happy with the Educampo program; she sees that her husband is now calm and satisfied with his work. With some savings they had from previous years, the whole family was able to travel to the neighboring state of Guerrero where one of the couple´s sons married. They were able to hold a celebration without getting into debt and even had some money left to buy a plot next to their home where they will start building a house for their recently extended family.
Educampo has allowed the Lopez family, and other 451 families to increase their quality of life while providing their children with opportunities such as higher education, better nutrition, and clothing.
Without Educampo, these farmers would have to borrow money at 10-12% monthly interest rate, and migrate to larger cities or even the United States leaving their communities behind seeking opportunities and a better income to support their families.
Since 2007, Educampo has been working in Chiapas with families like the Lopez's. Our goal is to have farmers remain in Mexico, working in the fields earning an income that will allow them to increase their quality of life and reach their dreams.
EDUCAMPO PROGRAM IN SPRING-SUMMER CYCLE 2010
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Was this information helpful? Do you still have questions? Send us your comments to fundacion@sembrandotrabajo.org.mx.
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