Through participation in a sustainable farming program, 823+ rural farm families in the Piura region of Peru will develop a buffer between themselves and starvation. Participants learn to provide their families with complete nutrition by planting sequential gardens, raising small livestock, growing field crops, learning proper hygiene practices and money management. Families participate together and are encouraged to pay it forward, creating a lasting impact on their community for generations.
In the Piura Region of Peru, most of the rural farmers are dependent on the sale of only one or two crops to create income for their families. Unfortunately, when crops fail or the market is saturated, little income is generated and the families go hungry. In fact, the World Bank reports that nearly 30% of young children in Piura have stunted height due to malnutrition. With no other options, these farm families are stuck in an impossible situation that they have little hope of escaping.
Our successful mentoring program helps these rural families to achieve nutritional and financial self-reliance with sustainable agriculture. We teach hands-on courses in nutrition, hygiene, sequential gardens, field crops, and small livestock. As families learn to eat a varied diet of food that they raise themselves, they are protected against unforeseen events in the climate and economy. Excess products are marketed to provide income for non-food items such as school fees and household items.
Our current program in Peru includes over 123 families in Huarochiri and Pacaipampa. We are planning a large expansion in 2015 using the "train the trainers" model in which our staff will teach dozens of new local technicians who will go out to new villages to train more families and expand our reach exponentially. In fact, we are planning to reach about 600 to 800 new families in Frias, Tambo Grande, Chulucanas, and other villages in the Piura region. We need your help to make this a reality!
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
