Green Technology and Training for Farmers, Mexico

In our last report, we told you about two demonstration plot projects that started small but have rapidly expanded. Farmers in Buenavista Pachán and El Triunfo, Mexico, are now selling the tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, lettuce and squash grown in these plots. Building on this success, your generous donation will support advanced training for farmers in Chiapas, Mexico.

To further improve yield and grow more diverse crops, community members have expressed an interest in attending workshops on vermiculture (composting with worms), bocashi (a fertilizer made through fermentation), and other advanced techniques of agro-ecology. Farmers have also recently attended workshops about how to grow mushrooms and four groups are already cultivating them. Group leaders from the over 20 farmer collectives already established in the Buenavista Pachán and El Triunfo recently attended an advanced leadership training workshop where they discussed land management issues. The group leaders came up with strategies for the best way to involve community members in local decision-making about land management.

Given the success of the demonstration plots in Buenavista Pachán and El Triunfo and the continued expansion of community-generated workshops and leadership projects, it’s no surprise that a new demonstration center in Tziscao is also a success. In this community in Chiapas, close to the Guatemalan border, community members have built two cargo tanks that trap rainwater, installed a biodigester and an efficiency stove, and are cultivating a delicious bounty of plants and fruits. And if that wasn’t enough, earthworms are enriching the soil and there is space to produce mushrooms, and to raise hens, pigs and sheep. With your support, EduPaz can help to replicate this very successful project in more communities in Chiapas.