Economic Growth Colombia Project #28686

Economic empowerment of 51 families in Medellin

by Measurement Matters

Project Report | Jan 2, 2018
Urban Gardens 2018 update

By Teryn Wolfe | Director

La Comuna 8 is home to over 135,000 people who face daily challenges to find formalized work and break the cycle of poverty:

69% of the population reports to have no income, and 26% of those with jobs earn below minimum wage
High level of displaced people; La Comuna 8 has 11% of all displaced people within Medellin
High rates of violence, crime and gang activity

In several neighborhoods in La Comuna 8, we propose to give community members an additional form of income by:

Constructing communal and personal gardens for growing fruits and vegetables.
Linking the communities and a local gastronomy entrepreneur, Pedro Fernández, Founder of The Chef is Back!, to purchase these fruits and vegetables at a fixed, fair price.

By providing an at-risk community with additional sources of income, this project will enable those involved to break out of the cycle of poverty. Furthermore, studies show that for communities that suffer from violence and a lack of peaceful coexistence greatly benefit from productive activities outdoors such as gardening, otherwise known as “ecotherapy”—a powerful tool to generate cooperation and meaningful work in areas that have historically suffered from local violence and poverty. This project will be linked to two other E2E projects: Recuperando Vida, and Indicators for Peace.

The total Investment for this project is $26,000 USD and project implementation in 2018 is still contingent on funding.

Will you consider starting off the year right and giving a gift to the Huertas Urbanas Project?

Links:

Urban Gardens Youtube Video

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Oct 3, 2017
Huertas Urbanas: October Updates

By Teryn Wolfe | Director

La Comuna 8 is home to over 135,000 people who face daily challenges to find formalized work and break the cycle of poverty. Aside from experiencing unacceptably high rates of violence, crime, and gang-related activity, Comuna 8 suffers:

Acute levels of unemployment - with 69% of the population reporting to have no income, and 26% of those with jobs which earn below minimum wage
High levels of displaced people - 11% of Medellin’s displaced population resides in Comuna 8

We at E2E believe that it is often those simple, human touches that can inspire change and empower communities. For this reason, we have been committed to our ‘Huertas Urbanas’ project which involves the construction of urban gardens as a community-led solution to violence and poverty.

With the completion of each garden, at-risk communities are able to actively generate additional sources of income that will enable them to break out of the cycle of poverty. We link these communities with local entrepreneur, Pedro Fernández (Founder of The Chef is Back!) who now purchases the produce form the huertas at a fixed and fair price, thus generating a positive cash flow that does not require further investment following the initial donation. Furthermore, studies show that for communities that suffer from violence and a lack of peaceful coexistence greatly benefit from productive activities outdoors such as gardening, otherwise known as “ecotherapy”—a powerful tool to generate cooperation and meaningful work in areas that have historically suffered from local violence and poverty.

This project will be linked to two other E2E projects: Recuperando Vida, and Indicators for Peace. As donors or potential donors, your support is vital in ensuring that we continue the progress we are making with this grassroots yet immensely ambitious project.

Many thanks from the E2E team!

Links:

http://fundacione2e.org/en_US/

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