Economic empowerment of 51 families in Medellin

This week we begin a course to train 70 local gardeners with SENA, the  official government technical training entity. E2E´s Germán Sanín, who is also a technical advisor for the gardeners, will be teaching the course to involve more familes, and have a greater impact. 

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:

1. Constructing communal and personal gardens for growing fruits and vegetables.
2. 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.

Once construction of the gardens is complete, they will generate positive cash flow and will not require any further investment after an initial donation.

What are the benefits?

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.

We will also be throwing a fundraiser event the 17th of April in Medellín-- so look out for more information to attend!