Education Mexico Project #51795

Support Families in Mexico to Start Saving

by Pedazo por Pedazo Un Mundo Mejor Philanthropiece A.C.

Project Report | Nov 7, 2023
The strength of women: Meet the Pitaya Savers

By Katie Doyle Myers | President, Philanthropiece AC

The Pitaya Savers Group

"The strength of a woman is measured in how much she fights to achieve what she sets out to do!"

This is a quote from a very special Community Savings Group of Philanthropiece AC. Meet the Pitaya Savers! This Community Savings Group formed in April 2023 in a community on the outskirts of Ciudad Constitution. This all-women group was motivated to work with Philanthropiece AC in order to gain more training in administration, money management, and leadership development. The program supports them in personal needs, and has also been an important part of developing their small business. Reflected in their savings’ group name, these 10 women make products from the pitaya fruit from the cactus of the same name. Sometimes referred to as “dragon fruit,” the pitaya has a sweet flavor, with an acidic base that creates incredible jams and salsas.

The members of the Pitaya Savers group are involved in all aspects of their business, from harvesting the fruit, to the product production, to the marketing and the sales. They sell their products via social media outlets, by attending events such as fairs and cultural exhibitions, and they are in the process of developing their own store front. Their savings have allowed them to travel to events to share and sell their products, such as the Agro Baja 2023 in Mexicali, and to the Manos del Mundo expo in México City. Alongside this, the Pitaya Savers are leveraging partnerships through their work with Philanthropiece AC, working alongside the Tecnologico University as part of NODESS, a national program that boosts social and solidarity economy of rural communities. We applaud the efforts of this Community Savings Group, and thank you all…your contributions to Philanthropiece AC make this significant work possible!

Pitaya jam making in action!

Agro Baja 2023

Links:

Pitayas Baja Sur Facebook

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Jul 12, 2023
Community savings leads to collective projects

By Katie Doyle Myers | President, Board of Directors Philanthropiece A.C.

Don Jose of Saltito de la Garcia explains benefits

As you already know, Philanthropiece A.C. in México fosters the growth of financial security for individuals and families through our Community Savings Groups and Financial Education programs. However, our work does not end there! Did you know that we are also focused on sustainable economic development?

Philanthropiece A.C. is focused on community-wide resilience. We work with Community Savings Groups members to gain the knowledge and resources necessary to grow and sustain their communities as a whole. Alongside our partner organization, Fondo Acción Solidaria A.C. (“FASOL”), Philanthropiece is supporting over a dozen community-led and operated projects that create economic opportunities for rural and low-income communities and are environmentally sustainable. These projects spring from Community Savings Group members who use their leadership, financial management skills, and collective savings funds to initiate the ideas and spark the work. Through mentorship from Philanthropiece team members, many projects also gain seed funding through FASOL.

Get to know some of the collective projects that Philanthropiece is supporting!

In the mountainous ranching community of Saltito de la Garcia, savings group members have banded together to initiate a reforestation project. They have constructed greenhouses that allow them to produce plants native to their region. Alongside the environmental conservation that this offers, it also helps them to sustain their enterprise of making furniture and home goods from dried cardon cactus. Community leader Don Jose shared that this project, along with the Savings Groups’ social fund, has had some of the greatest positive impact that he has seen in his community.

Further north in the state of Baja California Sur, members of the Supernova savings group in the Sta. Martha community have initiated an ecotourism project that features rehabilitating the trails leading to the pinturas rupuestres (the cave paintings) that are thousands of years old. One of the community leaders, Omar, shared, “I look at the Community Savings Group as a window for the community…it offers ways to meet, communicate, get organized, and work together.” Members of the group communicate that this project serves to share these wonders with visitors, and that it also preserves their cultural heritage, and cultivates the income necessary to protect the natural resources - and the precious archeological sites - of the land they have lived on for generations.

The powerful group of Puerto Azul from the community of El Chicharrón initiated an all-women’s oyster cooperative. This aquaculture project requires a high degree of technical expertise and physical strength. The women are proud that their project generates income for their families, applies a high standard of health and sanitation, and features sustainable techniques.

Another all-women’s group in an agricultural village outside of Ciudad Constitución, B.C.S. is using the local resource of the pitaya to foster entrepreneurship and empowerment. They even named their savings groups after their key ingredient; they are called Las Pitaya Ahorradoras(the “Pitaya Savers”). The women produce and sell products of this cactus fruit including marmalades and salsas.

On behalf of the full team at Philanthropiece A.C. and the communities we work alongside, we wish to offer a sincere appreciation for all of our incredible GlobalGiving champions!

Community leader Omar listens while friend speaks

The women of the Puerto Azul oyster cooperative

A recent gathering of the Community Savings Group

Links:

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Mar 15, 2023
Community Savings with Butterflies of the Caribe

By Morning Glory Farr (adapted) | Philanthropiece Consultant

The Mariposas Community Savings Group members

Not much seems to intimidate Celia. When she first moved to Cabo San Lucas five years ago, she dove right into tackling some of the biggest challenges her new community faced. She saw children who were left alone in their homes because their parents were away working. Those same children often did not have enough to eat and did not have educational assistance with homework and class materials. So Celia started a small support group for these children.

“I started under a tree, with a group of eight children. We didn’t even have tables or chairs. From there, the word began to spread about our work,” says Celia.

Through her work in the community, she discovered la Alianza para la Seguridad Alimentaria de Baja California Sur (ASA), which works to provide food access, as well as support trainings and resiliency programs, to low-income communities throughout Baja California Sur, Mexico. Celia signed up for a variety of trainings that ASA offered, all designed to help her gain more capacity as a community member and as a leader. One of the trainings that ASA offered Celia was participation in a Community Savings Group (CSG) of Philanthropiece AC.

The CSG that Celia joined christened itself Las Mariposas del Caribe (Butterflies of the Caribbean).The group is now in its second savings cycle. It began with eight members, all women, and is now up to fifteen members, including some children. The women are especially excited about getting their children involved, since the children have the opportunity to learn things that many of the women never learned when they were younger. Children can learn from the successes that their mothers are having, and also establish good financial habits for the future. And the financial knowledge that the group members gain can ripple out into their family and their community.

“When a woman is in control of her finances, she feels empowered, knowing that she can have money and she can manage it. It gives us a lot of security and changes our lives and the family environment,” says Celia.

With successes like that, Celia and other community members are realizing the hope and possibility of collaborations like the one between Philanthropiece A.C. and ASA. “This program with ASA has helped me. With the trainings and attention, it has given me the wings I needed so that I could help other families,” says Celia.

With your support via the GlobalGiving platform, there are currently 65 groups alongside the Mariposas del Caribe that are actively saving and strengthening their communities together. Thank you so much for supporting us in building a better world!

Strengthening community in Los Cabos, BCS

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