By Francisco Ehrenberg | Innovation and Special Projects Officer
Dear friends,
We are speeding up our efforts to mobilize new resources to support 14 new communities in the states of Coahuila and Nuevo León, in northern Mexico. This year’s project is a little more ambitious in its reach, as it includes water and food security components through the creation of small-scale community farms and the construction of rainwater harvesting systems.
The project's 14 communities suffer from high rates of poverty and marginalization, and their inhabitants are dependent on government subsidies to survive. As a result, many people choose to migrate to cities or the United States, often leaving behind weakened family structures. Those that stay generally find employment as day laborers in nearby ranches, earning less than the minimum wage.
Four main issues exacerbate the systemic poverty in these communities. First, public services and infrastructure for waste management are absent, heavily polluting the immediate environment. Second, the use of traditional open fires for cooking endangers the health of women and children. The resulting indoor air pollution is strongly associated with lung cancer and several other cardiovascular afflictions that increase the likelihood of premature death. Moreover, the unregulated harvest of firewood leads to the degradation of wooded areas, a situation that is particularly worrying in these high-value conservation sites. Third, there is insufficient access to nutritious food, mainly fruits and vegetables, causing malnutrition that affects the development of school-age children. Finally, there are not enough clean and safe water sources for the people in these communities to meet basic needs for drinking water, cooking, and hygiene.
The project will alleviate poverty by addressing these four issues, specifically: the establishment of five solid waste management units will decrease environmental pollution; the introduction of clean cooking technologies, namely wood saving stoves and solar pots, will abate indoor air pollution; the installation of 20 family gardens will increase the availability of fresh produce; and the construction of 21 rainwater harvesting systems will provide reliable water sources.
More info on this coming soon, and in the meantime we will continue to work tirelessly to improve the living conditions of some of the most vulnerable segments of the population in rural Mexico, while at the same time contributing to the conservation of the country’s vast but endangered natural heritage.
We want you to continue with us on this journey by donating to our projects and staying tuned for all of our updates. Every one of your donations matters, and is fundamental in our efforts to mobilize more resources from other potential donors.
Thank you!
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