The Mario López Estrada Foundation, in alliance with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its implementing partner “Partners to the Americas”, known in Guatemala as “Farmer to Farmer”, jointly implement in the municipality of Chiantla, Huehuetenango the “Nutrition for Prosperity” Project, which seeks to influence the reduction of chronic malnutrition in children and pregnant mothers, in the communities of Chochal, Los Hernández, Ixcamal, Los Gregorio, 5 Arroyos, Los Mecates and Potreros, all located in the middle basin of the municipality of Chiantla.
The project began in February 2022 and as of today, the implementing partner has carried out the following activities:
- Collection of baseline information: names, dates of birth, number of children, general situation of the families, economic and productive information, health and nutrition conditions, and the general list of all the families participating in the project.
- Community Assemblies: after having the list of beneficiary families, community assemblies were held where the project methodology, explaining the activities to be carried out and its duration. In these assemblies the volunteer promoters in health and nutrition, agriculture and livestock were also elected.
- The promoters were trained in the elaboration of structures (sheepfolds) for goats.
- 2,100 sheepfolds and sheds were distributed for production, as well as construction materials such as nails and mesh. Materials such as wood were a contribution from the communities.
- 336 female goats and 14 male goats were distributed in the 7 communities of the Project.
- Local volunteers were trained in the use and management of livestock kits.
7. 7 livestock kits were distributed.
8. 83,550 seedlings of different grass species were distributed for planting in living barriers, for feeding goats and backyard chickens (napier grass, wild sunflower and cetarea).
9. 1,050 hens and 350 roosters were distributed (3 hens and 1 rooster per family).
10. 10,675 plants, seeds and pylons of food and medicinal species were distributed for family gardens (blackberry, chipilín, white herb, pigweed, apazote, rosemary, basil, oregano, rue, María Luisa, lemon tea, mint and aloe).
11. 350 improved stoves were distributed to beneficiary families and schools in the 7 communities.
12. 350 ecofilters were distributed to beneficiary families and schools in 7 communities.
13. Training days have been carried out for local volunteers through Farmer to Farmer volunteers, experts in raising and managing goats, managing backyard chickens, goat genetics, etc.
14. Technical assistance in labor and birth of goatlings.
15. Technical assistance in planting and pasture management.
16. Goat deworming and vaccination days were carried out.
17. Vaccination of backyard birds was carried out.
18. Goat earring was carried out to identify them.
19. Levantamiento de registro de cada una de las cabras (ficha de registro) como parte inicial del registro para su cruzamiento genético.
20. Promoters were trained in the elaboration of 2 types of cheese.
21. 4 Volunteers have provided training and Technical Assistance to the Project.
- Small Ruminant Expert
- Expert in Project Implementation with Small Ruminants
- Expert in Management and Care of Backyard Birds
- Expert in Goat Genetics
The main objective of the activities carried out is to strengthen the families of the seven communities where the project is carried out, which have high rates of chronic malnutrition, due to this situation it is intended that through the implementation of integrated farms (goats, chickens, orchards stoves and filters) families can comply with the 4 pillars of Food Safety as described:
A. Availability: Availability of food for the family using protein sources (goat milk and backyard poultry eggs, meat from kids), vitamin and mineral sources (home gardens).
B. Access: At the moment of being surplus in the production of milk they can commercialize it for its industrial transformation and obtain income for the purchase of other food products necessary in the family diet.
C. Intake: That by a change of behavior, families accept to consume goat’s milk, which is not traditional within the communities but which has a high level of vitamins and minerals necessary for brain development and growth of children under 5 years of age.
D. Biological Use: that families, by consuming products from whole farms, can improve their living and health conditions, for which they will make use of improved stoves and water filters.
On the other hand, these activities are aimed at empowering groups of women, since they are mainly the ones who decide on the management of the farms and the use of the products derived from them.
The Project as a whole is aimed at improving the Food Security of 350 vulnerable families from the seven communities targeted by the project.
In March, the Mario López Estrada Foundation will begin the production of goat’s milk at the Centro Caprino, also located in the municipality of Chiantla. This milk will be donated and consumed by pregnant mothers and children under 5 years of age from the communities that make up the project, contributing to their food safety.
The Project will be officially inaugurated in the first months of the year 2023.
