some of our past COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Some of our partnerships are long-term with community leaders, and other grassroots partners stay connected with us over the years and work with us on new projects.

installing Community Water services in La Calera, Granada

This project installed community water services in the community of La Calera, a community partner of the UCA Tierra y Agua Union of Co-operatives. The water services will provide access to clean water for the community, which currently does not have running water.  The project directly benefits 55 children, youth, adults, and seniors who are residents of the community of La Calera. Read more here!

BUILDING LATRINES AND SANITATION SERVICES in Jiñocuao

Our 2017 project with Jiñocuao resulted in the construction of 44 latrines for 44 local families. This project is directly benefitting 216 people: 61 children, 31 youth, and 124 adults. The families who received latrines are the most vulnerable members of Jiñocuao, as determined by a community self-assessment. Additionally, as part of the project, nurses and nursing students from the local community health centre were invited to the community to facilitate workshops on hygienic practices, disease prevention, and community health.  Read more here.

Fighting for food security in Santa Julia 

This project built 8 community plantations for the production of plantains and bananas, in order to provide basic food security to Santa Julia community members who have experienced food shortages and poor  agricultural  production in the last few years due to droughts linked to climate change. Plantations  were established  in  the  homes  of  eight  women, all members  of  the  Gloria  Quintanilla Cooperative, this project's implementing partner. Each member received 157 plantain plants and 158 bananas plants. Plantains produce 3-4  harvests a year, and bananas  produce 2 harvests. Plantains and all their varieties are a good alternative crop in dry areas as they require less water compared to other plants.  

Produce from the plantations will be divided amongst the families of the community, and the local children’s eatery "Cherished Children".  The community eatery will receive 40% of the  total produce to contribute  to providing a weekly free lunch for the children of the community. A further 20% will  be  for  the  families’  self-consumption and 35% will be sold in local vegetable markets to generate income for participating families. T

Promoting and recuperating artistic and cultural identity in San Ramon, Matagalpa

This project provided  visual  arts,  music,  and  dance classes  to  youth  and  children  in  San  Ramon, Matagalpa, as a way of promoting ancestral knowledge and cultural expression, strengthening the self-esteem and cultural identity of the residents of San Ramon. The project directly benefitted 120 children, youth, and adults. 

The project provided artistic materials for the arts classes, and facilitated courses and training for participants in visual arts techniques. As part of the project, students in the art classes were involved  in the  elaboration  of  an  artistic  mural  called "Indigenous  Archers  of Yucul", in homage to the indigenous archers of Yucul from the area of Matagalpa who participated in the Battle of San Jacinto on September 14, 1856. Art pieces such as t-shirts, cards, and portraits are sold in a little shop at the art school, allowing the center to continue providing resources and material for the students and the arts classes.  Additionally, the  project  funded a series of folkloric  dance  and  traditional  music  classes  with  children,  youth,  and  adults  in order  to  recuperate  indigenous  knowledge  and  customs  of  the  municipality.

Expanding Youth Engagement Programming and Improvements to Cultural Center

Through  a  variety  of  workshops,  courses, excursions,  and  other  healthy  activities, our 2017 project with Podcasts  for Peace  promoted education,  gender equity  and  economic development. The community organization also improved the   infrastructure   of   their   cultural   center  where all programming is hosted. The  project  focused on three local  groups in vulnerable situations:  seniors  of Acahualinca, women, and at-risk youth. 

Specific Objectives:

1. Promote gender equity by engaging young men and women in gender-related workshops and groups.

2. Develop economic self-sufficiency by engaging the elderly in occupational training.

3. Improve the infrastructural capacities of the center, including improvements to the electrical system, re-making the floor, re-installing a kitchen and washroom, and acquiring work tables. 

Environmental Protection and Support of "Los Cachorros"  farm

This project improved the infrastructure of the agricultural area in the "Los Cachorros"  farm, a shelter that houses at-risk boys and young men who are involved in the Los Quinchos program. The farm houses a total of 17 hens, 5 roosters, 1 rabbit, 13 pigs, 102 baby chickens, 3 cows, 1 bull, 4 pelibuey sheep, and 26  ducks.  The  improvement  to  the  infrastructure  includes  reparations to the  shelters  that  house pigs, cows, chickens, and  the rabbit.   

As another part of the project, the children and youth of Los Quinchos participated in workshops and training in the   importance of environmental protection during environmental crisis. Children and youth attending  Los Quinchos  were trained in soil  management,  creating  organic  compost  and  fertilizer,  proper planting techniques, and proper farm animal management. Through these activities, participants received vocational skills and training that will assist them in their future professional and vocational endeavours.

Supporting the EL TRIUNFO EDUCATION PROJECT, GUATEMALA 

For ten years, the El Triunfo Education Project has provided an affordable middle  school education to indigenous Mayan children in the community of El Triunfo in the mountains of Solola, Guatemala. Classes from grades seven to nine are offered. The most recent school year began in January 2017 with sixty students enrolled in the school. From 2011 to 2016 classes at the high school level were also offered. Scholarships are also available to students enrolled in high school and university programs.