CFCA stories

Farming initiative empowers Nicaraguan parents

October 1, 2010

Corn is flourishing near the municipality of Compasagua in central Nicaragua as a result of hard work and collaboration of a group of families in a CFCA livelihood initiative.

Families in Nicaragua are demonstrating how the Hope for a Family
sponsorship program can help them develop their own capacity for
personal and economic growth.

Planted in May, the crop will be ready to harvest this month, and the families hope to use the corn for their own consumption and to sell to markets for profit.

In this small rural community where job opportunities and land are scarce, this type of collaboration wasn’t possible a year ago. CFCA has helped these families come together and create new opportunities.

Life is hard for families living in this area of Nicaragua. Adults struggle to find employment. Most family homes have latrines and running water, but all lack electricity. Walking along dirt roads is the main means of transportation.

The main economic activity in these rural communities is subsistence farming. Many families must rent land to farm. Children often leave school because they are needed by their families to tend the land.

A little over a year ago, CFCA began organizing the parents of sponsored children in the community into small groups. The goal of the parent groups is to give the families more ownership in the Hope for a Family program.

“CFCA knows that families understand their needs best, and the groups allow them to determine the best use of sponsorship benefits and offer each other a support network,” said Ana Martinez, CFCA project director for Nicaragua. “The Hope for a Family program enables families to improve their lives by helping them to increase their skills and encouraging them to work together and be accountable to one another.”

These parent groups, along with the local CFCA staff, devised a livelihood initiative to teach the parents new skills and help them supplement their monthly sponsorship benefits.

“The parents of sponsored children offered many ideas based on their own skills of creating agricultural products,” local CFCA coordinator Juan Davila said. “A project was presented to the CFCA central office in Nicaragua, and we received all the support and encouragement that we needed for the plan.”

The corn crop will help feed the Nicaraguan
families and generate revenue when it's
sold to markets for profit.

The families decided to cultivate beans. The soil and weather in the area are optimum for beans, and they are part of the basic nutrition of the Nicaraguan people, especially in rural areas. Many of the parents also had some experience with the crop.

In late November, a group of 25 families planted 186 pounds of bean seeds on 2 1/2 acres of land the group rented. The families worked for months using sustainable farming techniques to avoid erosion and protect the soil.

The crop produced more than 2,000 pounds of beans in late February, which the families divided evenly. Families were able to supplement their own food supply, and some families sold the beans for small profits or used the seeds to begin their own crops.
 
“We learned to work as a community and focus on objectives,” said Adrian, a father in the group. Adrian’s 15-year-old daughter, Ivania, has been sponsored through the Hope for a Family program for about seven years. “Some other nonprofits have been here to help big producers, but CFCA has been the one who helps us.”

After the bean harvest, eight families who saw the potential of these projects organized themselves to begin a new harvest plan. This time the families chose to plant corn.

The families, from their experience, decided to create rules for each member to follow. CFCA helped the farmers create documents, such as a work log and a form to record expenses and fertilizer application, so they would be able to keep better records of their earnings. With the new organization of the group came a new commitment from the members.

“We now have more communication and unity, and each one of us brings his or her own agricultural experience,” Adrian said. “We are able to talk and share ideas.”

The group continues to evolve and grow together, and will soon begin a new crop to be harvested in the spring. Over time, the families will be able to rely less on CFCA and more on their own abilities to generate income.

“CFCA continues to accompany them in these initiatives by training the parents on teamwork, motivation and tips for better crops,” Davila said. “There is no doubt that this experience helped the whole group to be organized and to reach their goals.”

For Adrian, his wife, Zayda, and their six children, they hope their hard work and determination will help them achieve their dreams.

“My dreams are to see my children educated and to support them as much as I can so they can find a good job,” Adrian said. “I also wish to improve our home by saving with the benefits we receive. CFCA is a good experience, and these new work alternatives are enriching our lives.”