This month, we wrap up 10 1/2 years of Farmer-to-Farmer activities in El Salvador. While we are disappointed to close our operations there, we are proud of what we have achieved, including (more…)
“I have been coming back to Latin America time and again for 35 years to work with rural farmers. I am continually “re-born” each time in having the honor to work with small scale farmers, be they in El Salvador or elsewhere.” –Charles Mitchell, Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer in El Salvador
Charles was one of five farmers from the Vermont chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) who volunteered to help farmers in El Salvador this year.
The NOFA volunteers worked with technicians and extensionists from FUNDESYRAM (a Salvadoran nonprofit working to alleviate poverty), providing hands-on training and technical assistance to FUNDESYRAM staff and groups of farmers that they support. Over the course of three separate assignments, the volunteers addressed issues related to horticulture production, organic farming practices, animal husbandry, and enterprise development.
The FUNDESYRAM staff sharpened their skills and gained inspiration from the volunteers.
“The help that the volunteers bring reinforces our own work and strengthens our ability to serve farmers and do our job,” one technician noted.
“The volunteers are examples of success. The farmers see that and are hopeful and inspired,” another technician explained.
Many thanks to Charles and the other NOFA volunteers for a job well done!
Ariel Dansky is volunteering with us in El Salvador for two and a half months. She chronicles her time in country on her personal blog. Dansky is assisting the Salvadorian Chamber of Commerce with expanding the market for plantain leaves, through a grant from the UNDP. In her blog, she looks at both the cultural and technical side of working in El Salvador.
Check out her most recent entry here!
One of the rewarding things about our jobs as Farmer-to-Farmer staff is to facilitate and witness volunteers’ journeys to unknown territories. Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Howard Prussack beautifully describes his first impressions of El Salvador below:
This was the first volunteer assignment in Central America that I have participated in. I really knew nothing about this country except what I gleaned from the news. It is very much different from what I thought, both geologically and personally. Traveling thru El Salvador has been an eye opening experience for me. The landscape is beautiful and breath-taking. The farmers and staff I have met, and the everyday people I have interacted with, have been warm, friendly, and as helpful as they can be. The openness of the people I have met has warmed my heart and made me feel at home, although I was so far away. Varied in many ways, the farmers and their families should take pride that their fields and their crops look wonderful, and reflect the incredible hard work and determination that they have applied – without the use of tractors and most other mechanical farm equipment!
I see great potential and willingness among the farmers to improve their practices and to grow their businesses by increasing production and implementing new organic techniques. I expect to see more use of greenhouses and other crop protection methods in the future. I hope I can return to see the changes.
What were your first impressions of your last trip abroad?
A graduate student team from George Washington University just finished up their assignment in El Salvador, where they were conducting community assessments to create a set of indicators that help farmers measure their own progress. It was a dynamic, empowering assignment, for both the volunteers and the beneficiaries.
Their blog (linked below) captures highlights of their experience, day-by-day:
http://elsalvadorcapstone.wordpress.com/
[Thank you Ashley, Felicia, and Nivedita!]
