Overcoming Challenges of Production
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for indigenous communities in the Sarstun region.
However, food production is an ongoing struggle due to factors such as: environmental disasters, lack of training, lack of capital, little infrastructure and access to markets.
APROSARSTUN addresses food production for both subsistence and income generation. This involves diversifying crop production and giving farmers the tools and resources they need through workshops, seeds, organic fertilizers/pest control, management practices and access to markets.
Plots of fruit trees and vegetables have been planted so that producers can produce products for consumption and sale and avoid having to purchase these products. The sale of the fruit and vegetables has generated much needed income. Women have raised chickens which have supplied protein for families and income for their children’s school supplies.
APROSARSTUN has implemented training for the voluntary agriculture promoters and producers in environmental management and pest control.
Read more about food and agriculture production in the section called Soil Fertility – Agro Forestry.
Photos: Food Production and Agriculture
Entrepreneurship Training
APROSARSTUN works to build business skills in the communities and help both men and women devise alternatives for development by creating family enterprises and small cooperative businesses.
This includes holding workshops on administration and basic finance as well as identification of skills, abilities and qualities of each individual. Prior to training, these families did not have an idea of how to manage money or pool resources.
Community Enterprise: Corn Mill
One project that has created great benefit in several communities has been the installation of corn mill enterprises. Having this service saves women a lot of time and effort each day spent in making dough for the preparation of tortillas (the main food staple).
Prior to implementation of the mill, meetings were held with APROSARSTUN and the community members. A committee of women was established to ensure local management of the project.
Introduction of the milling machine was accompanied by training and strengthening of women’s groups in order to leverage knowledge and undertake a group business within the community.
Soil Fertility
APROSARSTUN initiates agroforestry projects as an alternative to the unsustainable agricultural practices that are degrading the Sarstún basin farmland.
Planting guama trees (Inga edulis) alongside staple crops is one intervention that has been introduced. Guama roots hold soil in place, preventing erosion; leaves shade the soil, helping it to retain moisture; fallen leaves serve as organic fertilizer, rejuvenating the soil with nutrients; and branches can be used as firewood, reducing further deforestation.
Agroforestry – Sustainable Agriculture
(Taken from the Ecologic Development Fund web site – www.ecologic.org.)
With funding from EcoLogic Development Foundation, APROSARSTUN is training some subsistence farmers in the Sarstun area “in sustainable agriculture techniques to reduce slash-and-burn agriculture and improve food security. Integrating trees within agricultural lands has remarkable ecological and economic advantages. Agroforestry systems can replenish soil nutrients and help retain moisture, reduce erosion, increase crop yields, decrease production inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides, reduce weeding time, and create habitat buffers and limit pressure on standing forests, thus helping other species and promoting biodiversity.Agroforestry systems also provide a source of fuelwood. Agroforestry practices are considered one of the key strategies for the development of climate-smart agriculture. “
This video shows an agroforestry plot producing rambutan, yucca, plantain, pineapple and cacao. These agroforestry plots are helping with food security in families.
