SAVING OUR SOIL! YOUTH-LED AGROECOLOGY PROJECT IN GUATEMALA

“Voces y Manos’ vision is built on solidarity, and we believe youth have limitless potential to create the change our world needs. Will you join us?”

What this project is about: In a nutshell, Voces y Manos helps youth learn to identify community problems, and organize their neighbors to fix them. Our students have identified soil loss as a serious threat to community health, and with your help, they will be able to launch a an innovative soil conservation project. Through the process, they will help conserve the environment for future generations, combat malnutrition and become empowered agents of change! 

Why this issue? In the rural communities of Guatemala, vital topsoil is rapidly being lost, putting the livelihoods of rural farmers in jeopardy. Soil loss is a critical issue in rural Guatemala (see details below), but it also has an effective solution. The Voces y Manos youth are fired up, and dedicated to making it happen, but they need your help in order to be able to start their project! With just $3,000 Voces y Manos’ youth leaders will be able to provide 50 families in Chiac with: 

A hoe, and seeds to implement soil conservation practices; 

Resources, training, and support to start composting projects;

Ten fruit trees each to improve nutrition and combat deforestation in the community.

 That is just $60 per family! Can you make a $20 gift, and find 2 other people who would like to do the same?

Your generosity will not only help the community combat malnutrition, it will also be a powerful learning and leadership experience for the students involved. It feels great too. You could even get your whole house or apartment involved and make it a gift from your family or your roommates. We’ll send you pictures and updates. 

The problem is serious. The solution is achievable. You can make it happen. 

WHO WE ARE: Co-founded in 2008 by a group of UC San Diego students and youth leaders in Rabinal, Guatemala, Voces y Manos por el Derecho a la Salud (Voices and Hands for the Right to Health) is dedicated to empowering indigenous Guatemalan youth to achieve the right to health for their communities. 

WHAT WE DO: Voces y Manos leads a youth empowerment program and provides academic scholarships, which to date have enabled 48 students to attend high school.  The cornerstone of Voces y Manos’ work is a youth participatory action research (YPAR) program that teaches young people how to identify important health problems in their communities, analyze root causes of those problems, and organize their community to develop solutions. These opportunities to engage in social action, combined with the formal academic training made possible by scholarships, empower youth to become lifelong agents of change. 

SOIL CONSERVATION IN GUATEMALA: Due to unequal land distribution, widespread poverty, an expanding population and a changing climate, vital topsoil is rapidly being lost, putting the livelihoods of rural farmers in jeopardy. With the vast majority of land in Guatemala in the hands of wealthy landowners and international corporations, Guatemala’s indigenous population does not have adequate access to agricultural land. In the community of Chiac, the small amount of corn and yuca families are able to grow provides just enough income to ensure basic, but precarious, survival. “Right now,” one of the Chiac residents comments, “we’re barely scraping by.” Complicating matters, recent years have seen prolonged periods of drought, and particularly intense storms. These climate change-related events have accelerated the process of soil erosion, and decreased agricultural output. Community residents have noticed that their soil is quickly becoming rockier, making it more and more difficult to grow crops. If this issue is not addressed, the community will be left vulnerable to food shortages and malnutrition.

Voces y Manos’ students are working in three teams, each dedicated to tackling one facet of the problem. To learn specifically how the youth plan to tackle this issue, check out our blog at:http://vocesymanos.wordpress.com. We’ll be posting updates as the project moves forward).

Best wishes from from all of us at Voces y Manos, and many thanks.

Support and share our work and help empower Guatemalan youth!
Visit Voces y Manos’ official website (http://www.vocesymanos.org)
Read and share our Blog (http://vocesymanos.wordpress.com)
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Voces y Manos is a 501(C) 3 public charity based in California. All funds raised are managed and distributed by our US-based nonprofit. Crowdera does not collect a fee from donations. As a small organization, we are able to ensure that your donation goes directly to supporting our students