Peru Chota program 1600-5010
Report: August 25, 2009
Excerpts from a report for the period from January 1 through June 30, 2009
In the rural areas where peasant farmer organizations are supported by the local governments, the traditional development vision has been to promote investment oriented at building service infrastructure. This has established the idea that development is simply about building physical structures that, in the end, are not very useful for the community and their primary development needs. Some of these projects have included community buildings, sports fields, monuments, plazas, and churches.
Money has also been spent on social programs in the community, including such things as purchasing alcohol and coca leaves for festivities and community work events as well as handing out food with low nutritional quality (oatmeal from the “glass of milk” program).
In the long term, there is little improvement in the living condition of the population, particularly the low levels of child nutrition. On the contrary, there have been social conflicts inside the organizations, production systems have been neglected, and community leaders are generally oriented towards working on charity-type programs.
When agricultural yields are low, it is harder to organize people. They end up looking for jobs that aren’t available in the area and they migrate to other places in search of work, neglecting the development needs of their families.
Our program has consistently been promoting a change in this traditional development approach, prioritizing proper nutrition for children in the hopes of seeing direct results in education and health.
The various activities carried out are part of a platform of basic strategies for motivating development with a specific goal of decreasing malnutrition in 300 families that include 620 girls and boys under 11 years of age in the districts of Paccha and Chadín within three years.
Objective: The availability of local nutritious foods has increased for 300 families.
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Water management including collection, reservoirs, conduction and distribution networks, hydrants, and irrigation units spur improvements in food production as well as increasing employment and family income.
- In the caserios (hamlets) that have installed technical irrigation systems, farmers are developing a variety of ways of producing basic staples like grains and fruit. A new technical irrigation system is being implemented that will benefit 75 families.
- So far 120 families have begun mini-farms or family farms. The project will bring in new animals occasionally for breeding in order to bring in new blood and improve the gene pool.
- Livestock producers have increased their production by at least 80% after having implemented better sanitation and handling technology. It is clear that all of this has been possible because the animals are getting high quality fodder all year long as a result of irrigation, and especially after a season of controlled irrigation.
- The basic grain and fruit farmers have also seen good results. Potatoes, for example, are free from bacterial damage and have not required the excessive use of pesticides that usually occurs in traditional farming. Farmers are growing more vegetables in order to promote their consumption in the family and for sale. Since crops like beans and peas have a short growing period, farmers are adapting their practices and, this season, they are expected to get two harvests with irrigation.
- The vegetables being produced—especially tomatoes—have often been attacked by fungus. To save them, people have had to use pesticides that contaminate the crops and increase the costs of production. Alternatives such as protecting the tomatoes with simple greenhouses in a demonstration plot has had good results.
- Consumption of guinea pig (cuy) meat is also being promoted at local fairs and in various other presentations as part of the consumption strategy. Women, the ones primarily involved in this animal raising activity, identify guinea pigs as a source of cash that brings access to other kinds of food not produced on their parcels.
- A joint evaluation with the farmers about the problems that can occur with soil in unprotected areas led to a proposal to build various barriers that cut across the slope in order to decrease the damage caused by runoff and erosion. Plans have been made to plant a vegetable garden with sixth-graders from one school as a way of ensuring training for young people.
Objective: The consumption and use of local nutritious foods has improved and children are being fed with local products that are nutritious and combined appropriately.
- After the nutritional assessment, an ongoing follow-up program has been organized and there have been several campaigns and sessions in which the children involved in the project have been evaluated on an ongoing basis. There have been joint meetings with educational institutions and health centers, and it has been possible to bring both children and parents together in what has been called a “hand-washing” as part of the strategy of hygiene before meals. Activities also included nutritional counseling, parasite removal, growing of vegetable gardens, preparing blue corn pudding including for a local fair, and presenting typical dishes that are nutritionally balanced. The products presented have been well received by the public.
- The direct technical assistance process to families has been called house-to-house nutritional counseling and is strengthening family food production. Most deficiencies are occurring in families where they are only planting for one harvest per year (dry-farming).
- Storage, transformation and preservation of food is strengthened by an industrial foods professional who has joined the team temporarily to help identify various ways in which available products can be processed. Some perishable fruits are being produced this season that are not very commonly eaten by the people here (guayaba, nispero, tomatillo, and others). But these fruits can be an important source for feeding children after some minimal processing into jellies and marmalades which will allow them to be preserved for longer periods of time. Mothers’ clubs in five caserios have had practice sessions to make these things and their products have been shown and tasted in local fairs. Work with farmers attempts to improve the quality of the chochoca (corn flour) and pepian (corn puree) so that corn can be transformed and conserved for times when it is scarce.
Objective: Institutional capital in health has been reinforced for the monitoring of malnutrition.
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Health promoters continue to lead and prioritize activities in their communities, focusing especially on children’s health and the environment, growth monitoring and preparing educational bulletins and guides for improved nutrition.