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Day 17

A vegetable plant for a small farming family in Guatemala

Sow the future, protect the climate! Sow the future, protect the climate!

A vegetable plant for a small farming family in Guatemala
Day 17
Healthy food for small farming families in Guatemala

Storms, droughts, floods - for years, the people who have suffered the most from the consequences of climate change are those who have contributed the least to it: small farming families from the global south. This includes countries in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America in particular. "Hardly a year goes by in which we are not affected," says Cristina Crúz. The indigenous small farmer lives in the Central American state of Guatemala. In 2019, there was also a severe drought there that destroyed over 42,000 hectares of corn. As the main ingredient in tortillas, corn is the most important staple food in the country and must not be missing from any meal. The grain also plays an important role in traditional rituals of the Mayan culture that is still practiced today. Around 70 percent of the population in the western highlands of Guatemala are indigenous people of the Mayan ethnic groups Quiché, Mam and Kakchiquel. They all speak their own languages and have their own customs and identities.

Healthy food for small farming families in Guatemala
need
Reliable harvests and healthy food for indigenous smallholder farming families from remote highland communities in Guatemala.
activity
Small farming families receive seeds, agricultural tools and training in agroecology and vegetable cultivation.
Measurable performance
Number of vegetable plants grown and amount of crop yield per plant.
Result
Greater variety and year-round availability of food enables a balanced, healthy diet as well as the sale of surplus food.
Systemically relevant impact
Improved resilience of agricultural production to the impacts of climate change, increased food security and reduced poverty among smallholder farming families.
background

Cristina Crúz and her family's corn supplies are slowly running out. In 2019, the rainy season in their community of Xeabaj in the western highlands of Guatemala was once again far too short. The result: most of the corn plants have dried up. This is a hard blow for Cristina, her husband and their seven children. "We have to survive with what we harvest," says Cristina. In recent years, they have repeatedly lost large parts of their harvest. "There used to be streams, but now they have dried up. Our harvests are getting worse every year."

Most small farming families in the remote highland communities are in the same situation as Cristina. The increasing, more severe droughts are threatening their existence: up to 80 percent of children in the region are malnourished (Kruchem, 2016). Against this background, local non-governmental organizations see agroecology as a promising alternative to provide sustainable support to people. The concept of agroecology includes in particular: environmentally friendly cultivation methods, the cultivation of a variety of plant varieties and closed production cycles in agriculture. By avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides, agroecology protects the soil, promotes biodiversity and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Grain, vegetables, fruit and herbs are grown on very small agricultural areas. This diversity has a positive effect on the health of the families and crop losses are easier to compensate for.

Day 17 Day 17
The good deed

With your good deed today, you are strengthening 357 small farming families in Guatemala and helping them to grow healthy vegetables. As part of the project, the families receive close support through training in ecological farming methods and the provision of other resources. This gives them everything they need to grow a vegetable plant from a seed despite droughts or storms: seeds, agricultural resources such as tools, fertilizer or water, and practical training in agroecology and adaptation to climate change. The small farmers multiply their products and thus secure their food supply.

AboutGuatemala
Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Capital city
16,604,030
16,604,030
Population
$7,378
$7,378
Gross domestic product per capita per year
Rank 126 of 189
Rank 126 of 189
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world and is the country most affected by extreme weather events in Central America (Germanwatch, 2020).
About the organization and further information

organization

INKOTA-netzwerk eV

Berlin Transparency Charter of the Berlin Senate

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Further links