picture gallery > Home Gardens in Anemona, San Martin (10)
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Community Work!
Teresa, Alejandro Perez (ENLACE agronomist), Giovanni, and Carlos check on their plants which are grown in a common area in the community due to the scarcity of land. They have three common gardens which are shared to grow nutrient-rich vegetables. In the biggest garden they have 240 tomato plants, 130 green pepper plants, and 15 cabbage plants. The shared gardens are proof of the strong bond they have as a community.
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Marta Vaquerano, Local Pastor
"I thank God for brother Ronaldo (Bueno) who taught us how to work with the community; for Gerson who has kept up the good work; and for the engineer, Alejandro, who is a wise man who has taught us to work with love for people. He has helped the community, and that's why we love him because he is the man that God has prepared to help [our] community." -Marta Vaquerano, pastor
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Fellowship and Work!
Home gardeners meet often with Alejandro to talk about their questions, report on their progress, and evaluate how the plants are growing. “Despite their financial limitations, they are so motivated...Together they have raised their own funds to buy start-up materials and distribute them...They're so thankful for the support that we are giving.” -Alejandro Perez, ENLACE Agronomist
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Better Nutrition and Income!
Marlene Beniez, a 33-year-old single mother, and her three children survive by earning money through informal clothing sales. Being a home garden participant gives her a great opportunity to cultivate her own healthy vegetables and increase her income.
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Technical Assistance
Alejandro Perez, ENLACE’s agronomist, provides technical assistance twice a month to the 18 participants of the home garden initiative in Anemona. This kind of assistance is vital in order for the community to see results and experience radical change in their lives.
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Community Home Garden!
Pastor Marta, Alejandro, and some of the project participants stand in the biggest community home garden surrounded by the tomato, green pepper, squash, and cabbage plants.
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Anemona Community!
Anemona is located along the Panamerican Highway in an abandoned property that belongs to the government. Without stable income and land to cultivate, these families have survived through informal street sales and the sale of recyclable materials. All the home garden participants have dreams of a better life through this initiative.
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Healthy Food
Maria Luz shows off the healthy squash she was able to harvest from her diverse vegetable garden.
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Learning!
"We’re very happy because we now see the results. I was highly motivated from the first day I heard about this initiative. I was sure we were going to succeed and thank God there you see the fruit!...I didn’t used to know when I needed to fertilize the plants, how they grow, or how vegetables are produced, but now with this training and technical help I understand what the process is.” Jose Elias, 23, also said he now takes advantage of this opportunity to generate income to feed his wife and their three-year-old daughter.
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Reaping the benefits
"From the beginning we thought that doing home gardens was impossible. We had some training, but we were anxious to start planting and cultivating our own home gardens. Then we received the seeds and started planting, preparing the seedbeds, and then transplanting them. Now we see the fruit; we’re happy because we know we will be benefited, and not just us, but our families and others who will buy our vegetables." Teresa Flores, a strong leader in the community.