Project Launch:

Jangas, Peru is a small, middle class town in the Andes, nearly 3,000 meters above sea level and surrounded by fertile farm area. The town has a pre-school with about 75 students, and a primary and secondary school with about 500 students.

To promote environmental sustainability and improved nutrition, World Connect's Kids to Kids Program awarded a $487 grant to create a sustainable agriculture educational center to train school children in organic gardening and modern, small-animal husbandry. The municipality supplied the land and irrigation for the project, as well as the professional support to plan the project. Guest lecturers were invited to present and to teach on the topics of conservation, nutrition, small business management, and agricultural practices. After receiving initial start-up costs, the project plans to fund itself with earnings from the vegetables and small animals raised. Any extra earnings will be invested to grow the project.

 

Project Update:

An organic garden was successfully launched at both the health post and in the primary school, and a food pyramid mural was painted at the Jangas Health Post to promote nutrition. Parents and kids were trained on the importance of eating healthily, and 30 primary school students were trained on how to make organic compost. In addition, local health promoters were trained in basic business principles to help understand how to run a small business selling fruit and vegetables. Towards the end of the project, a “Vegetable Festival” was held where more than 300 townspeople came and learned about nutrition, vegetable planting and recycling, and 22 mothers participated in a healthy cooking competition. The festival was met with tremendous community support and was a creative way to promote nutrition.

The vegetable harvest has been solid each year, and has generated revenue that has gone back to the community. In 2012, the gardens generated more than 1500 PEN (approximately $534), and in 2013 about 1350 PEN (approximately $480). Most of the money from the gardens goes to the church to be distributed to needy families, while the rest is saved for seeds and other materials to keep the gardens up and running.

 

Testimonials

“I learned a lot from this project about planting vegetables and small business.” – Neli, Health Promoter, Project Participant
“It’s a cool project, plants give you oxygen, it’s a good thing, we get to learn a lot about plants, their parts, I like it.” – Garry, 11, Project Participant