Agros Blog

Today is World Humanitarian Day and we would like to draw your attention to this remarkable video as we also celebrate our international staff for all they do. While this video is not directly about Agros staff members, it nevertheless celebrates individuals across the world who work tirelessly for a better world.

Agros International serves in 5 countries throughout Central America. Each of these in-country offices are staffed with people who are passionate about ending rural poverty; passionate about seeing transformation take place in real lives.

Every day there are dedicated in-country staff who rise before the sun and head out to work in Agros supported rural villages. The villagers eagerly await their arrival as the staff are seen as true partners in this journey out of poverty.

Our community development and agricultural technicians provide villagers with the training and resources they need to pull themselves out of poverty. The community development workers help villagers strengthen leadership and entrepreneurial skills as well as promote greater gender equality and opportunity. The agricultural technicians work tirelessly with farmers on applying new and improved farming methods for the crops the villagers grow for consumption and income generation. Without such dedicated staff, Agros would not be able to provide the rural poor with the opportunity and support they need to break the cycle of poverty.

Please join us in giving thanks to our in-country staff from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua for all they do!

This is to announce a new job opening at Agros.  A general description follows below, and you can read more on our Careers page, including instructions on how to apply.

POSITION:  Direct Marketing Manager

The Agros Direct Marketing Manager will plan, manage, and grow all aspects of Agros’ General Donor segment. This segment, as defined by Agros, is made up of donors who make annual gifts to Agros –one time or cumulative–of $5,000 or less.

Balancing strategy and execution, s/he will bring strategic oversight and management of this segment, working to develop and increase overall giving through channel management and marketing expertise. This encompasses among others, expertise in:

• General donor fundraising
• Developing and implementing effective donor acquisition and retention strategies
• Direct mail and online giving engagement

The Direct Marketing Manager will implement a long-term strategy to grow this segment in conjunction with the Agros International 3-year Strategic Plan. The Direct Marketing Manager will directly oversee the management of all direct mail, online and monthly giving programs, and work closely in all aspects of resource development to create, market and support multi-faceted fundraising campaigns.

Additionally, the Direct Marketing Manager will also help in the writing and creative production of associated online & collateral material for this segment.

Go here to read more.

The following was written by Zach Eskenazi during his time in Honduras:

I have been working for Agros as a work-study student for over a year now. I have read and written many inspiring stories about the Agros villagers and the Agros in-country staff. A recent academic project has brought me to the Agros villages of Honduras, and I’ve learned that it’s one thing to read and write about the changes Agros brings about in the lives of the people we serve… and it is quite another to see these changes in action.

While it may not be possible for all of us to witness Agros in action first-hand, follow me as I take you through some of the events I have witnessed during my time in Agros villages:

My workspace in the Agros village of Brisas del Volcan was in the communal house, a place where the villagers gather and hold meetings. The communal house is also where one adult villager teaches others how to read and write.

Picture this, a petite woman and her husband used to have to work on land they didn’t own to scrape enough money together to feed their growing children. Because of the low pay, both husband and wife had to work long hours with very little time to do much else. After finding Agros and their own land, she no longer has to work daily in the fields with her husband. She is trying her hand at other income generating projects. And because she can read and write she sets aside two hours every afternoon to tutor other adults. One of her students boasted to me that she can now read at a third grade level. This is amazing!

On another day in Brisas del Volcan, I was invited to a meeting of the leadership committee. During this meeting, the villagers met with two people interested in buying some of their plantain crop. The village leadership as a group entered into negations with these buyers with confidence. The villagers were eager to sell the literal fruits of their labor but made sure not be taken advantage of. The meeting ended with a fair offer being made to the villagers for a portion of their plantain harvest. The villagers learned a lot from this interaction and are embolden to continue their plantain project. Before working with Agros, an experience like this was barely dreamed of! Now, the best dreams of these families are coming true.

At the end of the week the village Community Bank Committee met. This is made up of 12 women who have each received a loan from Agros for an income-generating project. Some of the women chose small animal husbandry projects while others are trying their hand at baked goods. One thing is for certain, they are confident that their income generating projects will have long-term benefits and will meet their families’ needs.

This was what was going on in Brisas just during one week. Imagine the things these villagers will achieve as they continue on the path to sustainable growth and development.

Also, you can be a part of the story of transformation in Brisas del Volcan by sponsoring this village through the Agros One Village program, where for as little as $15/month you can help these families continue to reach their dreams of a future free of poverty and hopelessness.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2010

Seattle-based non-profit launches one-of-a-kind online village sponsorship program

Utilizing cutting-edge technology, the Agros One Village program provides unparalleled access to sponsor Central American villages on their journey out of extreme poverty.

Agros International is proud to introduce a new online multimedia experience and monthly sponsorship program called One Village. This program leverages unique online technology in order to connect supporters to rural families in Central America. For as little as $15 a month, sponsors can make a difference in the lives of rural families working together as a village community to overcome poverty.

Agros is a Seattle-based non-profit organization that works with poor, landless farmers in Central America and Mexico. Through a unique, holistic development model, Agros extends loans to purchase farmland and then partners and trains farmers for 7-10 years in applying sustainable agricultural practices, all with the goal of enabling these families to create, develop, and eventually own a sustainable village. Agros has started 40 village projects across five countries.

Through the One Village website, donors are able to sponsor an actual rural village in Central America, and then follow that community online through first-hand stories, compelling photos, videos, panoramic photography, and project updates detailing village progress.

“We’ve learned at Agros that donors want to do more than just write a check to a worthy cause; they want to see the difference their donations make in real lives. Today, we are excited to invite people to the One Village website where they can experience and support a Central American village in an incredible journey out of extreme poverty,” shares Sean Dimond, Agros Communications Director.

In order to build this remarkable virtual experience, Agros International partnered with CrashShop, a Seattle-based interactive media studio specializing in innovative websites, to help develop the online technology. The One Village website is a first of its kind, integrating the WordPress Content Management System with Adobe’s Flash platform. “We believe in Agros’ work, and are thrilled to play a part in helping more people experience and sponsor Agros villages. It’s a privilege to help restore hope and dignity to the world’s poor through the One Village website,” says Michael Redmond, Founder & President of CrashShop.

To learn more about the Agros One Village experience, visit http://onevillage.agros.org/.

We’re so excited to share with you One Village—a unique opportunity to sponsor and walk with a rural village of Central America in a hope-filled journey out of poverty.

Using the power of multimedia, Agros International has created a truly one-of-a-kind online experience where—for as little as $15/month—you can sponsor and follow an actual village as they create new lives for themselves and their children.

For Agros villages, this steady stream of reliable support will help ensure that the development goals of the village can be met.  For sponsoring donors, the unique access via an online platform to the people and projects that comprise a given village is the closest one can get to actually being in a village short of traveling there. Through this journey, you’ll hear the voices of villagers and ambient sounds; you’ll see the beauty behind both the successes and ongoing challenges that the villagers face.

As you follow the progress of your sponsored One Village online, you’ll come to know the people more intimately through stories told in their own words, compelling photos, videos, and project updates.  And in addition, you’ll receive a quarterly update from your sponsored One Village via email!

1 – You Know About the Devastating Problem
Almost half the world lives on less than $2.50/day. More than a billion people go to bed hungry. Most of the world’s extreme poor live in rural areas and are landless.

2 – You Know That Agros Has An Effective Solution
Agros empowers entire rural villages to work their own way out of poverty by providing access to farmable land, long-term credit, and agricultural business training.

3 – Now… You Can Directly Help One Village Break Free from Poverty!

The need is great…the Agros solution works… and the One Village experience is a truly unique opportunity for you to directly help end rural poverty… One Village at a time.

EXPLORE the unique experience of One Village!

CHOOSE to be part of the journey!

SPONSOR One Village today!

The countdown is officially on!

On Monday July 26th, Agros International will be launching one of the most unique website experiences—dare we say—ever!  Journey with us via an online, multimedia experience, and you will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore an Agros village up close and personal, come to know the people and projects that make that village so special, and directly help them end rural poverty for good… One Village at a time!

We’re excited to share this with you—so please stay tuned…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2010

Seattle-based non-profit announces 40th village
New village enables 25 Guatemalan refugee families in Chiapas, Mexico to break the cycle of poverty through land ownership

SEATTLE, WA–Twenty-five hardworking, yet landless and impoverished families are getting an extraordinary opportunity to escape poverty—to own 175 acres of productive agricultural land so important to their livelihoods, and to build a thriving, sustainable community of their own.
Nueva Ilusión, meaning “New Dream,” is the latest and 40th village project launched and supported by Agros International, a Seattle-based nonprofit enabling the world’s rural poor to attain land ownership and break the cycle of poverty through a holistic and sustainable approach to village development.

Villagers in Nueva Ilusión—like the families in the 39 Agros-sponsored villages that have preceded them—will access the land critical to their survival and hopes for a better future through long-term loans from Agros. This land will be used to generate sustainable income to support their families, pay back the loans, and create a secure future. Agros —committed to ending the cycle of poverty in all its forms — will provide support every step of the way as families define a community vision, develop local leadership, and launch a strategic development plan that includes housing, irrigation, agricultural business training, micro-enterprise loans, and education and health programs. “There are no other organizations like Agros that we know of that use long-term credit for land ownership, combined with holistic development, to empower rural families to work their own way out of extreme poverty,” says Laurie Werner, Agros Director of Program.

Since 1982, over 9,000 poorest of the world’s poor have gained land, hope, and transformed lives in Agros-supported villages throughout El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico. The Agros village model has caught on among villagers and supporters in recent years, with the number of Agros villages doubling from 20 to 40 within the past six years.

Agros has also won recognition for providing “lasting solutions to poverty” from an alliance of the World Bank, the UNDP, and the Inter-American Foundation.

Dear Friends:

June 30th marked Agros’ fiscal year end. So many of you joined our year-end matching gift campaign–I wanted to write and extend our thanks for your generous participation with us to help us end the year strong, and give you an update on our year-end efforts.

Thanks to your generous giving, we exceeded our expectations on our year-end matching gift challenge!

Through your generosity, Agros not only met the $100,000 matching gift goal, but received an additional $25,000 challenge to help inspire additional commitments! That $25,000 was matched as well!

This could not have happened without the incredible, sacrificial support of you, our faithful partners! On behalf of Agros, and the thousands of rural villagers we serve, thank you for your  generosity and commitment to help end rural poverty and enable entire rural villages to become self supporting!

Your support provided Agros with flexible funding that’s crucial in allowing us to provide help where it’s needed the most. This year, some of the greatest areas of need were villages in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Thanks to your partnership, and the help of others like you, we raised the funds needed to deliver on our commitments to these villages, and assure their progress toward self-sustainability in the years ahead.

It takes the combined efforts of so many different stakeholders to help make change possible. Your input, partnership and participation are crucial to all we do. Thank you – each of you – for helping Agros bring land, hope and life to so many families in Central America and Mexico.

It’s my deep hope and prayer that in a few years, the scope of the work Agros does will continue to grow so we can serve and empower even more people in most remote corners of the world.

You make all of this possible.  Mil gracias!

- Kathie

PS:  I wanted to make you aware of an exciting new initiative we’re soon to launch!  Have you ever wondered what living in an Agros village is really like?  In a few short weeks we will be launching a unique, online sponsorship program called One Village.  Using interactive media to bring you into an Agros village, you’ll come to know, up close and personal, the people and projects of One Village.  Through rich media, photos, stories, and video you’ll be able to follow the progress of your sponsored village over time, as the community works their way out of poverty.  Stay tuned for One Village…coming soon!

You might remember that a year ago we shared how a group of innovative, entrepreneurial 1st graders from Seattle’s St. Joseph School came together to make a difference. These students, with the support of all their parents and led by teachers Ms. Peterson, Ms. Meier and Mrs. Doquilo, managed to raise $1,140 for Agros villages in Chiapas, Mexico in last year’s bake sales.

Their success inspired this year’s first graders to follow in their footsteps. Here is an update on just what the 1^st graders of St. Joseph’s school have cooked up for this year.

Like the class before them, this year’s first graders decided to help the young families in Chiapas, Mexico by organizing a bake sale. These 63 youngsters conducted two very successful bake sales and this time generated $1080 for Agros. So, in two short years and four bake sales later, well over $2000 has been raised for Agros!

Pictured below is the 1st grade class of 2010 with Dave Spicer from Agros, as well as a group of students proudly presenting Dave with a check of the money they raised. Brian, Abby and Riley represent their respective first grade class in giving this check for $1,080 to Mr. Spicer.

Also pictured is a young villager about the same age of the St. Joseph 1^st graders whose picture and story helped inspire them to take action. Some of these funds raised by the St. Joseph 1^st graders will be used to purchase birds and animals like chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits, cows and sheep from the Agros One Seed Alternative Gift Catalog for families living in Agros villages.

Agros feels blessed and grateful to have young people like these two groups of first graders care so much about other people in a very different part of the world.  These young and inspiring philanthropists are truly becoming global citizens!

In a recent interview with the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jeffrey Sachs, distinguished economist and professor, renowned author, and Director of the Earth Institute, outlines why he believes ’sustainable development is humanity’s most pressing challenge’ and ‘lifting billions of people out of poverty is the first order of business.’

To that end, Sachs identifies six areas he deems crucial to ending extreme poverty:

1. Agriculture
2. Health
3. Education
4. Infrastructure
5. Business development
6. Environmental conservation

Sachs argues that we can ‘make tremendous headway against poverty, killer diseases, the lack of productivity of the rural poor, and so forth, through integrated systems-based and technology-based approaches in those six areas’—in other words, sustainable and holistic development.

We agree!  Agros’ holistic development model was devised specifically to address these areas identified by Sachs (and more) with sustainable solutions.

It all begins with helping the rural poor secure rights to quality land. After land has been secured, Agros works with the villagers on community development and implementation of sustainable, environmentally sound agricultural systems. Agros also equips the villagers to hone their skills to democratically govern their villages. And consistently threaded throughout the process are a combination of health and human development programs, as well as ongoing education and training as appropriate for the given stage of development.  Through this holistic approach to development, Agros has helped thousands of people pull themselves out of poverty by simultaneously supporting the very ecosystems they depend on for life-giving services.

When you support Agros’ work you can trust we are implementing solutions each and everyday that address these same six areas of need as outlined by Mr. Sachs.

For example, here are just a few items from Agros’ One Seed Alternative Gift Catalog that support development in those six areas of critical need:

1. Agriculture: One Acre of Seed
2. Health: Village Health Promoter Training
3. Education: Women’s Economic Initiatives Training
4. Infrastructure: A House (Startup Housing)
5. Business development: Business Training
6. Environmental conservation: Planting a Dozen Trees

Learn more about Agros’ holistic development model and how it supports these critical areas of need, our commitment to sustainability, and how you can get involved and make a difference!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2010

Seattle-based non-profit enables land for 59 indigenous Guatemalan families
After three decades, refugee survivors of Guatemala armed conflict of 1980s return to their land as rightful owners

SEATTLE, WA–Fifty-nine indigenous Mayan Guatemalan families received titles to their land in early April, twenty-nine years after fleeing from violence incited by the civil war that ravaged rural areas 1960-1996.

These families, living in the village of Trapichitos in rural Quiché, Guatemala, including nearly 250 men, women and children, partnered with Seattle-based non-profit Agros International in 2000. Agros is a non-profit that enables the world’s rural poor to attain land ownership and break the cycle of poverty through a holistic and sustainable approach to village development.

Villagers in Trapichitos—like the families in the other 39 Agros-sponsored villages throughout Central America and Mexico—have spent the past ten years defining a community vision, developing local leadership and implementing a strategic plan that includes housing, irrigation, agricultural business training, micro-enterprise loans, and education and health programs. Agros purchases the land and through long-term support, training and access to credit, families are able to repay the land loan. “Land ownership is critical to ensure vulnerable families are empowered to have a means to work themselves out of poverty,” says Director of Program Laurie Werner. “The Trapichitos families now hold titles to their property, a security and asset they can pass on to ensure a sustainable future for the next generation.”

Since 1982, over 9,000 of the world’s poorest have gained land, hope, and transformed lives in Agros-supported villages throughout El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico. The Agros village model has caught on among villagers and supporters in recent years, with the number of Agros villages doubling from 20 to 40 within the past six years. To date, 210 families, about 1,370 people, have become proud land owners through Agros.

Agros has also won recognition for providing “lasting solutions to poverty” from an alliance of the World Bank, the UNDP, and the Inter-American Foundation, and is also a winner of the 2008 World Bank Global Marketplace Competition.

To read personal reflections about Trapichitos, read this blog post from David Carlson, Agros Donor Relations National Director.

Her name is Juana…one of a tragically sizable number of widows in this formerly war ravaged region of Guatemala.
Juana is leaning against her humble home, and as the photo implies she’s reserved when being peered at through a camera lens, which was an uncommon experience for her when this photos was taken six years ago. But notice something else in the picture–a slight smile and grace that adorns her self-woven attire.

If you knew her story you’d have to ask, “why?” Why would a woman who has lived through a virtual genocide, extreme hunger, displacement and desperate poverty have such a sense of dignity and hope on her face?

I could explain why, in my own words, but instead… let me tell you about what she and 58 other families received two weeks ago at a truly historic event in Agros’ history.

My throat choked, my eyes pooled, and tears fell as she and the other families in the Agros village of Trapichitos, (Trapee-cheetos: “the little sugar mill”), received their land titles after ten years of toil and trust!

Agros exists to enable rural poor families–like those in Trapichitos–to work their way out of poverty as an entire community. Because the rural poor depend on land for their survival and livelihood, Agros works to provide rural villages with long-term credit for farmable land, and then works to train and support the families as they develop a thriving and economically sustainable village. The process takes approximately ten years, and when it’s done the families own it all; it’s theirs for generations to come!

The land title ceremony in Trapichitos was to celebrate the fact that a decade long journey, almost 60 families have made their best dreams come true. After so many decades of suffering, these families now have the knowledge, training, and assets to hand down to their future generations.

This title ceremony was also Agros’ largest land title ceremony to date and was an extraordinary experience for the 19 of us from North America who attended, as well as for several Agros Guatemala staff and board.

Agros has learned over the years that the journey out of poverty does not happen in isolation. Witnessed by representatives of the local Guatemalan human rights commission, the event was also evidence of consistent leadership from in-country Agros staff and villagers, as well as generous partnership from the likes of families, churches, businesses, and service organizations here in the United States (see list and links below).

I’ll never forget my first encounter with these families in February, 2000. There were no roads into the village, and in order to build their homes they had to traverse peaks and valleys, walking four miles each way in order to carry in the block, cement, sand, gravel and rebar for their first 25 homes, (750 cinder blocks per home), carrying it all on their backs and that of the ten mules they’d purchased on a loan from Agros.

I remember visiting each home on an emergency visit of concern and compassion, inquiring of each family following a tragic explosion and fire that killed a beloved young father in the village, causing fear reminiscent of the civil war years when bombs dropped from above and fire was commonplace.

I remember teams of volunteers from the U.S. who came to serve, value, learn, laugh, sing and weep… caring by coming, restoring dignity stolen:

But now, dignity is restored, hope realized, futures secured, dreams unfolding as 10 years later, families own their land, proudly holding their titles, with both husband and wife, or in Juana’s case, alone but in community.

Thanks to all our partners, individuals I cannot take space to name, as well as the following organizations & businesses:

• First Presbyterian Church Boulder, Colorado
• Richard & Joan Ringoen Family Foundation, Inc
• Atlas Coffee Importers www.atlascoffee.com
• Camano Island Coffee Roasters: www.camanoislandcoffee.com
• Caffé Lusso: www.caffélusso.com
• Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club: http://www.bbrc.net/
• Sun Microsystems Employees Matching Gift Program
• Ball Corporation Employees Matching Gift Program
• Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/
• Jacobson, Lawrence & Associates, PLLC: http://cpajla.com/
• Mountain Bible Church, Los Gatos, CA
• Sammamish Presbyterian Church, Issaquah, WA
• The Dwelling Company: http://www.dwellingcompany.com/

(Photos courtesy of Hilario Pardo, Dan Ringoen and Steve Gnam)

Carlos Sarmiento has a special fondness and respect for his father, who raised him on his own after his mother left the family when he was very young.

As a child, Carlos remembers his father doing all that he could to provide for them.  That meant his father was away for long stretches day after day, having to walk two hours each way to a small plot of rented land he farmed for basic grains. Often that yielded very little, and there were nights they both went without food.  As he matured, Carlos joined his father and helped work the land. For Carlos, this was a special time when his father shared his life stories and wisdom—but there were still days that their combined efforts didn’t yield enough food to eat or cover the cost of renting the land.

At the age of 15 years old, with his father’s reluctant blessing, Carlos decided to leave his small town for the city of San Pedro de Sula in search of more stable work. But he and his wife Marina, and later their two children, continued to face many difficulties there. To provide for his new family, Carlos often worked 30 hours straight without rest—beginning at dawn, with a shovel and bucket in hand, Carlos collected trash across the city.  Like his father before him, he had little choice but to be apart from his family with very little reward or stability in return.

But after finding Agros and moving to the Honduran village of Bella Vista, Carlos has finally found the stability and security he’d always dreamed of for his growing and extended family: land, hope and life.

Today, Carlos has found a renewed confidence in himself and his ability to provide for his family. The family enjoys a home, latrine, potable water, farm animals and crops flush with coffee, bananas, beans and corn! Together, they also run a small grocery store—this provides more income and savings for the family, while also serving the needs of their community with basic items.

Carlos is proud of the work ethic his father imparted onto him, and knows the example he is now sharing with his own children will forever strengthen their resolve and break their generational poverty. This Father’s Day, help other fathers like Carlos achieve their potential by giving a gift with real meaning in honor of a man who made a difference in your life:

• Farmer’s Toolkit
• A Share of a Cow
• 100 Feet of Irrigation & Piping
  
• Agricultural Business Training

Visit the Agros One Seed Alternative Gift Catalog to see other ways you can recognize that special man in your life!

P.S.—Don’t forget, every dollar you donate to Agros by June 30—up to $100,000 in general giving—will be matched dollar for dollar in the matching gift opportunity!

I want to share with you a story, and a life-changing opportunity.

Albertina had a daughter she loved. But Albertina was poor… extremely poor… and she had to make a choice.

Living in the remote, rugged mountains of Nicaragua, Albertina lived like many rural families across Central America–with love and dreams for her children, but waking up each day knowing that dreams won’t put food in hungry stomachs.

With no land, education, or consistent income or food source, Albertina and her family suffered.

“I had a daughter,” Albertina said. “She was tender, she was little, and I loved her. She was just like the little kids here in this village. But, I was very poor… I didn’t have any land to grow food, work was hard to find. I was often forced to leave my daughter behind while I went out to try and find work.”

“One day she got sick. But I had so little money; I had to choose between giving her medicine, or a little food. I had nothing to give her, until the day came when she died.”

“One needs to take care of children… but I didn’t have anything. I am still so sorry, and never want to pass through anything like that again.”

A mother should never have to make that kind of choice. Never.

But Albertina’s story is neither rare nor isolated. In remote villages throughout the developing world, without land of their own to farm for food, without work, families are forced to endure hunger, sickness, and a thousand degradations that destroy human dignity.

But that is where we come in. We have the ability to offer families like Albertina’s a different choice… the ability to choose life.

To that end, I am excited to share with you an incredible matching gift opportunity. Every dollar you donate to Agros by June 30–up to $100,000 in general giving–will be matched dollar for dollar. This doubles your donation, doubling your ability to impact and help people like Albertina.

We know these families have the capacity to work their way out of poverty. They simply need someone to believe and invest in their potential. It’s easy to make a difference – you can:

• Make a general donation online
• Give an alternative gift from the Agros One Seed Gift Catalog

In order to quality for the $100,000 matching opportunity, all donations need to be received by June 30, 2010.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide to ensure we finish the year strong. Click here to make a donation now to help families like Albertina’s.

We could not do this work without you. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone for the many questions and concerns raised in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agatha.  We have been assessing the storm’s impact in all of our villages over the last week and here is an update by country:

GUATEMALA
No crop damages, all villages are fine.  There are, however, reports that two bridges into Nebaj have been washed out so staff and teams travelling to the Ixil will take alternate routes until the bridges are repaired.

EL SALVADOR & HONDURAS
Minor damages to recently planted crops in both countries.  Agros staff are working with the communities to replant and provide technical assistance to recoup the minor losses.

NICARAGUA AND CHIAPAS, MEXICO
No damages, all villages are fine.

We have been in contact with our Guatemala Director after the recent activity from Volcano Pacaya near Guatemala City, and there have been no damages or impact to Agros staff in the city. The regions where Agros works in Guatemala are far removed from the volcanic activity, which is only affecting the departments of Guatemala, Escuintla and Sacatepequez directly.

We are, however, concerned about Tropical Storm Agatha.  The sheer amount of rainfall has significantly increased the likelihood of flooding and landslides across the region.  Our field staff work weekly and directly in Agros villages and we will be surveying and assessing any possible damages throughout the week.  We’ll post updates here on the Agros blog as we have them.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has named 2010 the year of International Biodiversity, with this year’s theme specifically recognizing the importance of the triad: Biodiversity, Development, and Poverty Alleviation on May 22nd.

According to the IFAD, biodiversity is the sum of all existing species, their interactions and the ecosystems they form. It is also the basis for agriculture, and together, they are both crucial in maintaining and improving food security.  IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze notes that this year’s biodiversity focus “is a timely opportunity to remind the world of how agricultural biodiversity can improve productivity and nutrition, enhance livelihoods, respond to environmental challenges and deliver food security. Indeed, biodiversity is a vital tool for rural development and poverty reduction.”

Agros shares the belief that biodiversity is crucial for maintaining sustainable agricultural systems and healthy communities. Working closely with farmers, Agros agronomists work to provide the resources and skills-based training necessary to create dynamic agricultural systems that can support families economically and provide them with access to healthy food.

The surrounding environment also benefits from the use of these techniques as they minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides and promote soil restoration. Farmers in Agros villages also receive technical assistance and resources for the implementation of reforestation projects.

Agros is committed to helping farmers balance the importance of maintaining a high level of biodiversity within the economic needs of farmers. This year you can help support Central American and Mexican farmers’ efforts to increase biodiversity by supporting the work of Agros.

Learn more about the pillars behind IFAD’s 2010 Year of International Biodiversity and the International Day of Biological Diversity.

A call for increased access to land to help alleviate poverty among the world’s rural poor was made last week by the president of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Kanayo F. Nwanze, as he opened the annual World Bank Conference on Land Policy and Administration.

Similar to Agros, IFAD believes access to land and productive resources plays a critical role in poverty reduction. In his opening remarks, Nwanze emphasized the need to create policies that increase access to land and secure rights to land for the millions of smallholders across the globe. Access to land is essential for economic growth and poverty reduction.

IFAD recognizes that while this is a complex issue affecting many regions, there are in fact solutions to ensure that smallholders have access to the land they need.

Here at Agros, we are working hard to implement one such proven solution.

Land ownership is a cornerstone of the Agros Development Model.  We help rural farmers access suitable land by providing them with capital needed to purchase the land, and then we partner with them for upwards of seven years as the community develops leadership, pathways to healthcare & education, and sustainable income through agricultural businesses.

Agros’ model is holistic.  Families are learning new farming techniques that focus on organic solutions to increase crop yields and reduce pests and weeds, as well as learning new techniques for raising small animals, which ultimately provide much needed supplemental nutrition and income. Together, these families are learning education, teamwork, and technical know-how are what it takes to create a community where everyone can thrive. And by ensuring that every current generation in an Agros village benefits from technical training and support, the Agros development model is meeting the urgent need to invest in young farmers to ensure food security and village continuity over time.

Through this model Agros has been successful in providing new hope to thousands of families throughout Central America and Chiapas, Mexico.  Agros, like IFAD, is committed to seeking out innovative solutions to rural poverty alleviation.

Click here to read the remarkable opening remarks from the IFAD President.

The following has been written by Susan Moulton, Agros Board Chair:

It is with great sadness that I am sharing with you the news of the death on April 20, 2010 of our beloved friend, Agros board member, and comrade in the fight to end rural poverty.

This beautiful message was posted on Mary Kay’s Carebridge site the morning of her passing:

“As the birds began a morning chorus, Mary Kay Burdick gracefully passed into the arms of God. She was never uncomfortable or in pain. The events of these final days have been exactly as MK wished. We have been able to grieve and laugh in nearly equal parts.”

Our hearts are also heavy and joyful in equal parts. Mary Kay contributed so much to the world she left behind: her CAN DO attitude and actions in serving the poor have been inspirational and have set into motion generational changes in the lives of so many. I am sad that so many of the families she served with all her heart will now never have the chance to encounter Mary Kay and the shinning light that burned in her so fiercely and brightly.

That light did not come without challenging many to ask questions that needed asking; it did not come without standing up for what was just and right no matter how uncomfortable it could be. As a close friend said, “Heaven needs to get ready, because when MK gets there she is sure to have lots of questions!”

Mary Kay raised her family the same way–by charting a deeply meaningful path, with love and engagement in all of life as a wife and mother. This path of love and engagement in the fullness of life will continue to be lived out by Mary Kay’s remarkable husband Don and wonderful children Morgan and Grady.

We miss MK fiercely, even as we celebrate the impact and legacy she has left in all of our lives.

Additionally, the following obituary was published in the Seattle Times:

Mary Kathryn ‘Mary Kay’ (Delay) Burdick, 51, Seattle community activist and former financial executive, passed peacefully into the arms of God on April 20, 2010. Her death followed a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

Born in Spokane on February 2, 1959, Mary Kay was the oldest of three children of Helen and John Delay. She graduated from Idaho’s Priest River High School, and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Idaho.

In 1981, she moved to Seattle and joined the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. She and Don Burdick were married in Seattle in 1983. Later, Mary Kay worked for Sullivan Payne Company as Chief Financial Officer, and for Costco Wholesale Korea as a buyer.

Charitable causes were central to Mary Kay’s life. She was particularly passionate about health care, serving as a community ambassador for the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).

She also cared deeply about the impoverished, acting as a director for Agros, an organization dedicated to helping the rural poor in Central America and Mexico.

In addition, Mary Kay was a director of the Eastside Housing Alliance.

Mary Kay was often engaged in many other causes and was a frequent volunteer. Many people knew Mary Kay as a skilled financial officer, and still others knew her as a passionate gardener, Scout leader, active learner, go-to person, tireless advocate for the poor, or simply special friend.

Her husband Don knew her as best friend and faithful companion. To daughter Morgan and son Grady, she was an actively engaged mom who taught by example to love travel, seek adventure, be curious, treasure learning, explore boundaries, and make thoughtful choices.

Mary Kay’s faith was an integral part of her life, particularly after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. She studied actively and shared her religious principles with her children. Her deeply held beliefs served as the foundation that allowed her to counsel and comfort not only fellow cancer patients but also others who are suffering.

Although disease was part of Mary Kay’s life for several years, it did not define or consume her. She became an optimist, a proactive student of cancer care, and made her own informed decisions about medical treatment.

In addition to her active engagement with PATH and Agros, she continued to travel widely, including trips to South Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua and much of the European Union.

While receiving enhanced cancer treatment in Germany, she kept a blog and interspersed her treatment updates with tales of her travels in Europe, revealing her great sense of adventure, optimism and curiosity.

Mary Kay is survived by her husband Don, daughter Morgan, and son Grady, all of Mercer Island; sister Cindy, and brother John (Angela), both of Spokane; and parents, John and Helen Delay of Priest River, Idaho.

A mass of celebration will be held May 10 at 3:00 p.m. at Saint Monica Catholic Church, Mercer Island.

Please direct remembrances to PATH.org and Agros.org.

Agros is a learning organization; we see ourselves and conduct ourselves that way. In 1999, when Agros decided to start a new agricultural village in the Rivas area of Nicaragua, we were technically already over ten years old. One of the lessons we have learned since then is about land quality. For this village that would later be called “Futuro del Mañana” (Tomorrow’s Future), we bought the best we could afford at the time. It was an oddly-shaped piece of land, thin and narrow, that spanned over a ridge, but we knew that once we bought it, we would accomplish our goal of helping some of the rural poor in Nicaragua own land.

Our second lesson was about priorities. In those days, we thought that it would be a good thing for the villagers to build housing on the land first, before it was cultivated. The pride of ownership and community participation effect of building together would help bond the community. We were only partially right there.

I recently visited Futuro del Mañana. The Agros Nicaragua staff members tell us that all of the families will have paid off their land by early next year. The group accompanying me wanted to hear about the early days of the community, and what’s happened since. Three men from the village had agreed to tell us the story of their own journeys towards land ownership at Futuro.

It’s a story with a rough beginning.

Pablo told us: “In those days when we were building, we had nothing to eat for 18 months. God provided for us somehow…. Eventually, I was earning enough to save money in the bank, and pay off my loan. But then I discovered that the bank does not pay you much for your savings. So I invested my savings in cattle, and that made much more for me.”

“We worked for 18 months without income, without food,” José Luis added, “If you asked me to do it again today, I would refuse. I could not even cultivate my own piece of land, it wasn’t good enough.”

But José Luis discovered something else during that rough time: his own talent for construction work. He used that on other projects and made money that way. “I am grateful for two blessings that I received:  I learned the building trade, and now I own my own home.

“I pray for the others in this village,” he added, “Some of them decided to leave before they were able to totally pay off their land and own it; that’s not right.”

Jose Luis pointed to Mario Gaitan, the director of Agros Nicaragua, who was at the fringe of the circle, in his customary quiet listening pose. “I am grateful to Mario, who is my good friend,” he said with a grin, “He encouraged me to believe that I could do this, own my own land. What we need now is renewed vision for everyone, to work together so that each family can pay off their land loan.”

Pedro, the third villager to speak, told us that Agros human development staff had helped him to overcome the legacy of a fatherless upbringing. His beginnings story was similar: hard work for no pay or food, poor land that was difficult to irrigate and access. He added “So I rented land to cultivate. I would grow excess, store it until the market prices went up, then sell. I thank my children, especially my son, who has helped me pay off my loan.”

I should explain at this point that Agros has learned many lessons at the hands of these villagers, these partners of ours. Their experience has taught us that it’s worth waiting for the right piece of land, and paying more for it, even though it may take the villagers longer to pay it off, and we may need to spend more years in staff time working with them. We no longer encourage villagers to build permanent homes right away. They have taught us that the best early encouragement is the experience of growing food and earning money off of the land they occupy and will own some day. In 2003, we changed our model from “land and enterprise” to “holistic development.” We had learned that the path out of poverty is made more level by paying attention to all of the elements blocking the way: health and hygiene, education, full participation of all family and village members, permissive vs. directive paths of change: we now measure 20 factors contributing to the process. It’s still a tortuous path– generational poverty presents major obstacles– but the path is less steep and therefore easier to walk.

The three stories were done and the afternoon sun was turning orange, but the word got out, and the village began to gather. We were asked to say a bit about ourselves. We moved to the community center (really no more than a supported roof) and plastic chairs were quickly occupied by over fifty people. We told them who we were, why we were there, and what we hoped to learn from them.

One by one, the villagers encouraged family representatives to come forward and to tell us that they had already paid off their loans and owned their land outright, or else how close they were and how soon they expected to do so. One man got up, looked at us silently, took a deep breath, smiled and said simply: “I’m paid up!” Immediate applause and laughter; his chest was still puffed up as he beat a hasty retreat from the spotlight. A daughter came forward with her mother and spoke for her shy parent. Each statement was greeted by cheers and applause. The longer we stayed, the more we sensed the mutual encouragement in the village, and the infectious nature of the pride of ownership.

All of this, I thought, was despite Agros’ attempts to help. We had led them to unproductive land, and mistakenly thought that their own homes would be good security. A good outcome was now in sight, thanks to corrective action that our staff had taken in the intervening years, but still: The odds were against these villagers at the beginning.

The people of Futuro del Mañana had beat those odds. They had done it as individuals, they had bonded together to do it collectively, and they were determined that everyone in their village would do so.

We did two things right, I thought later. Somehow, we had found people who were determined to overcome: not just to survive, but to thrive. They had the faith to do so. And the Agros Nicaragua staff had not given up on them, or their abilities. The deep bond of affection between villagers and the all of the staff who companion them in their journey is palpable. Mario Gaitan told me later that he was deeply moved when Jose Luis called him “my good friend.” Tears had come to my own eyes at the very same moment. To be the friend of the poor: there is no higher honor for man or woman, regardless of their social or organizational position.

Mario Gaitan has big plans for Nicaragua, and for Agros’ role in helping the poor to ownership and human dignity. During our time with him, we discussed best practices and how Agros might reach more poor people, more effectively.

I think in the end, though, it’s going to come down to this: making more friends.

Stuart Scadron-Wattles