Agros Blog

Seven years is a long time for hope to flourish. For the 28 families clustered on the outskirts of this coffee farm near El Tuma, far in the Nicaraguan highlands, hope in a promise the local municipality made to them seven years ago is all but extinguished.  The government moved the families from El Tuma, where they were squatting on tiny plots of land near the main road, to a coffee farm 30 minutes away.  The owner of the farm said the families could use a corner of his land to build temporary homes, while the government looked for a permanent place for them to live.

Today, seven years later, the families are still on the coffee farm, and hope the landowner doesn’t force the government to move them once again. Over the years, their families have expanded, new children have been born, and the little homes they’ve built of sticks and tarp are more crowded.  They’ve come to the realization that the government may never find them a new place to live, permanent homes, and improved living conditions for their children.

Young Yamileth recently told me about her life in Siempre Viva, a name the families gave to themselves, which translates to Always Alive.  While there’s no electricity, “lack of access to water is the hardest part about living here,” says Yamileth. “There are no latrines, which means we have to relieve ourselves in the local river – the same place where we bathe and fetch water to cook and to drink.”

Yamileth showed me the small home she and her husband, Pedro, cobbled together from tarp and wood they found in the forest.  Smoke fills her home as she cooks for her three children from an open fire. Yamileth’s grateful that her oldest daughter, Eva, is getting an education. Eva walks 30 minutes to and from the primary school in the nearby town each day, where she attends first grade. Yamileth stays home with her two younger children, Pedro age five, and Jennifer, now two.  Because her husband Pedro works two hours away from the farm, he walks to work at the beginning of each week, and returns home only on Saturdays. He brings money he’s earned from jobs he’s picked up during the week, either planting corn or clearing fields with his machete, the single tool he owns.  Many days, there’s simply no work to be found, and Pedro returns home with less than enough to supply daily food for his family.

Two doors down, Maria Isabel, another young mother with two children, shares a similar story. Each day, her husband Moises travels to nearby farms looking for any work he can find – but often he finds nothing. Maria Isabel longs for a home of her own, where she can raise her baby Andy, now four months old, and Antonio, her six year old, with better prospects for their future. She hopes to live in a place with clean water, a latrine for her family, and perhaps even electricity. For now, she shares her tiny home with another family, enlarging their space by adding two hammocks in the front yard, covered by a tarp.

What amazes me most about the 28 families of Siempre Viva is that, in spite of their circumstances, they have retained hope that life can indeed become better for themselves and their families! And they are striving to improve their lives. They’ve organized themselves and work together to advocate for their rights in any way they can within the local municipality. On their small parcel of land – owned by the gracious farmer – they have built a temporary preschool. One of the women from their group teaches the younger children there each morning.  Another woman from Siempre Viva serves as a health care provider, using a first aid kit a local ngo has provided to treat minor health issues within the village. The families truly hope for more permanence, a place with improved access to water and better sanitation. They long for homes of their own, with gardens where they can grow their own food to provide for their families’ needs, and a place where there’s more opportunities for dependable work, so they can be more productive. They’ve demonstrated they’re willing to work hard to improve their prospects for the future. They simply lack opportunities.

Just last week, the staff of Agros Nicaragua learned about Siempre Viva from Agros Nicaragua Economic Development Coordinator, Amanda. Amanda’s mother heard about the plight of these families, and passed along their story to Amanda. The families of Siempre Viva are exactly the type of families Agros exists to serve: hardworking, capable people who desire to be productive and provide a better life for themselves and their children.

Next Thursday, Amanda, will return to Siempre Viva to meet with the families and discuss the work of Agros and the opportunities we provide to hardworking families, to own land and boost their incomes. If the families are interested, Amanda will return again to share more about Agros’ community development model. In time, the families of Siempre Viva may indeed qualify to become part of the next Agros village. As they wait, Agros will continue to meet with them and help to strengthen community organization and their ability to advocate for themselves.

As I said goodbye to these families I met here, I was filled with a mix of emotions. The conditions here break my heart. Yet the work ethic, persistence and steadfastness these families have exhibited over the past seven years give me incredible hope for their future. I know that with their willingness to work and take advantage of opportunities, Yamileth, Maria Isabel, and the other families of Siempre Viva can truly thrive in an Agros village. I’m encouraged to know the dialogue has begun, and that Amanda will begin meeting with them next week, as she returns to share more about how Agros can help them turn their dreams into reality.

You have the power to end the cycle of generational poverty for nearly 1,300 families.

Thanks to the generous matching grant of $75,000 from several anonymous partners, you can now double your capacity to change lives! Any gift you make by the end of our fiscal year on June 30, 2011 will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $75,000!

Your gift will go a long way toward helping families like Maria’s.

Agros Update – June 2011

David Carlson shares his experience in the Ixil region of Guatemala, where Agros is helping local families to grow snow peas and sell them in markets across the globe. A great example of how the Agros model is working to alleviate rural poverty!

For years Maria’s husband Diego traveled miles in search of work to support their eight children.  The brutal civil war that tore through their homeland destroyed Maria and Diego’s home and they were forced to live with Maria’s mother, the entire family sharing a single room.

Thanks to her partnership with Agros, Maria’s family now has enormous opportunity; today she and Diego have built a new home with room for their whole family in the Agros community of Cajixay, Guatemala.  Instead of traveling miles in search of work, they grow snow peas on a plot of land they’ll soon own, and sell them through an international export contract.

Most importantly, the income from their crops has helped to finance the education of their children, some of whom have even gone on to become teachers and nurses.

Your gift to Agros makes all the difference for rural poor families like Maria’s as they obtain the necessary training and assets to escape poverty for generations to come.

And since your gift can be matched, dollar-for-dollar, through the end of June, this means double the small business loans, double the literacy training, and double the impact!

Maria and Diego’s story is a testament to their hard work and determination to change their circumstances.  But they cannot do this alone.  They need partners like you to invest in their potential.  People who understand the difference that Agros can make in the lives of the rural poor.

“Agros does not just teach, but accompanied us during the whole process.  Thanks to this support, my income has improved, my family and I have better living conditions, and we are also able to help others in the community,” says Maria.

Would you please consider making a gift of $100, $250, $500, or more to help empower families like Maria’s in Central America and Mexico? Now is the perfect time, knowing that your gift will be doubled to $200, $500, $1,000 or more!

Please make a gift today! Not only will your funds be matched dollar for dollar, but the impact will be multiplied exponentially as you break the cycle of poverty for countless others in generations to come!  Thank you!

Last year, Christina posted about a trip she led to the Ixil region of Guatemala with photographers and citizen-journalists from SalaamGarage.  Inspired by that trip, these journalists returned home eager to find a way to share their story and the incredible photographs they were able to take in Agros communities like Belén, La Esperanza, and Cajixay.

Thanks to their efforts, you can come see for yourself at at evo’s Times Infinity Gallery in Fremont at 8pm on Friday, March 4, 2011. In addition to displaying their photographs, the event will feature short talks by Amanda Koster of SalaamGarage, Sean Dimond of Agros, and a question-and-answer session with journalists from SalaamGarage.

The journalists will also present their recently published book: “Guatemala + Agros, Stories from Seven Citizen Journalists.” The book is available for purchase at the reception and online through Blurb (a SalaamGarage partner). Proceeds from book and photo sales will benefit Agros.

Admission to the gallery event is free as part of Fremont’s First Friday Art Walk.  We hope to see you there so you too can share in their transformative experience!

What: SalaamGarage / Agros Photography Exhibit
When: Friday, March 4th | 8-10pm
Where: evo Times Infinity art gallery | 122 NW 36th St Seattle (Fremont district)
Cost: Free

If you missed Friday’s opening event but would like to see the collection, it will be showing until March 25th at the Evo store in Fremont.  Hours are Monday through Saturday 11am to 8pm, and Sundays 11am to 7pm. Admission remains free, and all proceeds from sales of the book, prints, and cards will go directly to supporting the work of Agros. Thanks to the photojournalists of SalaamGarage for a great event!

Thank You and Happy New Year!

We’d like to thank you for your support of Agros International in 2010. When an anonymous donor issued a matching challenge to Agros in the final weeks of the year, your response was overwhelming!

Not only did we meet the matching gift goal of $100,000, but you generously contributed over $700,000 in the month of December!

What do these numbers mean?

With your partnership, we’ve been able to end poverty for thousands in Central America and Mexico. And thanks to your continued support, the dream of ending the cycle of poverty will become a reality for even more families in the coming year.  We are looking forward in this next year to sharing with you stories and strategies of impact, transformation, and hope.

Thank you, for all that you do for Agros and the families we serve.

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, we’re excited to share a life-changing opportunity. From now until midnight on December 31st, every dollar you donate to Agros – up to $100,000 – will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

What ways can you give? It’s up to you – you can make a general donation online, donate by phone, donate by mail, or give a gift in honor of someone you love from the Agros One Seed Alternative Gift Catalog. Regardless of what method you choose, your gift will be doubled!

Your gift to Agros will make a lasting difference in the lives of the rural poor, allowing them to obtain the necessary training and assets to escape poverty for generations to come. And whether you’re providing loans to start community banks, supporting clean water projects, or funding the training of a village health promoter, now your gift will have double the impact!

Now is the perfect time to consider how much you can give – and how much more it can do – to empower families in Central America and Mexico to work their way out of generations of poverty. Consider making a gift of $100, $250, $500, or more. Through December 31st, that gift will be doubled to $200, $500, $1,000 or more!

P.S. – If you plan to make a gift from the Agros One Seed catalog and you’d like us to send your honoree a gift card for the Christmas holiday, please be sure to order your gift by Tuesday, December 21st to ensure it arrives on time. If you’re sending a donation through mail, be sure that it’s postmarked no later than December 31st in order for it to count toward the matching gift opportunity!

Thanks to the incredible generosity and involvement of more than 450 guests and volunteers, Agros International’s 7th annual Tierras de Vida dinner was a phenomenal success!

Guests at the October 23rd dinner contributed more than $505,000 to help rural poor families overcome poverty and become self-supporting.

Guest speaker Gary Darmstadt, Director of the Family Health, Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, shared the plight faced by the millions of people across the globe living in rural poverty.

Keynote speaker, Danubia Orellana Lopez, from the Agros village of Brisas del Volcan, Honduras, captured the crowd as she shared her personal journey of hope and transformation.

Danubia, one of 14 children, grew up in dire poverty in Honduas – the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As a young mother, she earned forty cents a day working on a coffee plantation – hardly enough income to provide for her family. Inspired by her mother, Danubia banded together with 7 other women to work for a better future. She called the group, “Unity and Strength.” They began to bake bread together, and plant coffee seedlings, to earn an income.

In 2005, Danubia and her group met a representative from Agros International who offered to help them buy land, and train them to work the land together, to generate more income, and become self-supporting. Danubia’s dreams for a better future became a reality in 2006, when she and her group, with support from Agros, started the village of Brisas del Volcan!

Danubia received a standing ovation from the packed crowd, as she shared, “Our children will not suffer like we did. They can dream, and as parents and because of what we’re building with Agros, we can now help their dreams come true.”

To each and every one of you who joined with us for this year’s Tierras de Vida, we extend our heartfelt thanks, for helping to make this event a record breaking success!

Mil gracias!

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!

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.

We are happy to announce that Agros International supporters helped us meet our year end challenge to raise $25,000 in general support!

With only a few weeks left in 2009 a generous donor issued a matching challenge to Agros – offering to match year-end gifts dollar for dollar, up to $25,000! We’re thrilled to announce YOU did it!

We’d like to thank our matching donor and his family, and everyone who helped us meet this latest challenge. What a great way to start the new year!

Thank you!

With thanks to a very generous donor, we’re excited to share that from now until December 31st, every dollar you donate to Agros – up to $25,000 in general fund giving – will be matched dollar for dollar!

Whether you prefer to make a general donation online, donate by phone, donate by mail, or give a gift in honor of someone you love from the Agros One Seed Alternative Gift Catalog – your gift will be doubled! Your gift to support the work of Agros will go far to make a lasting difference in the lives of the rural poor – from helping provide loans for small agricultural businesses and women’s enterprises, seed for crops, or support for in-country professionals that provide hands on training in agronomy, health and hygiene practices and human development.

Here are just a few examples of how far a gift can go in the countries where we work, and how taking advantage of this matching opportunity can double your impact:

• A $1000 gift is enough to provide one acre of land, the most effective tool for breaking the cycle of poverty. With this match, your gift has the potential to provide two acres of land for a community!

• A $500 gift can supply a fuel-efficient stove and composting latrine for a family.
  With this match, your gift could provide two families with a family health package!

• A gift of $250 can secure a water pump and 100 feet of irrigation piping.
  With this match, your gift could provide two valuable irrigation systems!

• A gift of $100 can provide two women with small business loans.
  With this match, your gift could provide four women with funds to start their new businesses!

Please consider going above and beyond what you might normally give to empower countless families in Mexico and Central America to break free from the cycle of poverty -  to be self-sustaining, and have the freedom to dream again.

Whatever you’re able to give, we thank you for choosing to make such an impact this year and helping Agros finish the year strong!

P.S. – If you plan to make a gift from the Agros One Seed catalog and you’d like us to send your honoree a gift card for the Christmas holiday, please be sure to order your gift by Monday, December 21st to ensure it arrives on time.

On behalf of all of us at Agros International, thank you for your presence and generosity at the 2009 Tierras de Vida event!

While many were moved by Teresa Sanchez Lopez’s presentation, it was also a great honor for Teresa to be able to share her story with you. She later told staff, with tears flowing, how much the support and encouragement of all those in attendance meant to her.

Teresa will never forget your generosity, and neither will we. Quite simply, Agros exists because of your care and support, and so all of us say – ¡Mil Gracias!

At Agros we care a great deal about communicating and sharing this work with clarity and excellence. Our doors are always open to feedback and input from you, and so to that end, for those who were able to attend could you take just a few minutes and fill out this online survey on how we might improve?

Many also asked after the event how they might become more involved with the Agros mission. Here are a few simple ways you can deepen your involvement with Agros:

• Did you enjoy the video at the event? Click here to watch it again and share it with your friends!
• Subscribe to the Agros blog to receive regular updates on our work.
• Join our Facebook Fan and Cause pages, and follow our Twitter updates.
• As the holidays are fast approaching, spread the word about the Agros One Seed alternative gift catalog to your friends and family.
• Host an Agros 101 introduction for your friends – contact us for more info!

As Teresa shared on Saturday, “without dreams you will die.” Thank you for supporting the dreams of so many families working their way out of poverty across Central America and Mexico.

Well, my friends, this has been a year to remember.When I arrived at Agros as Director of Resource Development, it was September 2008 and we were well on our way to fully funding 6 new villages and continuing our commitment to the 34 already in place. When the global recession hit our leadership team met to deal with the situation in October 2008. We knew that we had to do all that was possible to trim our expenses in Seattle and the five countries where we work. We were guided by the belief that we needed to cut as many expenses as possible without compromising the progress of our villagers out of poverty. We let valuable staff go; we slowed down certain initiatives; and we only launched four of the six new villages within the original plan (the remaining 2 will be starting in the first quarter of this new fiscal year).

June 30th marked the end of that fiscal year, and despite the challenges, as we look back over the hurdles of this past fiscal year we are grateful for all that has occurred.

There are so many things to be thankful for, and so many of you to thank.  Let me attempt a partial list here:

• Thanks to those of you who used the Agros Gift Catalog to give twice: once to the poorest of the poor, and again to your loved ones.
• Thanks to those of you who struggled mightily with your own budgets, personal and corporate, to keep your commitment to Agros.
• Thanks to those of you who called us to say that you had to adjust your allocation to Agros downward, but who would not give up supporting our villagers.
• Thanks to those of you who realized that we would be in need of additional funding, and who stepped up to give more than you had originally intended.
• Thanks to the hundreds of people who monthly sent us their pledge to support a specific village.
• Thanks to those of you who introduced your friends to Agros, and encouraged them to support sustainable, holistic development.
• Thanks to the couple who generously stepped forward with $100,000 to match the gifts of those who would help end our year well.
• Thanks to those who responded to that challenge with $117,109 in new funding: 8% over our end of fiscal year matching campaign goal!

I was going to say that I don’t want to have another year like this again, but now that I’m done with our list of thanks, I realize that with so many rallying to the cause of supporting the poor in tough times, I have come to know an amazing group of people with hearts that are deep and wide.

It’s clear what really made this year remarkable: you did, and we thank you.

If you’re an Agros supporter perhaps you’ve realized that by caring and investing in this work you’re doing something different.

Agros supporters like you are part of an effort to not just alleviate poverty, but to provide rural communities with the ability to overcome it themselves in a way that spreads across communities and generations. This is a big goal.  It’s hard work. And we are clear of this simple fact: So many more rural families would still be trapped in poverty if not for your ability to help create a world free from the devastation of extreme poverty.

It’s simple… we could not do this work without you.

Knowing you share this vision is why I’m excited to announce a new Agros matching gift opportunity, made possible by one of Agros’ closest supporters and advocates.

From now until June 30th (our fiscal year end) every dollar you donate to Agros – up to $100,000 in general fund giving — will be matched dollar for dollar!

We’re not placing any restrictions on how you contribute to the Agros mission. You can:

• Make a general donation online
• Mail in your gift to Agros
• Phone in your gift to Agros
• Give an alternative gift to others from the Agros One Seed Gift Catalog

This campaign applies to ANY new money that comes in from June 1st through June 30th. Gifts received that are intended to fulfill a past pledge do not qualify. We’ve currently raised $40,000 towards our goal, and need an additional $60,000 by June 30th to qualify for the full $100,000 match!

This campaign not only doubles every dollar received, but it doubles our ability to meet and respond to the hopes of rural families.  If you’ve ever considered the challenges of poverty and wished you could do more, this is your opportunity.  Every dollar used to fight poverty counts.

We’re so grateful for your support and care, and eagerly await your response!