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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we recognize that every day is Earth Day in the developing world. For millions of people around the world, their very survival today depends on access to land as a source of food, shelter, and income. But for the majority, their access to land remains tenuous and means there will always be vulnerability to hunger and poverty, and by extension, little capacity to worry about conserving resources when survival is at stake.

Recognizing that, land access is a key tenet of Agros’ development model.  Further, to safeguard the longevity of this valuable asset, we ensure that both environmental and economic sustainability measures are employed to work in concert, and the benefit of doing so is seen and well-understood by all Agros villagers. It takes time and practice to realize and appreciate those gains, but is most assuredly worth it. Agros staff provide ongoing workshops on everything from sustainable agricultural practices that promote crop diversification and soil conservation, organic composting, the benefits of using improved wood burning stoves, and more.

Take the example of Mario in the village of Brisas del Volcán.  He used to work as a day laborer, leaving home at 3am only to return at 8pm each night, making very little money for time spent. Work could only be found during the peak-growing season from November to January, so he remembers months on end when he and his family were only able to eat just once a day. When working for the interests of a large landowner, he recounts he had little capacity or incentive to be concerned with sound agricultural practices. Today, by contrast, he is an active advocate for sustainability in his village. A natural leader, Mario served as Brisas del Volcán’s first President of Production and was responsible for managing all agricultural initiatives and marketing of those goods.  The village has enjoyed amazing benefits, both in dividends from the land and economic returns, from his leadership and direction in marrying crop diversification with environmental stewardship to protect their precious resources.

“Now we have chilies and banana plants… we have the luxury of working every day if need be, providing a better life for our families, and increasing our savings to do other things,” Mario shares. Today, his family works on all the shared communal crops as well as a project raising 60 chickens at home.

People are inclined to take better care of a resource that is their own. To that end, the Agros development model builds long-term assets ensuring access to land, affordable credit, and technical training proven to support sustainable land stewardship.

Do your part — celebrate Earth Day by investing in rural families who employ sustainable agricultural practices today and reap the rewards for many tomorrows to come!

• Plant a dozen trees
• Buy an acre of land
• Enrich soil with organic worm composting
• Provide business and agricultural sustainability training
• Reduce stove emissions and build composting latrines

Learn how else you can help at the Agros One Seed Gift Catalog!

The following was written by Ann Edwards, an Agros supporter and member of a Journey With a Village partnership with the Agros village Brisas del Volcán.  Ann recently travelled to Brisas del Volcán, and reflects on the incredible changes she’s seen in the village over the last four years.

One of the benefits of traveling to Latin America as part of an Agros Service Team is the long plane ride home. Before life as we know it consumes us, we have time to reflect, ponder and listen. While the geographical distance between us increases, the relationship and love that we share with our village friends stays constant. And the lessons that we have learned continue to reshape our thoughts and actions as we resume our lives.

Such was my experience in mid-March when I traveled to Honduras with a group of 12 to visit the village Las Brisas del Volcán. While I have had the pleasure of visiting on two other occasions, each trip reveals the things that are constant and the things that have changed. The constant for me is always the warmth and friendliness of the people. We are met with smiles, hugs and kisses, primarily from the women and children. This trip, there was a noticeable difference with the men, as they too came forward and greeted us with affection.

Each trip begins with a tour of the property and the changes I have seen over the past 4 years are incredible. The land is very hilly, rocky and difficult to cultivate but the jungle slopes of several years ago have been replaced with acres of plantains and revitalized coffee plants. The men are so very proud of their land and what their hard, back-breaking work has provided for their families and their futures. We spent the rest of the week sharing a variety of activities, sometimes with just the women or children and sometimes “helping” the men in the fields.

While the agricultural changes were truly amazing, the most impressive changes for me were the changes I saw in the people. For the first time, I saw men holding and playing with their children; grandpas helping their young grandsons with the craft projects. The children were able to sit attentively, listening to the lesson and waiting for their turn, so different from the chaos we encountered on the first trip. All of the children are now able to attend school as their parents can afford uniforms. The younger women are stepping up to leadership roles and shared their ideas for micro loan projects from making and selling tamales to raising pigs.

This is now a community of men, women and children who have land to work, enough to eat, and a sense of hope because they have experienced the transformation that previously had only been a far off dream.

I was also impressed with the Agros staff that spent the week with us in the village. We were well hosted by Joel, the country director, who communicated his thorough understanding of the economic needs of the community in order to be self sustaining. Jose Lino is not just an experienced agronomist but he is a delightfully friendly gentleman who has won the respect and trust of the men. And Nohemy has been so effective in teaching and encouraging the relational changes that were so evident. All of the staff seem to have found a good balance between providing instruction and assistance and then letting the community make their own decisions and changes.

And now that I’m home…. I think about my friends in Honduras, knowing a little of how they spend their days. I can pray for them specifically by name and by need. We are all so much more alike than we are different and my greatest frustration is my inability to communicate on a deeper level. So, I keep studying my Spanish and look forward to the day when there will be no language barrier!

Agros is Latin and Greek for “land.”  Though “being green” has become very trendy in the last decade, since Agros began 25 years ago land and environmental stewardship has always been a cornerstone and guiding principle for how we work.  From the first piece of land that was purchased in 1986, Agros knows the immeasurable value of productive, fertile land, especially in the lives of rural farmers in Central America and Mexico, today and for the generations to come.

While approximately 80% of the rural poor depend on agriculture for their livelihood, most live on marginal land, where water is scarce and land is over-worked by cash crops and stripped of nutrients by extreme weather conditions such as drought and hurricanes.

Dependence on agriculture, poor management of natural resources and population pressures have led to serious environmental degradation and diminished opportunities for rural farmers to make a living.

Just to paint a picture of how serious this is, currently over 50% of Nicaragua’s energy is from firewood, dramatically contributing to the deforestation of the landscape.  With this loss of trees, underground water sources are drying up, rapidly leading to desertification, and plant and animal species are disappearing as well.  Economic losses include the decline in eco-tourism to these forests, various types of forest industries, as well as a decline in soil fertility essential for farmers.

To counter these trends, Agros works with farming families to teach sustainable agricultural practices as well as environmental conservation methods, like replacing slash-and-burn with organic compost produced on the farm and reforestation of the land.

This year, families in Agros Nicaragua communities are finishing the second special reforestation project supported by the generous support of the Weyerhauser Foundation.  Through these reforestation projects, dozens of communities in the Matagalpa and Rivas regions of Nicaragua have planted thousands of trees on hundreds of acres of land since 2007.  Here are just a few of the achievements that these families have made through these projects:

• 30 benefitting communities, including Agros and neighboring villages, making a significant impact on the entire region
• 425 families participated, approximately 3,000 men women and children contributing to a greener future
• 70,245 trees and plants reforested 304 acres, including fruit trees, various forest trees and native plants
• 22 greenhouses built to continue reforestation after the initial project
• Strategic partnerships established with local governments and NGOs to provide funding to expand the project
• Families equipped with forest management skills, including how to plan, budget and report on the project, how to plant and care for the trees, prevent forest fires and damage by cattle, build greenhouses to produce new trees for neighboring communities, and protect water sources and soil at risk for erosion
• Increased understanding of the ecological and economical importance of healthy, thriving forests
• Long-term improved soil fertility, stabilization of underground water sources, microenvironments and climates, decreased desertification

Global Washington, a broad-based membership association that promotes and supports the international development sector in the state of Washington, recently featured Sean Dimond, Agros Communication Director, and the work of Agros in their monthly ‘Changemaker’ feature.

You can read the article at the Global Washington site, or read below:

Sean Dimond is a talented and compassionate man who has lived through past life-threatening circumstances to tell a story of beauty and compassion about a world where human dignity is more powerful than war and extreme poverty.

As the Director of Communications for Agros International, Sean has applied his diverse background in communications, philosophy, and media-arts to connect the people of the developed world with those suffering in the developing world.

Throughout Central America, rural people have suffered from decades of armed conflict and extreme poverty. Many of these families have been forgotten and left for dead. In most of the developing world, and in Central America specifically, the rural poor depend on land for basic survival. If rural families are able to access their own farmable land, this can create a foundation for food, a secure home, and a path of progress. This is where Seattle-based Agros International comes into the picture.

Agros’ development approach takes into account that while single interventions (such as microcredit or vaccines) are important, in order to sustainably alleviate poverty it is critical to take a holistic approach, or as Agros calls it, “360 Development.”

Agros is focused on the long-term alleviation of poverty for entire rural communities by extending long-term loans to purchase farmland, and then partnering with families in applying sustainable agricultural and community development practices. The goal is to empower families to create, develop, and own a thriving, sustainable village.

In summary, Agros does not reduce the causes or solutions of poverty to just the individual, but instead works to alleviate poverty horizontally across an entire community, and vertically so this impact affects future generations.

Rather than build programs based on merely “fixing problems”, Agros seeks to invest in the dreams and values of poor, believing that they have the essential dignity and capacity to work their own way out of poverty.

“Rural poverty is not a statistic. It is a face, a family, a community. And if you first listen and then seek to enable the dreams of the poor themselves, you will be amazed by what they can accomplish,” Sean says.

Sean seems to be destined for international communications. His grandfather was Cherokee Indian and through his legacy Sean developed a passion for rural indigenous people. Having lived in 8 states and 22 cities, and with many opportunities to travel internationally, Sean has a keen sense of inter-connectedness in the world. What’s more, he was influenced by the arts and good communicators and developed a skill for communicating through media. The specific platform for his media skills would end up being decided by fate.

Previous to his work at Agros, Sean owned a creative media firm called “untamed.be” that provided media and marketing communication services to Fortune 500 companies and international NGOs. His success took a turn for the worse when he was later diagnosed with cancer and was forced to close his business. As he struggled through cancer treatment, he continued to pursue one of his passions—music composition. Agros heard about him and hired him to write a score of music for their first promotional video. Sean said that even though this request came during a hard time, he could not say no, “Agros was simply one of a kind.”

After his cancer treatment Sean decided not to go back to his firm, but instead decided to look for work with an international NGO. It was truly serendipitous that at the same time Agros began to look for a Communications Director.

Since the start of his full-time employment with Agros four years ago, Sean has worked to create new fundraising platforms, increase partner engagement, and expand Agros’ visibility through multiple channels. Serving on Agros’ Executive Leadership Team, Sean believes good communications must be driven by an organizations’ strategic plan. With this in mind, he has been able to build a strong communication system for Agros that would tell stories words alone could not accomplish.

Sean recalls one of his first experiences abroad with Agros: in the mountains of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, in the village of El Eden. It was there during a video interview that he asked a villager to describe Agros in just one word. This villager said, “I would describe Agros as a mirror. Agros has helped us to see our face; they have helped us see that we have dignity. They have helped us to see that we matter.” Sean says it is encounters like this that get him out of bed every morning, focused to help these people help themselves.

“You do a disservice when you oversimplify the complexity of global poverty”

Sean believes that “we live in a unique time in human history—the struggles we face globally have a great deal to do with questions of sustainability, whether it is about food or the environment or basic security–and in an increasingly inter-connected world I feel the work of Agros is especially important.”

Sean asserts that the unique, sustainable solutions such as those practiced by Agros are critical for this global challenge. In addition, he does not think of other organizations in the global development sector as competitors. Agros is one important contributor within the global development field, but so are other organizations in their own way. Sean sees his primary competitor as “ ‘the apathy and resignation’ that exists in the general culture; the sense that nothing will ever change”. Sean believes that lasting change to complex problems is possible, “because here at Agros I get the privilege of seeing it happen every day.”

Thick creases crisscrossed his proud face, telling of torrid toil, long ago loss, stubborn survivorship and now, grinning hope, as Don Rito, the 68 year old president of aptly named Bella Vista, (Beautiful View), pictured below, welcomed our gathered guests from Harvard, Seattle and San Francisco.

Little did we know his welcome would herald a momentous occasion soon to unfold before us over the ensuing hours:  witnessing previously landless poor learn of what would be their land plot through the ‘luck of draw’!  Don Rito, a man of few words, told us of the trust Agros Country Director, Joel Martinez, (pictured below on the left, holding up the soon to be walked plot map with Agros Agronomist Jose Lino Jiménez),

and his staff had engendered, (for more, see Stuart’s blog story), and that today, a scant few months into their new lives we were the first group to visit them , just as had been promised and that this was very important to them, never having hosted a gringo group before.

As part of that “first” for both Bella Vista and us,  one of my fellow sojourners and a key supporter of this new community, Barry Rowan, (pictured here with José & Maria, one of 6 families relocating from San Pedro Sulas’ sobering slums as part of the total of Bella Vista’s 35 families), followed Don Rito’s welcome with his own

reading a blessing he’d written that we’d translated into Spanish.   As he did so, every eye and ear was in rapt attention.  Then, in an act of love and symbolic devotion, he anointed the ground on which we stood with a small vial of olive oil I’d brought for the occasion.  Once finished I told him to hang onto the vial as I suspected he’d have occasion to use it while we walked the land.  Sure enough, two hours later, empty vial in hand and hearts overflowing, we returned with memories of the land plot distribution marking us forever, emerging from the mist just as the Beautiful View emerged:

So, just how significant is a small plot of land to the landless poor?  Go with me for a moment behind the smiles above of the young family, who left behind the sewage strewn slums of San Pedro Sula, a place of despair and decay to a place of promise, where the air is pure and the land fertile, where their teenage daughter need not fear peering eyes nor their newborn suffer pestilence’s deathly probe.   Instead, José, who walked beside me as we descended into the towering corn fields below his crested view, beamed in anticipation.  When the moment of revelation for each family came, smiles burst forth under the plastic-table-cloth-canopy protecting the plot map (pictured below is Otoniel, Secretary for the Community Committee):

Perhaps the significance of what having land means to one who never dreamed it possible was best captured when Roman, one of the men Barry was preparing to anoint on his forehead extended instead his cupped hands, motioning for Barry to place the precious drops in his palms, proceeding to rub his whole face, his hair, his arms and hands in grateful  glee as if to say, “Today I’m a blessed man and I receive every ounce of bounty this opportunity gives me and my family.”  Now, truly, that’s a “Beautiful View” Barry and I will never forget, astonished by both his abandoned gratitude and our privilege to witness and facilitate it.  He, José  & Maria, and the 33 other families of Bella Vista are now those who when you ask them to show you their land will  proudly point, saying, “Esta tierra es mi finca”, (This land is my farm), having made the dignifying transition from saying “this is my small parcel” to “my Farm!”, … indeed, a quantum leap!

Thank you for joining with us in caring so practically for families like these, as well as  those waiting for the same. ..your giving IS making a difference, for generation upon generation to come!