Agros Blog

None of the 40 Agros villages were created overnight. Each community grows from a variety of seeds: people, dreams, and dedication, planted and cultivated in diverse plots of land. The roots of an Agros village go deep, starting with a group of families who find and contact Agros in hopes of learning more about the Agros model and how they can start a village.

Since Agros is well established in many communities within the areas we work, families often hear about Agros through relatives, friends, or an Agros staff member. Though there is no ‘typical’ family, some common threads run through many of the groups that hope to work with Agros. Many have been displaced by war or other conflict, are renting land or moving around to find work, and are living on incomes between $.25 and $1.25 a day. These groups of families contact an Agros staff member and submit a preliminary application to begin the process of becoming a new Agros village. After this first contact, Agros and the families start the vital process of forming a relationship.

Building this relationship is the first and most vital step of starting an Agros village.  When Agros knows families well, staff can better know both the resources that the families have and the challenges that they face.  When families know Agros, they understand the development model, know what is expected of them, and are ready to commit to long-term goals.

After families and Agros have created a relationship, Agros staff helps families to find land that is available and suitable for farming. They must consider the quality of soil, water access, terrain, and geographic location of the land to ensure that it is the best place for families to begin a new village. After Agros staff performs an initial search, villagers visit land with the staff and begin negotiations with the land owner. Agros assists families in purchasing land, but it is often the families who play the key role in the negotiations and purchasing process. Once the land is bought, Agros and the families begin to integrate the Agros model by:

• Defining the Situation: Agros ‘hears the story’ of the families to learn about their past as well as to determine their strengths, experiences, and resources.
• Visioning the Future: Agros and the families discuss the families’ vision and values to define community goals and determine how they can work together to achieve them.
• Planning Projects: Families and Agros develop an annual and strategic village plan and create realistic goals for projects based on the resources available.
• Monitoring: Agros and families work together to ensure that decisions made are in line with the vision and values of the group as well as the five components of the Agros model and that project goals are being completed as planned.

No two Agros villages are alike: from the families that make up the village and the land they live on, to the goals they make and the challenges they face, each Agros village is unique. With the start of each village, Agros staff and villagers alike learn how to work together to confront each challenge that may arise. Through this process, the roots of an Agros village are planted, and families can begin the process toward sustainability, self-reliance, and land ownership.

For more information on how the Agros Development Model works, please visit the “How We Work” section of our website.