Our Villages

San Marcos de Belén “Saint Mark of Bethlehem” Belén, Rivas, Nicaragua Size: 206 acres Population: 24 families Founded: 2006

Download a Summer 2011 Village Update

Download a Fiscal Year 2012 Village Plan

Download a Fiscal Year 2011 Expenditure Summary

After conferring with the Institute of Rural Development and the local government, a group of farmers living in the Rivas area turned to Agros for help. They had been renting land from local farm-owners in order to grow the basic grains needed to sustain their families and were looking for a way to secure their own land. By owning their land, the families hoped to organize their own community and earn enough money to send their children to school. One of their strongest attributes as a group is that they are willing to share with one another and work together to secure a better future for them and their children.

The land, located roughly 12 miles from the nearest market, has two rivers, a forest, and a pasture on it. The families, all of whom have several years of experience in farming and agriculture, plan to use the pasture to raise livestock such as cattle and sheep. Furthermore, they will be able to use the rivers as a source of irrigation for their rice crops during the dry season. Along with raising livestock, the families plan to grow rice, beans, plantains, and sugarcane.

Projects planned for 2011 – 2012 fiscal year include:

Training three community health promoters to serve the families’ basic health needs

Gender equality workshops for the whole community

Workshops held for women on using local foods to prepare nutritious meals

Evaluating community by-laws and revising to reflect community values

Planting twenty-five acres of fruit trees to improving production and income generation

Starting a honey-bee project and building hives to commercially sell the honey