Francisca feeding pelibuey (kind of sheep native from Central America with her husband

Photo: Nancy Vsquez

Inspiring the neighbors Francisca Moncada Hernndez, an agricultural promoter for the food security program of Christian Medical Action (AMC) in the Atlantic North Coast of Nicaragua, is a good example of what a small farmer can do to ensure quality food and better way of life for her family and her neighbors. Francisca, a petite woman with a dynamic personality, greeted us as we arrived to meet her family and see the changes after years of work. She spent all her childhood in the community and only went to school for two years, preferring to work in the field and learn agriculture. "It never stopped me from achieving my goals and making my dreams come true" she said. At age 15 years old she married with German Melgar, her boyfriend who used to live and work in the same community. They had both been working farmers and friends since the childhood. After they got married they decided to leave the community, searching for a better situation and build their home. This period in her life was very hard for Francisca, who always considered the small village of Nazaret -the small village where she grew up 46 miles from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua- her real home.

She never gave up hope that someday she would come back and build a house for her family there. A few years later, she inherited from her father 21 acres of land, and her dream became a reality. Soon after she built a house and moved back to the village where she has remained ever since. To feed the family the couple planted beans and corn, basic diet of each Miskito family. They worked together to increase production, but many times suffered hunger when the absence of water or plagues affected the yield. In 2007, Hurricane Felix slammed the country, affecting 5,500 families directly and leading to the evacuation 38,000 people. AMC responded to the emergency and evaluated damages, providing assistance to help the families to overcome the tragedy. After the hurricane, the organization decided to start a food security program in this isolated part of the country, having witnessed the vulnerability of the impoverished families and the serious problems they faced during the dry season, when they were completely dependent on their own crops to survive. This new program begin with the initiation of what AMC called the production and technological transference centers (CPTT). The CPTT allowed AMC staff to promote the use of innovative agricultural techniques and better management of natural resources. Francisca and her family became involved in the program since it's beginning. "From the first moment, the work was hard, we had to haul wood, sand and materials to build the center" she says. Since the arrival of AMC a new season started for the family who are always willing to participate in every workshop and productive project proposed by the agricultural technicians. They attend all meetings, practice new techniques on their farm, and receive seeds, plants, trees and materials to experiment and learn from their own experience. A small livestock project was also part of the work done here for many years by AMC. Francisca family began with chickens and the production of eggs. Now they also have 4 pelibueys -a type of sheep- that produces meat. This has resulted in a better nutrition for the family. The children are getting used to a new way of living, employing all the new practices to benefit themselves and inspire others. I asked Francisca what has changed from the time when they started in the project: "Before I did not know what a cucumber was, I saw them in the market and wondered how can I eat those? Now we have them in our land, and when my children see them grow they run to tell me, so we can eat them fresh." As we continue to talk, Francisca also shared that the application of organic fertilizer is the most precious technique for her. She always makes sure to now collect all the waste from the pelibuey and chicken to prepare it and add the manure to the soil, knowing that the important nutrients will ensure better production.

Francisca gave us a small tour of her farm. She grows a wide variety of crops including banana, coconut, pijibay (a native fruit similar to an small coconut tasting like cassava) pears, pineapple, cocoa, avocado, cassava, squash and tomatoes. "Our family meals are more nutritious now". Besides growing and eating basic grains such as rice, beans and corn, they have incorporated vegetables, fruits and meat grown in their own land, which means they no longer have to travel many hours to the market in town. This is the family's first time participating in a project with an organization that guided them to improve their practices, one that showed them the need to protect the environment, and helped them to learn to identify their most urgent needs and how to find lasting solutions. This year, AMC with the support of CWS, begins a new phase of the program inviting experienced families to become agricultural promoters and searching for new families who want to join the program and begin a new planting season with different techniques. Francisca has become an agricultural promoter and is demonstrating to her daughter Reyna (one of the new families) and three other farmers, all the techniques such as diversified crops, use of organic fertilizers and pesticides, soil preservation, crop irrigation systems and more.

This is not easy work, but the results are long lasting. AMC has built and implemented 6 production and technological transference centers CPTT's only in the north part of the country, where more than 592 families have benefited from improved agricultural techniques, a more diverse and nutritious diet, better hygiene, preservation of natural resources and higher incomes. Monitoring the results is another step in this process, ensuring families and all the participants in the project know the present situation of those involved in regards to food production, new techniques and results, management of the environment, natural resources available and prevention from disasters in the rainy season. The 4 technical staff from AMC live and work in the center, visiting and seeing their families only 10 days of the month. The sacrifice they make is reflected in the results you can see in the families who are participating with them and sharing not only work but life, dreams and hopes.

Francisca and her son showing cocoa plantation Photo: Nancy Vsquez

While we said good bye to Francisca and her husband she express deep gratitude and hopes we can visit a new family next time, who with the assistance of a AMC locally trained promoter, she is sure changes will be visible in their life as they apply the new skills and knowledge, from one neighbor to another neighbor.