Juan Alberto Pérez, a 44 year-old farmer, lives with his wife, Berta Alicia, their three sons and one daughter in the community of El Pinabete, Honduras. El Pinabete is an agricultural village located in a mountainous region where forty-five families work mainly in farming basic grains and coffee, as a means of sustaining themselves as well as generating income. Their tracts of land are small and almost infertile due to their location in forested areas, but out of necessity, the families, like Juan's, have had to work and farm this land in order to live.

Sustainable Harvest International's Honduras program has been supporting 11 families in this community for the past three years. SHI has not only supported activities in improved agricultural production, but in family nutrition and income generation; all work is done through techniques that are appropriate and environmentally friendly. Juan Pérez and his family, with good intention and enthusiasm, have requested our support and have adopted many of the techniques that we are promoting. These changes have not only helped the family increase their production of basic grains and improve their diet, but also earn money by means of producing and selling profitable crops. One recent experience took place just a few months ago, Juan Pérez recounts:

“I have received a lot of support from Sustainable Harvest. Just a few years ago Juan Carlos (the SHI extension worker assigned to our community) taught us many good techniques for improving our basic grain production. However, I wanted to try these same techniques on more profitable crops. These techiques will also help us in the dry season when we are the most desperate because we have no means of income. I am tired of being a day laborer (working for low wages on somebody else's land) and want to work on my land.”

With this situation in mind, Juan Pérez asked Juan Carlos's advice, and they came up with the alternative of producing vegetables in the summer; made possible by a small irrigation system that Juan Pérez obtained with SHI support. Tomatoes were the selected crop due to their high price during the summer. The crop is very susceptible to plagues and diseases, but they did everything possible to prevent this and harvest the tomatoes. On March 12, 2005, Juan and his family transplanted 4,000 tomato plants into a half-acre plot. The crop was managed, using mainly sustainable techniques. Juan recounts:

“I worked hard in order to prepare almost a half-acre of land for planting. I prepared the seedbed with organic compost produced by earthworms, and we applied no chemicals. The plantation was made using terracing; we didn't burn, but manually controlled the underbrush. In combating plagues and diseases, as well as fertilizing, I mainly used natural products such as bocashi (a Japanese style of compost), madrifol (a foliage fertilizer and insect repellent made out of a base of leaves, cow dung and soap), and insecticides made from cow urine, onion and garlic.”

After ten weeks of managing and caring for the tomato crop, the plants had grown very leafy, with large, appetizing fruits. All this was made possible thanks to Juan Pérez's meticulous care, Juan Carlos's assistance and by obtaining some materials that were not available locally. The producer put the rest forth. What were the results? Let's have Juan Pérez tell us:

“Beginning May 25, I started to pick the fruits of my hard work and dedication. With the help of my family and other people, we started to pick the ripening tomatoes. It made me so happy to see all those crates full of 25 pounds of tomatoes. At first I was able to sell the crates for about $5.50 each! I kept producing more, but the market price was falling. It went down to about $2 a crate. Even though it was still profitable to sell at this price, another problem came about when part of the crop was attacked by the white fly. In a matter of days, the fly infected the whole plantation. However, I am not complaining. I was able to sell around 220 crates, totaling about 5,500 lbs., and earned around $680. From this, I took out the $442 that I spent in labor and materials, which left me with an earning of $245 for three months of part-time work. Not even day laboring for those three months, working sun up to sun down, would I have been able to make this much money! Apart from this, I fixed this plot of land in a sustainable manner, we ate healthy tomatoes, and my family and some of my neighbors have earned money because I paid them for helping me.”

“I recognize that without the use of sustainable techniques as well as the technical support of SHI, I would not have been able to achieve these results. I would have applied many herbicides, insecticides and chemical fertilizers that would have cost me a lot of money. Also, I would be poisoning my soil and the products that I harvested. This would harm other people. I now have a clear understanding of this. Next summer, I will resume working in this plot, perhaps not growing tomatoes, but another crop. Thanks to my hard work and the techniques that I use, I know that I will harvest much.”

Juan Pérez, used the funds he earnd to prepare and cultivate about 3.5 acres, which will be harvested in November of this year. From the earnings of this harvest, Juan will buy clothing for his family and save some money for bad times. However, his bad times are not so bad, like those of others, since he implemented organic, sustainable agricultural techniques on his farm.

Utilizing organic, sustainable agricultural techniques on a crop, along with dedication and a good mentality, will produce a good harvest and earn not only money, but also good nutrition, good salaries and a good conscience.

Special thanks to Stacy Tice for her translation.

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