Hello, My name is Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez.  I am 45 years old and am married to Alfredo Lezcano. We live in the Nueva Alianza Community in Nicaragua with one of our children (the other three are grown and live in other communities).

 

We have been working with SHI-Nicaragua for three years and the experience has been very good for us. Since our community is so difficult to access, almost no other organizations support our community. The road is so bad that it takes three hours to go to town. There are parts that are very muddy so in the rainy season we have to swim to cross the rivers. Since we live in an area with a lot of rain, SHI has showed us how to select, dry and store our grains, and helped me to construct an elevated storage unit, which allows me to not lose my grains and to be able to store them safely.

 

We have also learned to make organic compost, worm castings, green fertilizers, biofertilizers and organic pest controls. These have saved us a lot of money, because before we used chemical products that were expensive and damaged my soil and my health. Now with all the organic products that I am applying, my soil already has changed and I can observe a difference in my crops. As a result, I don’t need to burn my land anymore, but rather I can work in the same area.

 

I now have an improvement plan for my farm, since I want to reforest the deforested areas and the banks of the river that passes through my farm. I am going to diversify with my own nursery of hardwoods and fruit trees.

 

My garden is one of the most important activities for me, because vegetables are a luxury here. No-one grows them and if we buy them in town, they are way too expensive and we don't have the money. Plus it is too difficult to bring them here.

 

I would like to be able to make chocolate and coconut oil and process cinnamon in order to add more value to my products from my crops.  I look forward to when SHI-Nicaragua teaches us to do that.

 

I am very grateful for the support of my Field Trainer and Sustainable Harvest International since before I was unfamiliar with many things and I was practicing unsustainable agriculture.  Now, with everything that I know, I have a self-sustaining and environmentally-friendly farm, and I have something good to leave for our children.

 

 

Photo: Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez stands with her trellis of bountiful granadilla (passionfruit family) fertilized with lombrihumus (worm castings).