Mexico: Promote Sustainable Agriculture in Chiapas

Project Profile

Total project need: $14,300

Local Project Leader: Yael Falicov

Project Sponsor: International Development Exchange (IDEX)

Theme: Economic Development

Donation Options:
$50 - Helps 2 coffee farmers convert to organic methods, creating bird habitats.
$100 - Trains 5 farmers to raise cattle without cutting down the rainforest.
$500 - Provides capital for 50 farmers to start an organic vegetable collective, improving nutrition.
Other Amount? Send a check to: Sustainable Travel International, 2885 May Street, Hood River, OR 97031

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

Over one million Mayan indigenous people live as subsistence farmers in the resource-rich state of Chiapas, where poverty rates are the highest in Mexico. Despite a strong indigenous rights movement, marginalization, malnutrition and illiteracy are still the norm. With the support of DESMI, 37 Maya Ch'ol communities in the Northern rainforest area of the state are organizing their own sustainable development projects.

Activities

DESMI will provide loans and training for organic coffee, corn, vegetable and livestock projects. Training includes ecological issues, gender equity, and financial management.

Potential Long Term Impact

400 families will improve nutrition and incomes. Shade-grown organic coffee will expand habitats for birds and other wildlife. Cattle collectives will rotate pasturelands, protecting surrounding rainforests from destruction.

Project Message

"I recently visited a DESMI-supported coffee farm, full of birds and wildlife. The villagers had better income, and had protected their ecosystems. It was beautiful!" - Yael Falicov, IDEX Latin America Program Director

Organization - Econ & Social Development of Indigenous Mexicans

Mission

Desarrollo Económico Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas (DESMI) provides financial, organizational and technical assistance to help community groups carry out their own projects and work together in resolving community needs. DESMI supports the development of indigenous collectives of corn and coffee production, animal husbandry, crafts production and opening local grocery stores with the goal of creating an integrated network of producers and consumers as backbone to a strong rural economy.

Programs

DESMI has created a network of approximately 200 collectives that are organized into five regional Development Committees, promoting economic cooperation and community development statewide. A key element is ecological sustainability, in particular sustainable land use. DESMI provides intensive training in sustainable agricultural methods to all of the rural collectives that it supports. Also, DESMI assists its affiliated coffee collectives transition into certified organic producers.

Team Bios

Pedro Zaragoza Martínez - Project Coordinator, DESMI: Pedro has worked for 5 years training villagers in ecology, financial management and conflict resolution. He is a livestock veterinarian specializing in ecological methods.

Statistics

Founded in 1969
Employees: 7
Volunteers: 5

Contact

Yael Falicov,
Latin America Program Director, IDEX
827 Valencia Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, CA 94110
United States
Phone 415-824-8384
Email yael@idex.org
Web www.idex.org

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