Sarah Fink

Planting for the future

It was my first day in Matagalpa, Nicaragua where I was to begin my work with Fundacion Denis Ernesto Gonzalez (FUDEGL), a grassroots NGO that works to promote food security and sustainable agriculture in rural Nicaragua. As I ascended the stairs to what would be my home for the next ten months, I turned to capture the view of the beautiful hillside of Matagalpa.

To my shock, rather than the green landscape I had expected, I saw brown hills. Brown hills on fire. My heart starting racing as I frantically scanned the streets looking for some sign of commotion, some answer as to why this city was surrounded by flames. But the streets remained calm. Matagalpa burned and no one seemed to notice.

I soon discovered that burning the land is the most common way to clear weeds and shrubs in Nicaragua. Lacking both the necessary resources to properly clear fields and education about the detrimental effects of "slash-and-burn" agriculture, small-scale farmers throughout Nicaragua continue to burn the land as a means of preparing it for harvest. What appeared to me as a shocking natural disaster turned out to be a common, but unfortunate daily occurrence, the first step on the road to low crop yields, lack of food security, and hunger.

What's good for the land is good for the people
FUDEGL was founded in 2000 as a non-governmental organization dedicated to assisting at-risk youth in the city of Matagalpa. However, in 2001, it changed its mission in response to a local disaster.

The coffee industry, which had previously supported the vast majority of Nicaraguan farmers, collapsed. When jobs on the large coffee plantations disappeared, small-scale coffee farmers from the surrounding rural areas flooded Matagalpa in search of food, medicine and alternative livelihoods. FUDEGL responded to this crisis and began to work with local farmers to help them grow their own crops and gain independence in the void that the coffee industry left behind.

Today, FUDEGL promotes food security by teaching farmers how to grow crops sustainably. The first step for participating farmers is to make a commitment to refrain from agricultural practices that harm the environment, including burning the land. FUDEGL then teaches them practices that are not only beneficial to the environment, but that will also improve their yields, ensuring food security for local families and enabling them to sell their crops in local markets to generate additional income.

Youth groups become a gateway for change
As a volunteer, I was asked to devise a way to involve the local youth in FUDEGL's agricultural projects. My task was to establish youth groups in these communities, a previously unknown concept, and create agricultural projects that the youth themselves would implement.

I searched for a common interest among the youth in the communities, going around to different houses and gauging their interest in various activities. The answer became clear very quickly—they all wanted to learn English. So began our youth group: I developed a curriculum that used language as a means to teach teamwork and build community. With these new skills, my students were able to better participate in their community's agricultural projects.

Throughout my time traveling between Matagalpa and the youth group meetings twice a week, I gained a much richer understanding of food security and agricultural issues facing the community, issues that extend far beyond burning the land. I learned how poor farmers face greater risk from extreme weather because they are forced to farm hillsides, unable to afford high-quality flat land.

The year of 2008 was a year of steady and heavy rainfall in Nicaragua. Though I had previously assumed that rain was good for crop yields, I learned that due to the forcefulness of the rainstorms throughout the year, the farmers in the communities where I was working lost more crops during 2008 than they ever hard during any hurricane. Lacking proper drainage systems, the heavy rains stripped the soil, ruining their crops. Even after years of progress, they would once again face the fear of hunger.

Working with FUDEGL completely altered the way in which I view how priorities of international development should be structured. Without food, development is impossible. When communities live in hunger there is no hope for improvement in their health, education or economic situation. But with food security comes sustainable growth. I have been inspired to continue to work on issues related to sustainable agriculture and food security in the developing world. I am hoping to enter the field of law, where I will be able to assist in creating food policy. The burning hillsides were the impetus to my commitment to help small-scale farmers increase their chances of success in achieving food security and overcoming poverty.

 

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