🦚Guatemala - Part 1

Malnutrition, (cho-REH-kay), The Center of it All

I left for Guatemala on February 1st. I tried to have minimal expectations. The only goal was to learn. Specifically, I was hoping to learn about rural agriculture in Guatemala. What are the problems, challenges, and attempted solutions. I wanted to learn more about the social, geographical, and economical contexts. I wanted to learn more spanish. And I wanted to learn if I could see myself being of value to the team and mission.

The story will unfold in the coming months and years, but for now, I want to share a little of the story here.

Some Context

1 out of 2 children in Guatemala suffer from chronic malnutrition. Because of this, the country is on the radar of many charitable organizations. There are thousands of feeding programs throughout the country. Typically, the programs look like this: A school, church, or orphanage has access to hundreds of children within a community. Through a partnership with a charity who provides the funds, the local church will purchase food for the children to eat and typically provide it free of charge. The food that is purchased is from large, corporate grocers. In some cases, these grocers will include food grown in the country, but only very rarely from smallholder farms.

Smallholder Farms

The rural countryside in Guatemala is filled with small farming and agricultural activities. Over 80% of the agricultural holdings in Guatemala are considered smallholder farms. The average smallholder farm in Guatemala has six household members and around 1 1/2 acres of farmland.

This isn’t necessarily a problem, but the stakes are high for these families and with such little land, the margins for error are slim.

Typically, these smallholder farmers will sell their produce to merchants who will purchase them cheaply and then go sell them at a higher rate in local markets and to local restaurants. The merchants are the ones who end up making the most profit from the produce.

The Mission

So, instead of the schools, churches, and orphanages purchasing food from large corporate grocers, and therefore sending the money away from local communities, we want to see the charitable dollars spent locally, with local smallholder farmers. This is easier written than done.

And that’s not all. We want to facilitate a return to holistic, regenerative agricultural practices. For smallholder farmers, fertile soil is their wealth. Unfortunately, chemical agricultural depletes the soil, creating dependence and a vicious cycle of never ending pesticide applications.

Choreque (cho - REH - kay)

February is smack-dab in the middle of the dry season in Guatemala. And it was dry while I was there. The rural countryside was multiple shades of brown and yellow, dusty, and barren. Even the trees, normally a vibrant hue of green, were starting to take on a brown tint. By all reports, it was an exceptionally dry, dry season.

For small-holder farmers, the ones who only farm a few plots - and many less than an acre - the dry season is a rough season. Without rain, they are left to leave their soils barren and wait for the rainy season, or purchase water from a nearby water company. Neither are good options.

We visited a farm plot that had irrigation. Tomatoes were being grown under a white pest cloth to keep white flies at bay. Approaching the plot, I was immediately taken aback at the strong smell of pesticides. You know the smell you get while walking down the chemical isle at Lowe’s or the local feed store? Yes, that smell. On the ground, by the plot, there were multiple empty bags and bottles strewn throughout, each with a different chemical listed on it. Fungicides, insecticides, synthetic fertilizers, and more. This was a learning experience, for sure.

Next to a plot of tomatoes. I only looked up "antrocol", the fungicide. On Bayer's website, they say it should be disposed of as "hazardous waste".

Considering these things, it was a shock to pull up to a small garden plot where my new friend Amado Del Valle was growing a recovered, native legume called Choreque. In some areas it was over 5 feet tall. It was lush and dense. I pulled the plant material back and felt the soil - cool and moist and soft. This crop had no fertilizer, no irrigation, no pesticides, and it was thriving. Right in the middle of the dry season.

When we showed this picture to a local farmer, his eyes lit up. After seeing the picture, he began to listen more closely to Amado and what we had to say. “Seeing is Believing” they say.

The Future and The Center of it All

The vision is large. It’s to see a complete revitalization of the rural economy and peoples of Guatemala. We look to follow the One Health approach, but we are calling it “One Health+”. You see, there is a need that we all have that cannot be met by eating healthy food or having a healthy environment, or a secure economic opportunity. Our universal shared need is to be loved unconditionally. The “+” is Jesus. And, the truth is, He is at the center of this story. I simply cannot tell this story without telling the audience that He is…. the story.

It’s one step at a time right now and I look forward to sharing the journey with you all.