Vallecillo crew in Yorito

Posted by clay in Uncategorized
July 1st, 2009 at 7:51 pm

Hola todos! Greetings from Yorito. The crew from Vallecillo is here,
and needless to say, this has been quite an eventful past few days. We
have been gaining bits and pieces of information about the military
coup from the internet, FIPAH staff, and other community members, and
it appears that the situation is relatively peaceful, at least for
right now. Thankfully, life in Yorito has remained practically
unaltered. We continue to give English and computer classes in the
different communities, and as always, they are so much fun. The kids
we teach are all so friendly and eager to learn – its inspiring to
see. While we work within the set curriculum, we try to supplement the
material with art, theater, and poetry, and we even hope to put on a
theatrical production within the next month!
Today was especially exciting. In the central park in town, FIPAH
hosted a Feria de Semillas with youth CIALS from at least six
different communities.  It was great to see the young members of the
community come together with all their different varieties of seeds,
fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of plants. Seeing the work of the
youth CIALS on display really demonstrated their collective efforts to
become stewards of biodiversity and sustainability, as well as
pioneers of their own futures as successful farmers.
The Feria de Semillas took place on the same day as the Feria de San
Pedro, which is the local annual festival. There was a show of
cowboys, dancing, food, and music, and we all enjoyed the opportunity
to take part in the local culture.
Well, that’s all for now!

Hasta pronto,

Tomás

¡Bienvenidos!

Posted by Diana in Uncategorized
May 11th, 2009 at 11:09 am

Welcome to the 2009 NI Honduras project blog!  Participants will use this space to share stories of their experiences before, during, and after working in rural Central America from May 31st to July 29th.  Feel free to comment and share the blog widely with friends and family. 

What’s the general idea? This summer, we will be working in conjunction with FIPAH (Fundacion para la Investigacion Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras), a Honduran NGO which supports Honduran farmers and works to provide food security to the people of Honduras. Nourish will be continuing a partnership with FIPAH which began last summer.  By promoting seed banking, they work to preserve hardy varieties of crops through cooperatives in towns across the country.

Why FIPAH? With the rise of industrialized agriculture, monoculture, and the use of only one crop variety, the world/global food supply has encountered reduced biodiversity.  The food supply has become increasingly vulnerable to devastation from crop diseases and climate change.  Working on a local level, FIPAH is supporting communities in three regions of Honduras to face these challenges sustainably.

What is the student role? Nourish volunteers will:

  • engage in education initiatives with FIPAH
  • shadow FIPAH staff with their activities (interning in the field and offices)
  • work with youth cooperatives in three areas, learning about seed banking and other programs

Additionally, two of the team members will be working on a documentary about FIPAH.  We are extremely excited to be returning to two of the towns NI volunteers traveled to last year and to be working in another region!  Check out the "About Us" section to learn about the team, and keep checking this page for happenings while on the ground.  While you’re at it, check out the left-hand column for a link to NI’s other project blogs and a link to last year's blog - a preview of what is to come!

Con amor Hondureño,

Diana, Project Co-Leader

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