“I am very grateful to the project. In addition to benefiting my family, the project has allowed me to collaborate with my community by selling the harvest from my orchard at a lower cost.  When there are people in the community who can’t afford the produce, I give them tomatoes and peppers for free,” Damaris Betanco, (45 years old), Rancho Liliam, San Benito, Chinandega.

In 2018, the technician and the promoter of the Nourishing the Future project arrived at the house of Damaris Betanco, easily managing to locate it since she is well known by her neighbors. They told her about the project and she was encouraged to be part of it.

With three children and three grandchildren, the food security of her family and her community is a priority, as is securing resources for household maintenance. Over two years of working with Nourishing the Future, she has not only managed to establish a family garden of around 7,500  square feet but what she also  supplies the pulpería  (small convenience store) that she had previously established with the fruits and vegetables from her yard.

In the orchard, Damaris grows tomatoes, sweet peppers, and corn. The seeds have been provided by the Nourishing the Future project, as well as the organic compost and the Neem-based pest repellent based. Since the plot is large enough, in addition to vegetables, she has planted citrus trees (tangerines and oranges), bananas, and yuca (cassava).

In addition to agricultural inputs, she has received talks and workshops on topics like climate change adaptation, the key to food safety, and soy-based food preparation. She has also shared experiences with other cooperatives to help other farmers improve garden production and management.

Everything she has learned and received through the project has borne fruit. The harvest from her garden helps her family diversify their food intake as well as support their income with the sale of produce. “I am very grateful to , apart from benefiting my family, I have also been able to collaborate with my community by selling the harvest from my orchard at a lower cost.  When there are people in the community who can’t afford the produce, I give them tomatoes and peppers for free,” said Damaris.