Project Al Fresco: Gardens for Nica

Nicaragua is a very beautiful and a very poor country, one of the poorest in this hemisphere, second only to Haiti.  Nearly half of Nicaraguans work for less than 2 dollars a day, and way too many of those actually work for less than a dollar a day. This meager income is enough to buy only the most basic of foods: tortillas, rice, and beans.  

This is all many Nicaraguans eat, with occasional fruit from a nearby tree or vendor.  As a result, their diets lack many necessary nutrients, contributing to the chain reactions of poor health, lowered levels of attention and learning for children at school, leaving school to enter the workforce as children, growing up fast/ marrying and having kids at very young ages (teens), and continuing the poverty cycle.  


The average for Nicaraguan children is 4 years of school.  I was priveleged enough to live in Nicaragua for two years and got to know thousands of Nicaraguans, and they are an incredible group of people.  They work so hard and love their family so much.  I know many adolescents there that work all week, then go to school on sunday to be able to continue their education.  Some children work harvesting coffee beans, while others walk the streets selling fruit,  as others scavenge recyclables like the two girls above.



Unfortunately, I also knew many young people who lived in the street, having run away from home to escape abuse, hard labor, or any number of things.  Those children often wind up addicted to sniffing potent glue from plastic bags and bottles in an effort to dull the pain of hunger and numb their minds to the fact that they have no prospects for food but by begging or stealing.
This is simply the way things are.  It doesn't have to continue to be the way things are.
What we are doing to help right now: Project Al Fresco is changing a small part of the culture that could have a major impact on many if not most families living below the poverty line and raise their quality of life.
We are starting some community vegetable gardens in Nicaragua! We will be providing tools and training for them to start their own gardens as well as being able to help in the community garden and take home fresh vegetables.  Nicaragua has a year round growing season, with fertile volcanic soil, lots of sun, plenty of rain, and more than enough dirt surrounding most housholds. They don't garden simply because it is not a part of their current culture.  We can start changing that! If the culture of gardening is introduced, these people could be harvesting vegetables from their garden every single day! They would have economic relief, a healthier diet, and something more interesting than rice and beans for every meal.  
What we will do with the money is lease space from Nicaraguan families in areas where other needy families can have access to the garden, then with the help of gardening and central american agricultural experts that have agreed to help us, train caretakers of the gardens how to train other people how to garden, and supply kits for people to be able to start their own gardens in their backyard.  We would pay the caretakers a small fee for all the people they successfully train.
Depending on the rates we are able to negotiate for the leases and the costs of the materials for the gardens, we should be able to start several gardens in both rural and urban areas to benefit people all over the country, from the coffee farm worker and tortilla maker to the homeless children in the cities.

If these people didn't have to spend as much money on food, their children might not have to work and  be able to continue going to school and break the cycle of poverty.  For some people, the small donation (which may be the cost of only a couple meals here) could provide food to people who consider vegetables a luxury, and for some who don't know where their next meal is coming from, it could could change their life.

Changing the writing on the wall for many of these children is a rewarding experience for anyone who has even the smallest part in this.  We will have a facebook page dedicated to updating the progress of Project Al Fresco so that everyone can see what they are doing by donating. You can see the progress and will be able to see the stories of the impact your donation has had at:
www.facebook.com/projectalfresco

Thank you for your help.