Nicaragua Conquista Nandaime
$50,000 needed of $100,000
Implementing Organization
World Renew
Program Summary
The municipality of Conquista is located in the Pacific Dry Corridor of Nicaragua. Over the last decades temperatures in this region have steadily increased, and drought conditions have become more prevalent due to climate change. At times droughts have been so severe that emergency food aid had to be distributed and wells went dry.
In response to climate change and the challenges it has brought to this region, this program is working to help communities adapt by promoting farming techniques that are better suited for the increasingly dry climate. This means training farmers in alternative crops like plantains, cassava, dragon fruit, citrus fruits, and papayas. Trainings are focused on “lead farmers” that learn and use the new techniques in their own farms and then provide training to their neighbors on the techniques. This program has also supported the construction of water systems to insure that families have clean drinking water throughout the year.
Success Stories
Work First, Blessings Later
Ramón says, “Ever since I knew my name was Ramon, I have been working the soil in order to put food on the table. I knew that any time I put a seed in the ground, the Good Lord would give me back something. But, with the traditional farming I learned from my parents, our yields kept getting lower and lower because of poor soil, droughts and other unpredictable weather.”
He likes talking about the benefits he’s seen from changing his way of farming through the Farmer Fields School provided by local partner Fundación San Lucas. Experimenting on his own land with techniques suggested by the Field School, he settled on Conservation Agriculture as his preferred method of farming.
Now, for example, he still digs a small hole for the seed, but he fills the hole with compost before the seed goes in. After planting, he mulches with leftover plant matter from harvest which he would previously have burned. “It helps keep the soil moisture from evaporating, and later it decomposes and makes the soil rich. That is how I am conserving my soil.”
The first time he harvested corn and tomatoes after this change, he says, “The tomatoes that year were ridiculously big. It was the best result I’d ever had! Planting that way works even though our climate is so variable.”
Ramón admits to having felt annoyed when a training session covered the importance of manure. It was just a lot of extra work to deal with it. “But now I know I have a fertilizer factory!” he laughs.
He encourages his friends and neighbors to put in the extra effort as well. He just tells them to experiment on a small plot like he did, so they can compare the results with their traditional practices. He admits that Conservation Agriculture can be more work at first, and understands that this is why some people give up on it. “They don’t realize the work comes first, and the blessings come afterward!” says Ramón with a big smile.
Nicaragua Conquista Nandaime Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partner Fundación San Lucas