Kurt and I sharing some moments in the Ixil in 1998. Photo courtesy of Mike Yukevich.

For many years Kurt ran a successful business growing and exporting bromeliads – plants that grow and thrive without roots in soil, such as orchids. His plants and flowers were of high enough quality to be in great demand in Europe.  Not surprisingly, Kurt had an encyclopedic knowledge of flora of all kinds.  On our many trips from Guatemala City to the Ixil Region to visit our Agros villages, Kurt would sometimes abruptly ask whoever the driver was to stop in the middle of nowhere.  Then he would leap out of the car and go over to the side of the road, and excitedly show those of us who followed him out of the car some rare or not so rare variety of bromeliad or other plant, give us its Latin genus name, and tell us all about its scientific classification and related orders.  Every trip with Kurt was a learning experience – not just about his beloved world of plants, but about life as well.

He was a sophisticated man with elegant manners.  He spoke Spanish, German, and English with equal fluency.  He and I shared a deep love for classical music, and every so often he would ask me to bring with me on one of my trips a particular recording he could not find in Guatemala.  These were, of course, pre-Amazon.com days.  He also had his share of suffering in life.  Along with thousands of others of German descent, he was deported from his native Guatemala during World War II.  He did not like to talk about that experience.  In more recent years, he lost his beloved wife to a sudden illness, and his only daughter in a tragic plane crash.

Kurt and I on the same trip the Ixil. Photo courtesy of Mike Yukevich.

Kurt’s roots in agriculture helped us in so many ways as we built the Agros village model, and helped the people to become successful farmers.  Early on, he dreamed of building a training center in the Ixil Region where Agros villagers and others could learn the best in methods and practices to enhance their production and their lives. He even drew sketches laying out what the center would look like, with training classrooms, living quarters for visitors, and demonstration plots.  That dream was realized with the inauguration of the Agros Ixil Technology Center in Nebaj in 2007.

Kurt Meyer died early morning January 29, 2012, after suffering a series of strokes and heart attacks during recent months.  He leaves behind three sons, Kurt, Dieter and Helmuth.

This is the first installment of what we hope will be a continuing series, Sharing Their Voices, which will highlight some of  the families living in Agros communities. These blogs will share the journeys that they have taken, as well as the impact that Agros has had on their lives, in their own words.  We hope this will give you a glimpse into their lives and help you better understand the work that we do in partnership with them.

Carlos Roberto and his wife Arely are members of the Agros community Bella Vista, Honduras where they live with their three sons: William, Carlos and Luis. Bella Vista was founded in September 2009 and was the fourth Agros community to launch in Honduras.

Prior to partnering with Agros, the family lived in a borrowed house with no latrine and had to rely on Carlos’ family for support. Like most families in the area where they lived, they did not own their own plot of land. Yet, their livelihood was contingent on their cultivation of basic grains so they had no other option but to plant crops on remote land in order to sustain themselves.

Their circumstances were very difficult but Carlos dreamed of someday growing coffee – a crop that he knew a great deal about – on a plot of his own land. In faith, Carlos planted almost two acres of coffee, a long-term crop that requires 3-5 years for the first harvest, even though he did not own his land and the results were uncertain.

Since Carlos and Arely partnered with Agros, their lives have changed drastically. Within the first year and a half of receiving a plot of land,Carlos was able to plant his crops – which included transplanting the coffee seedlings he had planted in the hopes of a better future – and began harvesting them that upcoming season. The family has also successfully harvested bananas, yucca, passion fruit, and corn, and now owns a cow for milk production. Carlos doesn’t just dream about coffee anymore, but was able to make his dream a reality, thanks to lots of hard work and the support of Agros.

Agros

In addition to all this, Arely motivated a group of women to form Bella Vista’s first Women’s Community Bank “Luz de Dios” (Light of God,) and currently serves as the bank’s president. The group receives loans that are then invested in their individual businesses. The women also save collectively in the hopes of one day providing loans to others. Through this work, Arely has learned how to manage a small business, and has raised about 100 chickens, which she will soon sell. This will allow Arely to spend money on necessary items like food and education for her children, and in the long term it diversifies her family’s income and helps them become self-sustaining.

It was with big smiles that this family shared all they had been able to accomplish with the support of Agros. “We are up to date on managing the fields, and are receiving training, so that we are able to become more specialized.” They view the land they will someday own as “precious gift from God,” and are confident that it will not be too much longer before they will be able to pay off their land loan and receive the title. “Our dream is that we would see our children graduate, be competitive producers at a high level, sell our products in the ideal market for exports, and expand our crop areas while improving our living conditions. Thanks be to God for Agros International.”

Our project, “Land Ownership for the Rural Poor in Mexico,” was designed to purchase land for two rural farming communities in Mexico, and has since resulted – with support from other generous partnerships and foundations – in the formation of Santa Fe Ajké and Nueva Ilusión.  Not only was this a big step for our Mexico office, but it was also a huge achievement for Agros: our innovative model was recognized by a prestigious institution, and we benefited from the expertise and support of the World Bank staff that came alongside us for this project.

Through our partnership with the World Bank, Agros was able to expand to a new region in Chiapas, Mexico—the Guatemala border region in Comitán.  Chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico, and Comitán is infamous for ethnic and economic persecution of the vast number of Guatemalan refugees who fled there during the 36-year civil war that ended in 1996.

While visiting Comitán in 2007 in order to prepare for the establishment of Santa Fe Ajké, one man recounted to me the community’s 10-year struggle with the Mexican government to connect to a local water system. Instead of providing for the families’ basic need for water, politicians ignored the obvious urgent needs. Abandoned by both the Guatemalan and Mexican governments, one member said he felt as though the community was “not here nor there,” like citizens of neither country.

Thankfully, with the generous support of partners such as the World Bank, First Fruit Foundation, SG Foundation, and the individual networks that comprise the Santa Fe Ajké and Nueva Ilusión JWAV groups, several families from the group I visited in 2007 started the first Agros community in Comitán: Santa Fe Ajké.  From the beginning, the hard work of its community members has been evident in their motivation to continue despite two years of challenging weather, including drought and torrential rain.  For Nueva Ilusión it has been a long journey to find productive land at a reasonable price, but in June 2010 the land was finally purchased. These two communities have accomplished all of the goals set forth in the project agreement, including:

Santa Fe Ajké

• Defined vision and values, plus a three year village development plan
• Established seven distinct crops for food security and income generation
• Built 20 houses and 20 latrines
• Established a water distribution system
• Received their promissory notes for their land loans

Nueva Ilusión

• Defined their vision statement and new community name
• Selected and purchased land
• Defined vision and values, plus a three year village development plan
• Established four distinct crops for food security, two which are sold for income generation
• Built has 20 houses and 20 latrines

Looking ahead, Santa Fe and Nueva Ilusión still have critical steps to take that will create sustainable, long-term growth.  Though the work with the World Bank has ended, Agros will continue our work for several more years in each of these communities to ensure that they are on the path to land ownership and lasting success. You can follow these communities progress along their journey in the Village Updates by going to the Our Villages tab on our website. Thank you for your continued support!

Damage from storms affected four Agros communities in El Salvador and six communities in Nicaragua. The most pressing concern is severe crop damage that has put some communities in dangerously low supply of vital crops. These crops, which typically serve as the primary food source for future months, have been completely lost in some cases. Agros is working with local authorities and partnering organizations in-country to tap into local resources and help the communities replant. Several communities are installing silos to better store basic grains, and avoid the risk of future crop deterioration.

In addition to crops, damages to homes and some roads were also sustained, and Agros is working with families to make repairs and prevent water from leaking into homes and causing further health issues. Some communities are suffering from higher rates of respiratory infections stemming from the water damage. Illness has been most severe among younger children, who are the most vulnerable. Agros is connecting communities to medical care to treat these infections.

While both El Salvador and Nicaragua were impacted, El Salvador has been able to address the needs in communities through local government partnerships, and general operating budget. Nicaragua is also tapping into partnerships, but needs more support.

For a complete list of needs and action plans for both countries, please click here.

If you would like to make a gift to help our communities to rebuild and replant, please click here to make a donation. Your gift of any size to Agros now will go a long way to help rural villagers impacted by the devastation of these recent storms by providing food, medical attention and repair to community infrastructure.

It’s nearly 3:00 pm in El Edén, Nicaragua, when a sudden wind driven torrent of rain turns the tin sheeted roof above us into giant timpani drums!  We’ve gathered here, a team of ten from the states along with fifty or so community members, to witness a first in this lush village nestled in a valley alongside the Dariense Mountains of Nicaragua – a coffee roasting and cupping demonstration led by master coffee roaster Artine Yapoujian.

Wide-eyed wonder greets every wisp of bluish smoke as the ancient rock-tumbler-like roasting device rolls the “café oro,” (“gold coffee” as it’s known, and handled here), over the propane burner.  Fifteen minutes later, a bead of sweat upon his brow, the master slides open the cylinder and quickly pours out the now chocolate colored beans into shallow plastic cooling tubs. He sifts the beans back and forth rapidly to keep them from continuing to “cook.”  Now, the moment of truth, the perfect grind prior to the steeping and cupping… alas, “What do you mean you didn’t bring the grinder Artine?” says his wife Sydney.  “Well, I brought it but it’s back at the hotel,” replied Artine. But not to worry, their first ever taste test was not to be thwarted, one of the participants posits the notion of using a cleaned up corn-grinder, and the deed is done!

“¡Peligro, peligro…agua caliente!” (Danger, danger…hot water), the crowd splits, creating a path directly to Artine and Jared, who have precisely prepped 6 white cups, ready for the steep. Next comes “cutting the crema” – the process of removing the creamy caramel color substance that rises to the top when the coffee grounds are combined with the hot water – and the subsequent slurps from special spoons revealing the distinctive characteristics: “bright,” “nutty,” “earthy,” and “fruity”.

Here we see eye-popping revelation as the two men and two women who were chosen to partake in the tasting, after a near surgical removal of the foamy crema, experience their first “slurp”:

Wonder of wonders, CAN it be so?  Unbelievably, perhaps, all the barista bean-team members suddenly see too what I’m seeing, the light of wonder that comes from “firsts” in our lives…for those who’ve never tasted fresh roasted coffee before.  In fact, later upon probing the crowd I learn many have never tasted coffee, period!   They’ve picked it all their lives – under the fear-inducing glare of the “patrón” and his coffee-field-guards, wary of being “robbed” by the pickers – but have never tasted that which fuels the world every morning. This is somewhat ironic, indeed since after petroleum, coffee is the world’s second leading commodity.

What do we learn from this; what did this beloved Bean-Team return home with?  Many things to be sure, but never… never again will we take for granted the work behind the baristas’ counter…many hands, brown, yellow, white and ruddy red, layer, upon layer of them, picking the beans from the “bean-there” slopes of coffee the world over.

Consider how you might join folks like the staff and customers of BMC as we come into this, our most grateful time of year and the generous season that follows and call us or email us…there are many ways to help those many, many, hands!

The initial damage estimates are:

El Salvador:
Approximately 75% of the bean crop has been lost in two communities so far, and corn crops were also badly damaged. Homes and latrines have suffered water damage as well.

Basic grain crops damaged in three communities: El Milagro, San Diego de Tenango and Nuevo Renacer
Homes damaged in three communities: La Esperanza, San Diego de Tenango and Nuevo Renacer

Nicaragua:
The northern Matagalpa region was hit especially hard by these storms, particularly coffee and corn crops. Health is also a concern, as many are suffering from related respiratory illnesses.

Basic grain crops damaged in three communities: San José, Tierra Nueva and El Edén
Productive crops damaged in three communities: Nueva Esperanza, San José and El Edén
Homes damaged in one community: Tierra Nueva
Health concerns in four communities: Nueva Esperanza, San José, San Marcos and Luz del Mañana
Access roads damaged in three communities: San José, Tierra Nueva and El Edén

Guatemala:
No significant damages reported.

Honduras:
No significant damages reported.

Mexico:
No significant damages reported.

Country Directors and staff are working with the local authorities to access available local resources to help the communities replant.

Agros International’s priorities are to make certain that essential food security remains in all villages; that income generation continues; and to ensure access to needed healthcare and housing repairs as necessary. Agros International has emergency funds that will be leveraged towards this effort; local authorities are making resources available; and if needed Agros will launch an appeal to raise additional funds to cover the unexpected losses.

This is a quote from an Agros supporter and friend that attracted me to the organization 11 years ago as a volunteer, and again four months ago as the new Director of Programs. About six weeks of my first few months at Agros has been spent in Nicaragua and Honduras, attending a regional leadership meeting and visiting Agros villages.

A few weeks ago, while visiting Bella Vista in Honduras, I was sitting at a table of weathered, gracious farmers, being served traditional gallo pinto, plantains, locally grown and squeezed orange juice and the house (farm) coffee brew. While watching the fog lift from the surrounding hills, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace about my decision to join Agros.

How and why did I come to join Agros? Allow me a very brief, self-indulgent detour to provide a brief bio.

I’ve been working in the field of international development for the past 12 years. I’ve held positions with several non-governmental organizations, including Oxfam America, Mercy Corps, and World Vision. I’ve worked in strategic communications, resource development, and program management.

I received my graduate degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston where I studied public health, monitoring and evaluation, and other aspects of international development.

For the last three years, I’ve been with World Vision in Seattle, designing and managing programs for major foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

About six months ago I was approached by Agros to consider the Director of Programs position, and was instantly intrigued. I accepted the position, and the last few months have flown by.

What are the ingredients in the “special sauce” that lured me to Agros? Here are three of many:

1. Agros is both wide and deep. Like many other organizations, they operate an integrated, holistic community development model that recognizes the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. However, the model is also focused enough to have meaningful and sustainable impact, offering land ownership coupled with a robust economic development program – including credit, agricultural development, access to local, regional, and international markets. However, if you ask beneficiaries what contributions from Agros have meant the most to them, more often than not it’s the “softer” but essential elements of Agros’ program: everything from leadership training to marriage counseling to anger management.

2. Agros feels like an organization at a tipping point. We are making critical investments in the technical rigor of the program model (what is our “theory of change”?), in the monitoring and evaluation system (how do we define and measure our progress?), developing the capacity of our field staff, and forging strategic partnerships in key areas of our work (e.g. child nutrition).

3. Finally, Agros has a unique and powerful commitment to cultivating authentic relationships – between our staff, donors and partners, and the communities we seek to serve.

Like every organization, we’re far from perfect, but I’m excited to be part of this team and very hopeful that we’re putting the right ingredients in the pot.

Today is World Food Day! As many of your may well know, Agros’ development model is built around sustainable agriculture. Because of this deep connection I’d like to highlight an issue that has gotten quite a bit of media coverage lately: a lack of global food security. The most dramatic and horrific example of this problem is taking place in Somalia right now where famine is ravaging the country. Governments from around the globe have pledged millions of dollars in food aid, but even in conjunction with a number of international NGOs working in the region to bring famine relief, news reports continue to say that this effort may not be enough. While this region is currently the hardest hit by the issue of food insecurity, this is a global issue that is not just affecting the horn of Africa.

In recent years, the UN food price index has continued to skyrocket, more than doubling in the last decade. The poor are always the hardest hit by these increases; while increasing food prices may mean inconvenience for those of us living in developed nations, it can be the difference between eating one or two meals a day for those living in poverty. This is a complicated issue but there are a number of reasons for growing food insecurity:

• The world population is rapidly expanding – which has more than doubled consumption in the last decade
  • Each year there are about 80 million new mouths to feed
• Demand for meat, milk and other grain intensive livestock is rapidly increasing
• Bio-fuels that turn grains into fuel for automobiles bind the price of grains to perpetually rising oil prices
• Water tables are falling due to exorbitant use of irrigation
• Soil erosion destroys valuable productive land each year

Today there is more demand for food crops than ever before, and producers can’t keep up. Unfortunately the poorest are suffering the most from these shortages. However, Agros is attacking this problem in a twofold manner. First, Agros works with the poor in Central America to help meet their food needs by growing crops on their own land. When the first few families make the move to start a new Agros community one of the first projects they undertake is planting staple crops for the community as a whole. It is of the upmost importance that there will be enough to feed the entire community through their experimentation with other cash crops and enterprises. In this way Agros provides built-in food security for each village from their inception.

The second component of Agros’ involvement with food security is much more far reaching. As Agros communities grow and develop, they become self-sustaining through producing crops and selling them in the world market. In Guatemala alone, snow peas from Agros communities are sold in supermarkets such as Marks & Specser in England, and they are working to get these products to market in the United States as well. Additionally, you can find gourmet coffee Agros produces here in Seattle through Cafe Lusso Roasters, sold in a variety of places from Street Bean Espresso to the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center. Other products are sold in local markets closer to the communities themselves, serving local populations with enhanced access to food supplies.

However, just producing and selling crops is not enough for Agros communities. It is paramount that these resources will be available for generations to come. To this end, Agros provides training and technical assistance for sustainable land use and good stewardship practices, including organic composting, education about soil conservation, land reforestation, and protection of watersheds. In this way Agros has taken steps to ensure that our communities will limit the effects of falling water tables and soil erosion that have stifled production in some areas, and each community will be able to provide for their own food security needs as well as the global communities for generations to come.

While reading this I was reminded of someone who recently exhibited how “Always Mind” played out in his own life: Barney Reynolds. I recently witnessed Barney blessing his dear friends, and Agros’ recent guests for our Tierras de Vida event, Serbando Mérida and Ana Toma de la Cruz, a married couple from the Agros village of La Esperanza, Guatemala with a true labor of love a decade in the making.

Ten years ago Barney and his lovely wife Marge joined several of us on a Vision Trip to Guatemala to meet the newly selected villagers of La Esperanza. At that time the land was unsettled and undeveloped but through years of hard work has become verdant and fruitful. The president of this fledgling rag-tag group of highland indigenous Mayans was Serbando. A man of impeccable integrity, resolute resilience, unquenchable curiosity, and lifting leadership, Serbando greeted Barney’s towering figure of luminous blue eyes & white hair with gracious gratitude under a simple blue-tarp welcome canopy. From that moment they were knit together. Barney, the champion of Agros’ first Journey With A Village experience, a then recently retired Boeing engineer, began applying his meticulous planning methodology and keen eye to the task at hand. One benefit of which is his “always mindful” record of historic moments, whether present himself or from others who traveled to La Esperanza in the years hence.

Following our most recent Tierras de Vida on Sept 24th, Barney presented Serbando and his wife Ana with a personalized record of their historic story as part of La Esperanza’s success!  It was a book filled with chronological photos and salient commentary capturing a young man and his beautiful young wife’s sojourn from nothing to abundance; it was a tour de force of what it means to live out “always mind,” truly a labor love! Watching the “handoff” of his gift to them, this humble man of God, my heart nearly burst in gratitude. I knew I was witnessing in that moment a “knighting” of sorts, lifting further the dignity and character of a couple worthy to be honored and emulated, while showing us all that “always mind” is borne of love for God and for one’s neighbor, above self. Thank you Barney, even as you helped launch thousands of safe flights, you pioneered for Agros the journey of accompanying compassion we’ve called Journey With A Village. Today this is a vital link to forty-two villages impacting thousands of families like Serbando and Ana’s. When Barney helped lead the way ten years ago we had but nine serving a few hundred, last year we had four-hundred and ten volunteers who traveled to Agros villages to serve thousands.

To find out more how you too can be part of our “always mind” culture, check out the work of Agros and meet Serbando and Ana while you’re there.

Before moving to the Agros Honduras community of Brisas del Volcán, Omar and his wife Ana Maria had gone through countless trials. Omar walked five miles to work as a day laborer for a large landowner. He worked two weeks at a time, only returning briefly to spend time with his family before leaving once more. Despite his hard work, he was barely able to feed his family. Ana Maria describes the experience:

“My husband was a day laborer in the fields growing coffee, grains, and other crops. He worked hard for the landowner and received pay of $1 a day, which added up to about $20 a month. Every day, Omar would walk 8 kilometers to work in the fields. Sometimes he would be away for up to 15 days so that he could feed the children.”

Living paycheck to paycheck, he had no dreams for the future, and had simply accepted his poverty. “How could I possibly imagine owning land if all we had ever known was this place where we worked for someone else?” explained Omar.

Despite her husband’s concession, Ana Maria still dreamed of a life of economic freedom and stability. When she heard about Agros, she excitedly convinced Omar of the possibilities, and they moved to Brisas del Volcán.

Their lives have completely transformed since their arrival at Brisas. They have a permanent home, made of sturdy cement blocks, complete with running water. They are growing coffee, plantains, and cacao, but this time on their own land, and their efforts will allow them to own it out right. In addition to what they are growing for profits, they have basic grains and a milk cow for personal consumption. Omar has also been attending an adult literacy class through which he has learned how to write his name. Ana Maria has been able to contribute to the family income as well:

“I have always been a dynamic and entrepreneurial woman. I have been able to use these qualities in my community. For a year I have been active as a leader and treasurer of the Brisas del Volcán community bank. My involvement with the bank made me feel so empowered, and I feel as though I am able to give back and serve other members of the community. I even decided to learn how to read and write. Little by little I began to integrate activities into my daily life that would generate income, such as selling tamales and bread, occasionally washing clothes, harvesting coffee, and hauling firewood. I was also a partner of a small tajaditas (plantain chips) business with two of my friends.”

Ana Maria and the rest of the women in the community bank are about to enter in to the third loan cycle. She borrowed $127 in the first cycle, and $180 in the second cycle. She has managed to pay off both loans by selling the tamales and bread that she makes. Each month she earns $30 profit, which allows her to continue to invest in savings in the community bank. The tajaditas business is thriving as well. Members of the village have produced 400 pounds of plantains to date, with a profit of $191. Ana Maria is also currently designing labels that can increase sales.

With all they have accomplished, Omar and Ana Maria now believe that the sky is the limit. Some of Ana Maria’s goals for the future include:

• Giving her children an education
• Having a united family
• Growing as a business woman and generating more income
• Producing her own raw materials (such as plantains)
• Having a space with conditions that help increase her productive activity

The couple smiles with happiness at what they have accomplished and what is yet to come. They are deeply thankful for what Agros has done for them and are passionate about future endeavors.

The coming year is already starting off well, with many more trips on our calendar.  I look forward to collaborating with many of you to that end! My role with Agros includes facilitating all travel, including planning and training for, then executing and following up on, dignifying inter-cultural exchanges.

While participation in a trip with Agros may not contribute to the financial support of our partnership with communities throughout Latin America, it does reflect an awareness of the value of presence, not only presents. Thank you to everyone who helps raise the Agros core values of fostering relationships, facilitating participation, and following in the ways of Jesus by supporting and engaging in these opportunities for the greater Agros community to connect with and serve one another.  Connecting with people in this direct and relational manner is an Agros distinctive that so many of us are truly grateful for and excited about.

One trip participant, veteran international photojournalist Amanda Koster, who helped organize Agros’ collaboration with SalaamGarage,* summed up her experience recognizing Agros’ success:

“After over a decade and a half of working with NGOs, something powerful affected me on this particular trip, working with this particular NGO, Agros International.  It was one of the first times we did not directly face extreme poverty, remnants of warfare, exorbitant levels of deadly diseases, or even the beautiful yet invisible presence of an NGO. Instead, we got to face success. The people themselves shared their success with us, right down to the last boxbole**.”

Agros and our partners value people, not only projects. We recognize that by physically coming alongside someone, even if only for a short time, we are demonstrating they have value, are worth visiting, and that we believe in them.  We believe that development is something we do with people, not to or for them.

Thank you for joining Agros in empowering people by sharing your presence.

* This unique collaborative trip resulted in some great citizen journalism and a beautiful book.

**Boxboles (pron. bosh-bow-lees) are an indigenous food creatively developed by the Mayan people of the Ixil region in Guatemala.  During Guatemala’s bloody civil war (1960-96), preparing tortillas by slapping the dough between hands was too risky for people in hiding.  To keep from being found in the highlands, boxboles were prepared by steaming, not slapping dough.

Today, seven years later, the families are still on the coffee farm, and hope the landowner doesn’t force the government to move them once again. Over the years, their families have expanded, new children have been born, and the little homes they’ve built of sticks and tarp are more crowded.  They’ve come to the realization that the government may never find them a new place to live, permanent homes, and improved living conditions for their children.

Young Yamileth recently told me about her life in Siempre Viva, a name the families gave to themselves, which translates to Always Alive.  While there’s no electricity, “lack of access to water is the hardest part about living here,” says Yamileth. “There are no latrines, which means we have to relieve ourselves in the local river – the same place where we bathe and fetch water to cook and to drink.”

Yamileth showed me the small home she and her husband, Pedro, cobbled together from tarp and wood they found in the forest.  Smoke fills her home as she cooks for her three children from an open fire. Yamileth’s grateful that her oldest daughter, Eva, is getting an education. Eva walks 30 minutes to and from the primary school in the nearby town each day, where she attends first grade. Yamileth stays home with her two younger children, Pedro age five, and Jennifer, now two.  Because her husband Pedro works two hours away from the farm, he walks to work at the beginning of each week, and returns home only on Saturdays. He brings money he’s earned from jobs he’s picked up during the week, either planting corn or clearing fields with his machete, the single tool he owns.  Many days, there’s simply no work to be found, and Pedro returns home with less than enough to supply daily food for his family.

Two doors down, Maria Isabel, another young mother with two children, shares a similar story. Each day, her husband Moises travels to nearby farms looking for any work he can find – but often he finds nothing. Maria Isabel longs for a home of her own, where she can raise her baby Andy, now four months old, and Antonio, her six year old, with better prospects for their future. She hopes to live in a place with clean water, a latrine for her family, and perhaps even electricity. For now, she shares her tiny home with another family, enlarging their space by adding two hammocks in the front yard, covered by a tarp.

What amazes me most about the 28 families of Siempre Viva is that, in spite of their circumstances, they have retained hope that life can indeed become better for themselves and their families! And they are striving to improve their lives. They’ve organized themselves and work together to advocate for their rights in any way they can within the local municipality. On their small parcel of land – owned by the gracious farmer – they have built a temporary preschool. One of the women from their group teaches the younger children there each morning.  Another woman from Siempre Viva serves as a health care provider, using a first aid kit a local ngo has provided to treat minor health issues within the village. The families truly hope for more permanence, a place with improved access to water and better sanitation. They long for homes of their own, with gardens where they can grow their own food to provide for their families’ needs, and a place where there’s more opportunities for dependable work, so they can be more productive. They’ve demonstrated they’re willing to work hard to improve their prospects for the future. They simply lack opportunities.

Just last week, the staff of Agros Nicaragua learned about Siempre Viva from Agros Nicaragua Economic Development Coordinator, Amanda. Amanda’s mother heard about the plight of these families, and passed along their story to Amanda. The families of Siempre Viva are exactly the type of families Agros exists to serve: hardworking, capable people who desire to be productive and provide a better life for themselves and their children.

Next Thursday, Amanda, will return to Siempre Viva to meet with the families and discuss the work of Agros and the opportunities we provide to hardworking families, to own land and boost their incomes. If the families are interested, Amanda will return again to share more about Agros’ community development model. In time, the families of Siempre Viva may indeed qualify to become part of the next Agros village. As they wait, Agros will continue to meet with them and help to strengthen community organization and their ability to advocate for themselves.

As I said goodbye to these families I met here, I was filled with a mix of emotions. The conditions here break my heart. Yet the work ethic, persistence and steadfastness these families have exhibited over the past seven years give me incredible hope for their future. I know that with their willingness to work and take advantage of opportunities, Yamileth, Maria Isabel, and the other families of Siempre Viva can truly thrive in an Agros village. I’m encouraged to know the dialogue has begun, and that Amanda will begin meeting with them next week, as she returns to share more about how Agros can help them turn their dreams into reality.

Last month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new small farmer initiative that is directly related to the mission of Agros. Speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food, Bill Gates said, “I’ve become convinced that supporting their efforts to grow more food and get it to market is one of the best possible ways to invest money if you want to help the world’s poorest people become self-sufficient.”

This idea is at the heart of Agros, which has been partnering with rural poor families in Central America and Chiapas, Mexico to attain self-sufficiency through agriculture for nearly thirty years. But one of the factors that sets Agros apart from other organizations is that we view the inability to access land ownership as a major contributor to rural poverty. Without land of their own, the rural poor must either rent small plots of land that only allow for small yields and forces them to give a portion of their yield back to the owners, or work on large farms for little pay and with no job stability. Both of these options take a huge portion of food and potential profits away from those most in need.

That’s why Agros works with a group of families to identify and purchase agricultural land, with the understanding that these families will work to pay off the loans and eventually own that land. These families begin growing their crops, initiating a repayment of those loans at a low interest rate over a period of about ten years. Their payments enable Agros to recycle these funds into future land purchases, effectively passing on the blessing to other communities in need.

Of course, land alone is not the answer. Rather, we form a partnership that is founded on our holistic and participatory development model which entails a long-term commitment to join with each of the communities. Agros comes alongside the families we work with and facilitates this process, ensuring that families access necessities like housing, clean water, and education, in addition to small business loans and training for land use and stewardship.

This is not charity; it’s an investment in the capacity of people and in agriculture.  First the families can begin to grow crops to feed themselves and their families, making day to day survival less of a struggle. Once they’ve reached a steady food supply, then they can begin trying new crops and securing contracts to sell them for additional income, with assistance from Agros agronomists.

Mateo and his wife are a great example of just how necessary land ownership can be to poverty elimination. Over twenty years ago, Mateo and his family fled from the civil war in Guatemala to the safety of Mexico. There they worked on different ranches, dependent on the whims of landowners for survival.  Twice the family tried to put down roots and grow coffee and plantains, only to be kicked off the land. Coffee in particular is a crop that grows well in some climates in Central America, and when produced at the right quality can be quite profitable. But it is also a crop that takes three years to fully mature, and thus requires being on the same land to reap the benefits of years of hard work. Mateo and his family never had that opportunity before partnering with Agros. Now the family lives in the community of Nueva Ilusión and is working towards owning their own land. Looking forward, Mateo shared, “I’m happy because now we have the security of having land to plant—no more patrones kicking us off without notice.”

We have witnessed the amazing potential that agriculture holds for our community members like Mateo, and have enthusiastically watched them journey out of poverty and into self-sufficiency in just one generation. Our families’ hard work – through cultivation of crops such as coffee and snow peas for world market consumption – has given them the opportunity not only to own their own land but also to earn a living, support their families, and dream of a brighter future. We hope that Gates’ speech draws greater attention to the importance of what small farmers are doing in Agros villages throughout Central America and Mexico.  For more information on how Agros is working to empower families and small farmers in Central America and Mexico, click here.

POSITION: Marketing & Communications Manager

The Marketing and Communications Manager contributes to the mission of Agros International by leading marketing strategy, product development, and the organization’s marketing and communications efforts.

The Marketing and Communications Manager develops internal and external communication and marketing campaigns for the organization. This includes media and public relations, support for resource development efforts (including special events), product design and development, and the creation of organizational collateral and promotional materials.

The position develops and oversees organizational messaging and branding and has overall responsibility for the Agros International web site. This role requires 20% strategy and 80% implementation.

For complete job description, click here.

Thanks to the generous matching grant of $75,000 from several anonymous partners, you can now double your capacity to change lives! Any gift you make by the end of our fiscal year on June 30, 2011 will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $75,000!

Your gift will go a long way toward helping families like Maria’s.

Agros Update – June 2011

David Carlson shares his experience in the Ixil region of Guatemala, where Agros is helping local families to grow snow peas and sell them in markets across the globe. A great example of how the Agros model is working to alleviate rural poverty!

For years Maria’s husband Diego traveled miles in search of work to support their eight children.  The brutal civil war that tore through their homeland destroyed Maria and Diego’s home and they were forced to live with Maria’s mother, the entire family sharing a single room.

Thanks to her partnership with Agros, Maria’s family now has enormous opportunity; today she and Diego have built a new home with room for their whole family in the Agros community of Cajixay, Guatemala.  Instead of traveling miles in search of work, they grow snow peas on a plot of land they’ll soon own, and sell them through an international export contract.

Most importantly, the income from their crops has helped to finance the education of their children, some of whom have even gone on to become teachers and nurses.

Your gift to Agros makes all the difference for rural poor families like Maria’s as they obtain the necessary training and assets to escape poverty for generations to come.

And since your gift can be matched, dollar-for-dollar, through the end of June, this means double the small business loans, double the literacy training, and double the impact!

Maria and Diego’s story is a testament to their hard work and determination to change their circumstances.  But they cannot do this alone.  They need partners like you to invest in their potential.  People who understand the difference that Agros can make in the lives of the rural poor.

“Agros does not just teach, but accompanied us during the whole process.  Thanks to this support, my income has improved, my family and I have better living conditions, and we are also able to help others in the community,” says Maria.

Would you please consider making a gift of $100, $250, $500, or more to help empower families like Maria’s in Central America and Mexico? Now is the perfect time, knowing that your gift will be doubled to $200, $500, $1,000 or more!

Please make a gift today! Not only will your funds be matched dollar for dollar, but the impact will be multiplied exponentially as you break the cycle of poverty for countless others in generations to come!  Thank you!

I wondered too how these families were doing now compared to where they began. Five or six years earlier something about them inspired a private West Coast foundation to sponsor the village. Throughout the years the sponsors have both financially and personally – as service teams members – supported the village, alongside Agros’ dedicated all national field staff. Now the fruits of this co-laboring are quite visible.

As the bell’s call echoed through the valley, men, women and children clambered from fields and hillside homes, waving to greet us. Swiftly surrounded by the enthusiastic (and democratically elected) village leadership, we proceeded to the blue-walled block school-house, where the village president Manuel began to recount the dreams and subsequent accomplishments of this tight-knit community. Pouring slowly over each word, he proudly, but laboriously read…yes I said, READING… from the list plastered on the blue wall:

San Nicolás’ Village Committee President, Manuel

Since my first visit to the Ixil region, I’ve come to know this extraordinarily resilient indigenous people group who suffered horribly during that country’s brutal blood-letting over 36 years of strife. They’ve preserved much of their culture and at the same time adapted to the demands of modernity. San Nicolás reflects this tension as they now use greenhouses and drip irrigation alongside split-log homes and sooty temascals, (an Ixil ‘bath-hut’, their version of a sauna), which border a cluster of new block homes and their well kept school.

As the story goes, the now nearly 90 year old patriarch, Nicolás, kept these families intact during Guatemala’s civil strife, and upon learning about Agros’ work, approached us to help him fulfill his community’s dream of owning their own land. Many months later news of their dreams met with the provision of a partner willing to participate with them, and they began in earnest what has been an arduous, but continually progressive, journey toward self-sustainability. In fact, in light of the challenges these families had to overcome in the village development process, both partner and Agros pondered whether they’d make the turn.

Since then, however, Agros field staff and numerous teams from that partner with the village have visited, faithfully serving the community with the tasks at hand, earning trust, inspiring confidence, and restoring dignity. Step by step they moved ahead, encouraged along the way, once a year or so, by their caring partners.

President Manuel, wife & Women’s Committee Secretary, Maria & two year old Nicolás, great-grandson of patriarch Nicolás, in front of his home …generation upon generation transformed!

This is the Power of Presence – one’s presence among those who’ve suffered – the importance of which can never be overestimated. Just to have Manuel proudly present each accomplishment of the village and then to lead us into their income generating Corn Grinder – one of two $ available to the village, and also to their surrounding neighbors – followed by a visit to Nicolás’ home, left my group astonished and left those we’d visited brimming with pride. Why?

Because by being present with the poor, we can show them the possibilities of unfettered and carefully stewarded support, which simply stated: empowers, restores, and transforms both giver and given unto!

Join the journey with us… support a family, support a village, support a region and then, in due course, experience firsthand the transforming power of presence.

Fair Trade, as we see it today on our supermarket shelves, began with coffee. And not just because so many of us depend on it for our morning routines! Coffee grows best in mountainous regions around the equator—and needs a lot of TLC; the required degree of attention makes coffee best suited for growing by small family-farms, not large multinational corporations. In fact, around 70 percent of the world’s coffee is produced by poor family farmers in the developing world.

That sounds great for the farmers, right? We, in coffee-saturated Seattle, daily cough up $4 for one latte; but family farmers historically have seen almost none of that. Instead, they have sold their beans to intermediary agents. Known as “coyotes,” these agents cunningly colluded together, so that producers in a given region have literally only one buyer for their products; the buyer named whatever price they wanted, then sold to big coffee corporations at exorbitant profits. Year after year, farmers have sold their coffee for less than the cost of production.

So how do people stay “in business” if their products are purchased for less than the price of production? Here in Seattle, you close up shop and go work for someone else! But imagine the mountainous regions of Nicaragua or Guatemala, where coffee has been the principal livelihood for generations; imagine winding mud roads that prohibit access to new markets; imagine low literacy and education that prevent new business ventures. As a result, we see inescapable poverty, loan sharks, migration, human rights abuse, slave labor, indebtedness, hopelessness, landlessness…  And that’s the part of the story where Fair Trade NGOs stepped in to restore hope and opportunity to the world’s poor!

…Wait, that sounds like Agros’ vision statement…

What is Fair Trade’s ultimate goal? Superfluity. That is, to build sustainability and capacity in cooperatives, freeing rural producers from the cycle of poverty so that the NGO is no longer needed! Through fair trade, farmers negotiate directly with contract buyers;  get fair, sustainable prices for their products; and pass on the blessing to other farmers still in poverty.  …sounds a lot like Agros!…

Though the primary focus of Agros’ work has been village development with landless farmers, there are hundreds of families around Agros communities who continue to live below the poverty line, even though they own small plots of land.  With just a marginal increase of services, Agros could provide training, technical assistance and credit opportunities to these families, as well. And, like a symbiotic relationship in nature, the village and surrounding families would nurture each other:

• the village, as a center for community knowledge and training;
• the surrounding families, as leverage for sustainable economic opportunities—securing more profitable contracts (with an increased volume of agricultural production in cooperatives), conserving natural resources and critical watersheds, and collectively advocating with local authorities for more services in the region.

Agros staff first extended training and credit to neighboring, small land-holding families in Nebaj, Guatemala, when Atlas Coffee, a Washington-based coffee export company, offered a contract to the Agros village of Trapichitos—if they could come up with enough volume of coffee.  So, families throughout the entire region were trained to cultivate their land efficiently and sustainably, and to negotiate cooperatively with the exporter. As families and communities have gained more experience and confidence in making decisions and in managing the project, Agros’ involvement has decreased so the project can become self-sustaining.  The entire region has experienced an economic lift, attracting new investors, contracts, and microfinance opportunities, as well as infrastructure improvements by the municipal government.

This regional work both provides new economic opportunities to neighboring poor families and strengthens the sustainability of Agros villages—by addressing environmental degradation and facilitating better commercial contracts for agricultural production with increased volume.  In that particular regional coffee contract, a total of 18 communities are working together.  Coffee purchased directly from Agros farmers by Atlas Coffee is now sold throughout Washington—from Street Bean, a job-training coffee shop for street youth, to an executive suite at the Microsoft headquarters—and exported around the world by local roasters.

Today, Agros facilitates a number of regional cooperative projects in our villages and the surrounding areas, including coffee, chilies, snow peas and other vegetables—with plans to continue cultivating these symbiotic relationships in the future.

So, on World Fair Trade Day, I plan to raise my cup of Fair Trade coffee to celebrating the hard work and accomplishments of the growing Agros family!

This has been a great success of Agros’ development model, because it allows women to provide, in every way, for their families as they all journey out of poverty together. Another way in which women help to provide for their families is by supplying them with the proper nutrition they need through meal preparation. However, this can also be a major health issue, as an article featured last week in the Huffington Post highlighted.

The article pointed out the dramatic health impact that unclean cooking can have on women and children in the developing world; non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, chronic lung diseases, and cancer – cause two out of three deaths in the world today, and 80 percent of those occur in developing countries. In lower-income countries air pollution from the use of solid fuels for cooking and heating is the biggest risk factor for chronic lung diseases such as COPD.

In Central America, where Agros works, more than 80 percent of rural families generate heat and prepare food using traditional open-fire cook stoves, which unfortunately compromise the health, quality of life, and environment of this population. These tragic side effects are found primarily among women and children due to the fact that women often spend the most time cooking, and that their children are often present for this task.

Thankfully, Agros recognizes that in order to promote family health, we must make clean cooking a priority. We encourage our communities to build efficient cook stoves, which produce more heat with less wood than open fire cooking and also cook food faster so women have more time for other activities.

By building clean stoves that allow smoke to clear out of the home, community members can minimize health risks for their families. It’s vital that we make this a priority, along with accessing education, training, and growing productive crops – as these families journey out of poverty.

How can you help? In our gift catalog, we offer a Family Health Package consisting of an efficient cook stove and latrine, which allows families to promote healthier practices in their homes. Of course, there are plenty of other gift opportunities that also allow you to celebrate and honor your mother by investing in a rural woman. As you celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, take the time to reflect with gratitude on your life, and how you can honor your mother by empowering a woman in Central America or Mexico:

• Family Health Package
• New Mother and Baby Kit
• Women’s Small Business Loan
• Flock of Chicks
Learn more at the Agros One Seed Gift Catalog!

Agros formalized its Monitoring and Evaluation system in 2006, though an informal system that included Quarterly Village Updates started much earlier. Our journey toward the practices that exist today began in 2000, when Agros contracted an outside consultant to evaluate the effectiveness of our program.  As a result of that evaluation, we expanded our program model, designing a more holistic approach to sustainable development, including our current five-component development model.

In 2005, with support from a University of Washington graduate student, Agros began laying the groundwork for what our M&E system is today, which includes participative biannual family surveys and focus groups with village women, men, and leaders to measure twenty impact indicators and learn more about the outcomes of our work. In the last two years, Agros began tracking eight of those indicators on an annual basis, for closer monitoring. Conducting M&E not only enables us to continuously strengthen our program, but also allows us to share with our valued stakeholders like you the ups and downs of development work.

In this avenue of stakeholder participation we are thrilled to share with you that, as a result of combined efforts from our staff and generous long-time partners, Agros will be launching a three-phase effort to refine and expand on our existing M&E system. In the first step of this process, an M&E expert consultant will be hired to review Agros’ work and reporting requirements and provide guidance to improve the M&E process.

As a result of the improvements to Agros’ existing M&E system, Agros will be empowered to deliver:

• More manageable and reliable data
• More effective programming with improved ability to identify strengths/weaknesses
• Increased transparency and accountability in communication to supporters

At Agros, we take monitoring and evaluation practices seriously.  We are excited to continue to improve how we evaluate our work, while upholding the participatory values that define us. Our goal is to better serve rural families in Central America and Mexico, and to provide you with more information over time about the impact you’re helping to achieve

Check out our annual indicators on each village update—click on “Our Villages” at the top of the page to get started!

After five incredible years as Director of Communications at Agros, the time has come to move on to new employment opportunities. I carry with me a profound sense of gratitude for having had the opportunity to walk alongside so many extraordinary families throughout Central America and Mexico; families who have graced us with their vulnerable and heroic stories of Desire. Suffering. Resiliency. And Hope.

We have all witnessed time and again how the stories of people who live and struggle in the developing world are simplistically reduced to caricatures of either pity or glorification.  This is particularly true when those stories are told for fundraising purposes.  On the one hand, pity is emphasized because of the enormous suffering these people have experienced.  On the other hand, they are over-romanticized and glorified as the most incredible people on earth due to their resiliency, hope, and generosity.

I do not mean to be cynical—at all.  I recognize that in many ways, these two emotional poles represent truth.  And as Director of Communications, Agros families have certainly given me cause to highlight both their suffering and resiliency.

But I also recognize that the deeper truths of any human story—as well as the truth of the Agros story–lie somewhere in the middle; in the narrative regions that speak to the fact that every human life is filled with complexity, wonder, conflict, and desire. And the tagline “ending rural poverty” can never be reduced to a single story, image, or video clip.

Over the years, Agros has learned that poverty is most comprehensively defined and understood through the concept of broken relationships.  For the rural poor, all of the essential connections and relationships that make up a healthy society have broken down: relationships with local municipalities; economic, education, and health institutions; the environment; cultural identity; and even family relationships break down as parents (and all too often, children) are forced to migrate in search of work just to survive.

Agros responds with a holistic development model built on the belief that these families have the capacity themselves to work their way out of poverty and build back these broken relationships—if given the opportunity to develop what is needed most:  farmable land, economic enterprise, and, most importantly, human dignity.

Another way of saying this is that for Agros, ending poverty is not just a phrase, a marketing slogan, or a speech to be given over a fundraising dinner.  “Ending rural poverty” IS the relationships our staff have with Tomasa, Diego, Teresa, Noemi, Mateo, Serbando, and countless other Agros families.

There are no easy fixes, no magic bullet, and no single intervention that will make generations of suffering go away.  And yet, after 27 years of faithful, hard work throughout Central America, Agros has stayed true to its original promise of empowering entire communities to work their way free from generations of poverty.  In Agros villages, I have heard families say again and again, “In our suffering and poverty, we were forgotten, abandoned, left to die.  But then Agros came.  And Agros has kept their promise.  We are not the same as before.  We have hope and our children have a new future.”

In Agros villages, hope has taken the place of despair—for generations to come.

I think this is best summed up by the words of an Agros villager in El Edén, Nicaragua when I asked him to describe what Agros means to him personally.  Without pausing, he said, “To me, Agros is a mirror.  A mirror in which we’ve been able to see our face; we have seen that we have dignity and that we matter.”

I leave Agros with clarity: It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to serve the families in Agros villages by sharing with you their stories of dignity and desire.  I have also been forever changed by witnessing the life-giving generosity of so many Agros donors.  And I think of the Agros staff and board as family.  Thank you—mil gracias—to each of you. I remain your most ardent advocate.

Yours in Land, Hope, and Life,

- Sean