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Plenty Belize is a registered Belizean NGO with its office in Punta Gorda Town, in the country's southernmost Toledo District. Founded in 1997 with the support of Plenty International, Plenty Belize has a local Board of Directors and operates independently, yet benefits from access to material, financial and technical support from its U.S. affiliate. Over its history Plenty Belize has offered a wide range of services to local groups and projects, including training and consulting on a variety of topics, as well as capacity building via joint implementation of projects. For example, the Birding for Biodiversity environmental education project was designed and successfully implemented in collaboration with the Toledo Ecotourism Association. Examples of Plenty Belize's own projects include our GATE program, a Traditional Birth Attendant training program for villages that need additional health care services; and solar energy applications. Who we are Plenty Belize staff includes an Executive Director/Programs Manager, an Administrative assistant, and two agricultural extension officers; as well as occasional local and international volunteers. Executive Director/Programs Manager Mark Miller was born in the US but is now a permanent resident of Belize, living in the village of Jacintoville, about 8 miles outside of PG town. Mark holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Pollution Control, a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, and is also adjunct faculty at the University of Belize. Office Manager Tasha Petillo was born and raised in Punta Gorda Town, where she now raises her young daughter. Tasha holds an Associate's Degree in Natural Resources Management for the University of Belize. GATE project staff extension officer Ermain Requena was born and raised in the village of San Pedro Columbia, Toledo District, where he continues to reside with his family. GATE project staff extension officer Abib Palma was also born and raised in Toledo, now residing in Cattle Landing with his wife and young son. The Board of Directors of Plenty Belize includes:
Where we are located The Toledo District is the southernmost district of Belize, and so shares a border with Guatemala on the south and west. The Toledo District is home to a harmonious mix of peoples - Mopan and Kek'chi Maya, Garifuna, East Indian, Creole, Mestizo, British and American ex-pats - as well as some of Central America's most pristine rainforest and numerous bird, plant and animal species. Off the coast of Belize lies the second longest coral barrier reef in the world, with the many inner cayes providing a unique marine environment that is home to manatee, sea turtles, corals, and many fish species. Over 80% of the population is rurally based and relies on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Malnutrition is a persistent problem, particularly as it relates to Vitamin A, Calcium, and Iron. The Toledo District has by far the highest poverty rate in Belize, and regularly ranks at the bottom with regards to education, health, infant mortality, and similar measures of standards of living. Our current projects Garden-based Agriculture for Toledo's Environment (GATE) The focal point of Plenty Belize's current work is its multi-faceted GATE program. GATE aims to create a replicable model of local sustainable livelihood and environmental benefit based on organic school gardens. Why? There are any reasons, but we can sum them up in the following three areas: Environment: Properly developed and maintained organic gardens contribute to environmental protection. Organic gardens build and replenish the soil fertility of a plot of land, which increases the land's ability to produce over many seasons. This can reduce the need to clear new lands for agricultural crops, which helps preserve the rainforest. Organic farming has been shown to protect biodiversity at every level of the food chain, from bacteria and plants to earthworms, beetles, birds, and mammals. By working with nature to build healthy soils, the runoff of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is avoided, thus protecting our river and marine environments as well. All these factors are especially critical to preserving the environmental health of rainforest regions. Food Security and Nutrition: Sustainable agriculture like organic gardens can also decrease malnutrition and poverty levels by increasing the amount of nutritious foods grown locally for consumption and sale and reducing costly chemical inputs for farming families. Thirteen of the GATE schools currently use the produce from their school gardens in their School Feeding Program, which provides nutritious lunches and snacks for the students. Education: Organic school gardens provide a unifying theme that teachers can use to teach the standard Belize curriculum. The GATE Program encourages the use of the gardens and school kitchen to teach not only about agriclture, nutrition, and the envionment, but to teach math, science, English and other core subjects as well. The GATE program started with four school gardens in the Toledo District villages of San Jose, Golden Stream, San Pedro Columbia, and Laguna in early 2002. Since that time other communities (for a current total of 22 primary schools) have joined the program, including Punta Gorda, Forest Home, Barranco, Mafredi, Big Falls, San Felipe, Santa Anna, Midway, Conejo, Punta Negra, Pueblo Viejo, San Marcos, San Miguel, and Aguacate. The growth of the GATE program to date has been initated by the schools and communities themselves. Plenty Belize provides each school with: regular extension support; tools, seeds, and other supplies; training of village volunteers to assist with the gardens; classroom activities; educational support to teachers in integrating the gardens into their curriculum; teacher training workshops; environmental education; educational materials; encouragement to start home gardens; and nutrition and food preparation education. Plenty Belize staff, local partners and volunteers provide this support at each school on an ongoing basis. Overall, the GATE program aims to use and develop locally available resources so that the program can successfully continue into the future. While spearheaded by Plenty Belize, the GATE program is a collaborative effort of many people and organizations - The District Education Department, the administrations of the Methodist and Catholic schools, PTA members, villagers, teachers, principals, students, Sustainable Harvest International, Belize Minerals, Belize Marketing Board, Pan American Health Organization, Atkinson Foundation, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Protected Areas Conservation Trust, Toledo Development Corporation, SATIIM, Ya'xche Conservation Trust, Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment, and many individuals, including Plenty International's donors. The efforts and resources of these varied people and organizations are coordinated and managed by Plenty Belize and Plenty International. Donations to this program are greatly appreciated, as funding is needed to continue providing support to the GATE program this year. Ultimately, the goal of GATE is for all 50 primary schools in the Toledo District to have a sustainable organic school garden program. Read more about GATE from previous Plenty Bulletins. Read testimonials about GATE and the School Feeding Program. Toledo District School Feeding Program (SFP) The GATE program works hand in hand with the Toledo District School Feeding Program, which is part of a national effort to help undernourished primary school children do better in school by providing them with a hot lunch. Because children in the Toledo District have the highest incidence of malnutrition in Belize, the SFP is especially critical here. Each participating school has to raise funds to buy food supplies or secure food donations, supply their kitchens with needed appliances and utensils, as well as provide volunteers to cook. The success of these efforts varies with each school and the resources accessible to them. There are currently 13 active primary schools in the Toledo SFP, and more seeking to join in and set up their own school lunch programs. The GATE Program initially focused on communities where the school runs a voluntary lunch program, in order to provide fresh produce to them. The vast majority of food from the gardens at the 13 SFP schools goes to help feed the school children. Those schools in the GATE program that are not yet in the SFP are encouraged to join, and currently use their food to supplement what is available in the student's homes. The SFP Committee, made up of representatives of all the schools, actively assists Plenty Belize in the planning, monitoring, and implementation of the GATE Program. Because of the designated donations of several Plenty supporters, we have been able to also provide cash donations for two schools in the School Feeding Program that needed a little extra help to feed their students a nutritious lunch. We are grateful for their support! Donations are still needed. Contact Plenty Belize for more information at [email protected]. Learn more about the School Feeding Program from previous Plenty Bulletins. Belize Rural Development Project Microgrants Working as a service provider to the EU-funded BRDP, Plenty Belize is managing a microgrant project for the Toledo District. In the period from March to October 2007, Plenty Belize will give out approximately 50 microgrants (maximum size BZ$1,000 or US$500) to assist with starting or improving small businesses for the poor in the rural areas. Priority is given to single parents, elderly, youths who are helping to support siblings, and to the disabled. Solar Power Plenty Belize has a long history of working with appropriate technologies, including Solar Power. For example, the primary school in the village of San Jose has a 300W photovoltaic system that they use to provide lights in 5 classrooms and the large meeting room, to run a tv and dvd player, and to run 4 computers -- courtesy of Plenty Belize. Recently we have teamed up with Maya Mountain Research Farm and Solar Energy International to offer training courses on Solar Power Installation and Maintenance. We will be adding solar water pumping to schools in the villages of Conejo and Pueblo Viejo in August 2007, and plan to continue our work in promoting this renewable and appropriate technology. Recent and past Belize projects Read more about recent and past Belize projects (through 2004) including Village Midwife Training, Renewable Energy, Soy Promotion and Agricultural Assistance, and the Toledo Ecotourism Association. |
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