Guatemala

In April, Plenty soy and agriculture advisor, Chuck Haren, spent a week in Guatemala assisting UPAVIM (Unidas Para Vivir Mejor—“United to Live Better”). UPAVIM is a group of primarily women who have a building in one of Guatemala City’s teeming barrio districts and whose mission is to empower the women of the community, giving them an opportunity to improve their quality of life, for themselves and for their families. We pursue this mission by giving them access to education, employment opportunities, daycare services for their children, health care services, and programs for personal and professional development. UPAVIM wanted Chuck’s help with the next steps of putting together a soy foods micro-enterprise. Last year Chuck had helped UPAVIM determine the equipment they would need and how it would be arranged and connected in the space available. This time Chuck located parts and installed some of the equipment that had been purchased. He spent one day with UPAVIM staff making soymilk for the 250 school children who go to classes every weekday in the same building. Chuck demonstrated how to use some of the new equipment like the electric grinder. He also met with the seven women from UPAVIM who will be the ones in charge of the soy foods micro-enterprise—the ones operating the equipment, managing the business, marketing the products and providing nutrition education in the barrios of Esperanza and Mesquital in the area where UPAVIM headquarters is located. Chuck outlined the basics of operating a small soyfoods factory, marketing and nutrition education. He distributed copies of the Spanish version of Plenty’s Guide to Growing and Using Soybeans for Food. Chuck says the UPAVIM soy operation will require an additional 6-12 months of on-site technical assistance.

After working with UPAVIM Chuck traveled to Solola and the community of Molino Belen to visit the soyfoods production facility Plenty helped start in 1980. Formerly known as Alimentos San Bartolo, the soy business is now a part of the Molino Belen Mayan community nonprofit ADIBE. Chuck met with the current ADIBE chairperson and Plenty’s old friends Agostin and Elena Xoquic who have managed the “soy dairy” from the beginning. Most of the processing equipment the dairy started with in 1980 was already used when it was installed. Much of it now requires replacement or repair. They sell an average of 250 “ice-bean” cones a day, but the ice-cream machine breaks down often and is on its last legs. Plenty will be soliciting funds to help this model Mayan soy dairy continue as a successful employer and income generator for the 2,500 residents of Molino Belen.

Pine Ridge Reservation

Tom Cook, Director of the Community Gardens project at Pine Ridge, reports that as of June, 476 gardens have been tilled and planted (the highest number since the project started in 1985) and the last of 25,000 vegetable seedlings have been passed out for planting. Our thanks to the P.E.A.C.E. Awareness Foundation for its contribution to the project.

Sustainable Resources 2003

Plenty has been invited to participate in an international forum in Boulder, Colorado September 29-October 4. Sustainable Resources 2003 will provide opportunities for people to share ideas and create new partnerships on issues facing developing communities such as water, sanitation, energy, shelter, health, economic development, and the environment. Over 175 presentations are planned! For more information check www.sustainableresources.org