After my most recent technical support trip from July 6 through August 25, I can say with certainty that the annual small inputs of labor and material resources Plenty has provided for our Maya friends at the “Associacion Desarrollo Integral de Belen” (ADIBE) in Solola Guatemala, and the Associacion Soya de Nicaragua (SOYNICA) in Managua are paying off! With the soy foods program, we are responding to our partner’s interests in developing successful models that address education, immediate nutrition and small business development needs—ones that encourage other organizations or families to replicate something similar in their community. A broader goal of our work been to help make high nutrient low cost, locally grown foods more accessible to people who most need them. It is great to report that over the past three years there have been several more non-profit organizations and small family businesses that have started to make and sell fresh soymilk, soy cereals and related products in these countries. There are also many more small farming families in Nicaragua and Guatemala who have told us that they want to start or expand production of organic non-GMO soybeans.

Plenty has supported the efforts of SOYNICA to grow their small business. It is now distributing thousands of pounds of dry cereal drink mixes (corn & soy, oats & soy, rice & soy), about 38,000 half liters of fresh soymilk and another 1,400 pounds of tofu and related foods every month. Because of the promotion activities and home soy food processing workshops conducted by SOYNICA over the last 16 years or more, in Nicaragua you can go to any major city’s open market and see that many small vendors have open 100-pound sacks of soybeans for sale right next to their red beans, rice and corn. People in the marketplace showed me that they knew about the nutrition and home economic value of soybeans. Many said they buy soybeans to make milk and related products at home!

In Guatemala the two organizations Plenty is working with, ADIBE and “Unidas Para Vivir Mejor” (UPAVIM) in Guatemala City, are taking active roles in the formation of an Association of Soy Milk Producers. The formation of a regional association to promote soy foods is one of our CAFSI program goals.

There remains much work to be done with all of our Central American Food Security Initiative (CAFSI) partners over the next year, and we hope you can help. UPAVIM and the Huichol Center in Mexico will need Plenty’s continuing collaboration to get their new soy food and nutrition education programs firmly established in their communities. ADIBE and SOYNICA will need timely assistance as they attempt to significantly increase their production, sales and employment opportunities. Plenty’s most urgent need for the CAFSI partners at this time is funding to meet the equipment and technical assistance requirements for ADIBE and the Huichol Center.