For more than a year, over 300 children of families living and working at the Guatemala City dump have eaten a little better thanks to Karen’s Soy Nutrition Project.

(Right) Children served by Karen’s Soy Nutrition Project hold their bottle of soy milk produced by UPAVIM, a women's association in Guatemala City also assisted by Plenty.

(Above) Nine men pick through the trash in the Guatemala City dump, the largest in Central America.
Karen's Soy Nutrition Project helps provide soy foods that supply protein to children of families who live adjacent to the dump.

UPAVIM

In June, a fundraising campaign organized by Plenty Board Member, Robert Reifel and volunteer, Cloud Hall in Sante Fe, NM, raised $5,500 to purchase an ice cream machine for the women’s association UPAVIM, in Guatemala City.

Since 2010 Plenty has been working with Amado Del Valle Montufar, based in Chimaltenango Guatemala, to produce and distribute non-GMO soybean seeds to small farmers.

These farmers depend on their annual harvests of corn, beans and vegetables to meet the nutrition needs of their families. 
    
In July 2011, with financial assistance from the Atkinson Foundation, and in collaboration with the Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP), Mr. Del Valle and two agriculture schools, a program was initiated to help low-income farming families in the department of Solola to establish integrated and replicable models for addressing water retention, soil erosion and increased agricultural production. 
    
Educational workshops, materials and biweekly on-site technical support is provided through the program to help families address land erosion problems, increase their yields of traditional foods, and initiate plantings of non-GMO soybeans.

The SFSWP project will help families plant trees, establish water catchments, and make an immediate improvement to their soils with the addition of organic compost.