fodder plots In Nicaragua will directly impact nearly 1,000 people and more than 1,800 equines
When you support Brooke USA, you support innovative projects that improve lives and meet needs immediately.
That’s never been more clear than over the last 12 months, as our funding partners all over the globe have risen to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in amazing ways.
In Nicaragua, the limitations of the pandemic made it hard for people to get food for themselves and for their working horses, donkeys and mules. Normal delivery systems were cut off due to quarantine and illness, making packaged food and animal feed difficult to purchase. Hunger became an unexpected, but very real, side effect of the coronavirus.
We partnered with Brooke Latin America to address the need for nutritious, accessible food from the ground up. In the successful pilot program, Brooke USA purchased empty lots in Nicaragua to be used as agriculture plots, planted with seeds and starter plants. Then, using socially distanced technology (like video calling and sharing photos through WhatsApp), agricultural experts taught community members to grow their own food and fodder. The villagers in this pilot group learned the basics of food and fodder cultivation.
The success of these first sample plots has led to even more demand, particularly as the virus continues to impact daily life. Now, Brooke USA is funding the growth of this program with the purchase of 233 more sample plots, ranging in size from 1.4 to 3.5 acres, around Nicaragua. Investment in this project covers the purchase of the land; the provision of equipment like barbed wire fencing to protect the plants from animals and theft; and the purchase of starter plants and seeds, which will come from the original participants of the pilot program. From the ground up, this program teaches sustainability: how to grow food, how to use it, how to store it, and how to sell it. In addition, this pilot program in Nicaragua can serve as a model for expansion across South America
Each new plot, equipment, and seeds/starter plants costs $500. This covers the purchase of the plot land; wire and posts for fencing; vermiculture boxes for composting; seeds and starts for corn, beans, yuca, peppers, cucumbers, citrus trees, passion fruit, and Mombasa guinea and Angleton grasses; and the technical support (over video and, when safe, in person) from professionals to troubleshoot and help with the process.
These fodder plots will directly impact nearly 1,000 people and more than 1,800 equines. This project underlines how intertwined the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules are with the people they serve: with one plot, the whole community (animal and human) benefits.
You can help fund 233 of these plots around Nicaragua. Your support will feed hardworking equines and the people they serve this year and for years to come, making this one-time donation an investment in a sustainable future.
