The Chiquimula department is located in the east of Guatemala, within the so-called “Corredor Seco”, a vast belt extending from southern Mexico to Panama that suffers from an unprecedented critical situation due to a drastic change in the regime of rainfall. 

In the Chiquimula department, in particular, where in summer temperatures can reach 44 degrees causing prolonged droughts, the climatic situation directly affects the existence of an already vulnerable population, resulting in a serious food shortage. 

It is estimated that 70-80% of the corn and bean harvests, the two foods that form the basis of food security for the whole region, have been lost in the past two years. 

According to the data of the “Zero Hunger” government program, in the municipalities of the Chiquimula department the percentage of the population suffering from undernutrition is around 70-75% while 55.6% of children under 5 years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition (Data ENSMI 2014-2015).

The project aims to improve the availability, access and consumption of food for 40 families in the municipality of Camotán by increasing the availability of self-produced food and improving the community’s health and hygiene conditions.

1. Agro-ecological training course on topics such as food sovereignty, soil conservation, production techniques and irrigation 
2. Monitoring and maintenance of rainwater collection tanks, built in 2017-2018 with the collaboration of the Università di Firenze-Dagri. 
3. Training courses on land use, conservation and management. 
4. Training courses for the creation of pesticides, insecticides and natural leaves. 
5. Sowing of basic grains in 5 fields, one for each family targeted by the project, which will be used as demonstration fields for the application of agro-ecological techniques.
6. Supply of 5 silos for families who will build the demonstration fields with the aim of improving the storage and conservation system of the basic cultivated grains. 
7. Creation of 40 family gardens for the recovery of native, food and medicinal plants. 
8. Training courses on home and personal hygiene practices and on food preservation. 
9. Creation of nutritional recipes with the use of plants grown in family gardens. 
10. Production of natural medicines made with plants.