Promoting women’s rights
13/12/2020
Happy end of year celebrations
16/12/2020Our partner FUNDAEC in Colombia encourages local food production
We are all aware that the pandemic has brought about many challenges globally and our partner FUNDAEC in Colombia has shared with us some ways they are coping with the new reality. With more than 10 million people now unemployed in the country, attention has been directed to meet local food production needs. FUNDAEC was founded over 40 years ago with the intent to introduce programs that aim to develop capacities within the population to contribute to the well-being of their societies. Having decades of experience, FUNDAEC found themselves prepared to prioritize their food production and agricultural skills to meet the demands of their community.
By drawing on their experience, they created online workshops to assist people and share their knowledge about the different aspects of agriculture. Through this act of selfless service, the community has felt more bonded and united during these challenging times. Ms Stewart, the Executive director of FUNDAEC further states:
“we have found that during this period, people are naturally discovering a sense of common purpose—seeing that they can take an active role in transforming their adversity into an opportunity to be of service to their fellow citizens—and that our role as an organization has been to try and channel energies in a helpful way.”
Since the pandemic in March, FUNDAEC focused on four broad areas in supporting initiatives aimed at food self-sufficiency: the creation of home gardens, cultivation of larger farming plots, food processing, as well as distribution and commercialization.
“The example that people are setting in producing food for their communities is contagious,” says Ever Rivera, a coordinator of FUNDAEC’s programs. “People who have not produced food before having the example, as well as the support and accompaniment, of those around them.”
Those participants in the food production initiatives in Colombia have been amazed by how people have started to connect with the land around them in a different way. Families have felt motivated realizing that they can produce food in spaces they already own, and people have seen what positivity can come from moments of crisis.
Thanks to FUNDAEC´s online courses and the extending of knowledge, communities have taken a proactive approach to preparing for the negative impact the pandemic can have on their communities. A clear example, that even during times of adversity, communities can become further united.
