Why Seeds of Hope?
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Extreme social unrest over the last year has intensified the problems; loss of many jobs, businesses closing, foreign investors moving out, and a significant decline in tourism which was one of the bigger sources of employment.
Subsequent inflation adds to the struggle of just surviving.
Unemployment is not formally tracked in the country, however, based on our subjective awareness, unemployment appears to be over 50%.
The middle class that had started to form over the last decade has nearly totally disappeared.
Community Resource Mapping
The idea being, rather than looking outward for help and creating a dependency model, look inward to what are the available resources. To find answers that are not reliant on outside help. That is, to make it sustainable.
Having a love for agriculture, I became aware of a tree that grews all over Nicaragua. It was not native to Nicaragua, but rather India. It had been brought to this country in the 1970’s in great numbers and has spread throughout the country. This tree was Neem.
How is this a Resource?
Neem is the fastest growing organic pesticide and fungicide in the world. It is growing at 8% annually and demand is outstripping the supply.
Collecting and processing the seed would produce many jobs that can be carried out by unskilled workers.
We have found a buyer that will buy as much as we can produce.
Due to the fact that this is a crop that is used for agricultural purposes only, the processing and handling requirements are very few. This keeps the cost of production quite low.
We are looking for and developing additional crops that have similar maket demand and grow well in the tropics.
Current Crops:
Agricultural Use Crops:
- Moringa – Plant and Animal Organic Growth Hormone
- Neem – Organic Pesticide and Fungicide
Health Use Crops:
- Moringa
- Turmeric
- Neem
- Cacao
Food Use Crops:
- Cacao – Chocalate
- Moringa – Vitamina and Protein Source
- Tumeric – Seasoning