Qachuu Aloom (Mother Earth) Farmers’ Association
This project in Rabinal Guatemala is community run and works in 13 Mayan villages. It offers
training in sustainable agriculture, native seed production, nutrition, animal care, marketing and micro lending. The majority of the members are
women and children who are seeking to rebuild their lives after the civil war and genocide against the Mayan people.
El Salvador Permaculture Institute (IPES)
Permaculture, is a re-evolutionary design system meaning ‘permanent agriculture’ as well as
‘permanent culture’. It is about observing nature and working with its flow. It uses ecological principles to design systems of food production,
housing, appropriate technology, and community development. The Institute has a demonstration centre on the edge of a not far from the capital of
San Salvador. Recently the Institute celebrated the end of the Design Course which Avoca supported. 28 students received their certificate and a
further 7 received certificates of attendance of part of the course. Their next step is to support the students to present their plans to their
community associations to teach others in the community and to develop a programme with them to do this. The 7 young people on the course are keen for the Institute to provide them with workshops to help them teach young people in other communities and they will also be running workshops with the older design course graduates on how to teach others.
