Cloud Forest Conservation, Food Security and Organic Fertilizers

What could organic fertilizers, food security, poverty alleviation and income generation, possibly have to do with the conservation of cloud forests? Click here to make the connection and understand why this project is an urgent step on the path to protecting cloud forests.

Project chem-free-corn assists farmers in making the switch to organic fertilizers by giving them the resources, tools, soil tests and training they need to produce their own fertilizers.

Project chem-free-corn dovetails with an existing animal husbandry project. CCFC is coming along side of families that have received livestock from Heifer Project International to improve their capacity to produce their own fertilizers. Farmers that switch to organic fertilizers improve their impoverished, chemical dependent soils. They improve their yeilds and save money. More importantly, when they produce their own fertilizers, they protect themselves against crop failure when chemical fertilizer prices go out of reach.

Organic fertilizers improve soil.

Organic fertilizers improve soil.

Project chem-free-corn is an organic fertilizer production initiative

worm compost production

© 2009 Rob Cahill, Alta Verapaz

We are helping farmers be more self sufficient on their land. We want to help farmers switch from chemical fertilizers to organic. As their soils improve so does their food security. We are working to help families become better neighbors to the cloud forest.

We have a better way to produce organic fertilizers from animal manure and other household wastes. We are bulding better tools for compost production.

Our goal this year is to work intensively with 16 families, to insure that they switch to organic compost and to help them get set up to produce the fertilizers they need for their corn crops. Farmers will be assisted with some bonus material as well as soil tests and tech support

We are now in the pilot phase of this project. With the help of a group of geography students from Mary Washington we have launched a small fund to set up the initial families with the tools and training they need to become efficient fertilizer producers. This initiative buys wood to build fertilizer boxes and gives 80 students the chance to learn carpentry.

Food security and the future of the cloud forest are at stake.

Click here to learn how carpentry students from a Q'eqchi' school in San Juan Chamelco have transformed their wood working class to be an agent of service and positive change in the most remote, rural communities.