Brazil, North East, State of Paraiba.
£20,000
Reducing Poverty through Community Organic Vegetable Gardens Project - phase II
Funds for: organic seeds, tools, irrigation supplies, food storage equipment, training and project support costs.
Beneficiaries: directly - 383 people (six women's groups, primary school pupils, teachers and their families), with a further 191 
families (955 people from the settlements and communities where the women live), having an increased access to fresh, healthy food directly within their communities. Also, the population of the three municipalities (total 12,050 people), will benefit as consumers who will have access to the healthier food that is produced locally at an affordable cost.
Paraíba is the most underdeveloped part of Brazil. Over half of Paraíba’s population live in poverty and over half of the land is affected by desertification.
In this remote area there is little infrastructure, roads are poor and often impassible (owing to severe weather conditions) and there is a lack of public services such as transport.
These and other factors perpetuate poverty and compromise the quality of life of the rural population.
This project is a two year extension to a Vegfam funded project which was first implemented in 2007. It has had a huge success and is being replicated and expanded upon to include more beneficiary women's groups and a local primary school.
Aim of Project Funding: The women's groups are setting up community gardens to produce a broader range of organic vegetables and fruit in sufficient quantities to ensure a constant supply for their families; resulting in an improvement in the standard of food for everyone involved. Surplus fruit and vegetables are being successfully sold at local markets increasing the women's (and their families’) incomes.
New groups to the project shall have their gardens' irrigation systems renewed and upgraded and sheltered areas shall be built to protect new planted seeds from the intense sun.
In order to provide as many dietary nutrients as possible, a wide range of vegetables and fruit will be grown in this extension project: aubergine (eggplant), beetroot, bell peppers, cabbage (green and white), carrots, cherry (Barbados), chilli pepper, coriander (cilantro), ‘coronopus didymus’ (mastruz), courgette, cucumber, gherkin (maxixe/burr), guava, lettuce (garden, iceberg), limes, mint (2 types), onions (and spring onions), okra, oranges, pumpkin (and summer squash), lemongrass (‘cidreira’ and ‘capim santo’), papaya/pawpaw, passion fruit, radish, rocket (arugula), spinach, sweet-sop (fruit), tomatoes (and cherry tomatoes), water-melon.
Culturally, the people in these communities have not eaten many types of vegetables - this project is broadening the communities' diets and is much improving their health.
The school children and teachers will participate in the project, to learn first-hand about the production of organic vegetables and fruit and the importance of organic products to their health. It is expected that the learning will be replicated to their families.
Fruit and vegetables from one of the previously funded gardens are regularly donated to the school for daily meals.
Three of the new women's groups have registered on a scheme to provide vegetables and fruit from their gardens to local schools, crèches and hospitals.
All project participants receive extensive training in organic agriculture .jpg "picture")
(and water resources), health, diet, nutrition and vegan organic food preparation and preservation.
Information on the project activities and benefits of organic vegetables and fruit to health shall be disseminated amongst other groups and the local populations.
This project is improving the beneficiaries' health and nutrition, reducing poverty, increasing income and improving the quality of life of the rural families/communities settled in the area.
Financed through Concern Universal (Hereford, UK and Brazil) working with in-country partner Cunhã - Coletivo Feminista (Women's Collective).