Desert 180 Operations annual progress report 2012

1. Desert 180 Operations annual progress report 2012 Veronique Lee Natasha Hinds Andrea DeRocco Jeremy Mak November 26, 2012 PAI 705 Strategic Planning / Dr. Bonham

2. Desert 180 Objectives • Through an evolving agricultural service “bundle” offered to clients in Cochabamba and surrounding areas, we aim to: • Increase food security (training and inputs) • Accessible • Affordable • Nutritious/variegated • Adequate • Culturally appropriate • Improve child health • early-child care development/malnutrition program • Protect the environment (land regeneration and forestry program) • Timber wood lots • Orchards / Forest reserves • Coppiceable fuelwood lots • Firebreaks / Windbreaks / Erosion Control / Watershed Management • Regeneration of marginal lands

3. Desert 180 Program Activities Timeline • June - Village Selection • July/August – Family Selection/Pre-Training • September – 20 Families x 3 Villages • October – Workshops I • November – Workshops I • December – 20 Families x 3 Villages (Workshops II) • January – Workshops II • February – 20 Families x 3 Villages (Workshops III) • March – Workshops III • April

4. Program Outcomes • 50 Families (pilot program)  150 Families (goal) • 192 hours of training • 317 total attendees • Average trainings attended per person - 12.5 • Participated in 12+ training events – 273 villagers from (161 households) • Incentives • Start up Kit • Hot meal / childcare / transportation / vitamin supplements • 86% success rate

5. Workshop Topics

6. Start Up Kit • $1 • Shovels • Pickaxe • Seeds • Machete • Hoe • Nets/Fencing • Watering cans

7. ECCD • Baby-weighing • Height-measurements • Vitamin supplements • Healthy cooking tips

8. Malnutrition: Weight for Age % of children under 5

9. Malnutrition: Height for Age % of children under 5

10. Desert 180 Malnutrition Program Outcomes: % of children under 5

11. Agroforestry Implementation Plan

12. Agroforestry Program Outcomes • Planted Crops • Amaranth, Squash, Corn, Peanuts, Pigeon Peas, Quinoa • Planted Trees • Moringa, Strawberry • 7 community gardens • 3 tree nurseries • 221 household gardens

13. Shortcomings • Local acceptance of crops / adoption of cooking techniques • Limited planting cycles • Pests • Disease • Market access facilitation (food storage – actellic dust / evaporative coolers) • Pricing of service bundles

14. Testimonials from the field • Farmer, Jorge Santiago, 32. • “Desert180 has really helped my family and I. My wife, Regina and I have seven children. Our main cash crops we grow are potatoes. My family struggled. My two eldest children had to stop going to high school; because I needed help around our farm. In past years the soil hasn’t been nice to our potatoes. One year we couldn’t make end’s meat. Then a friend of mine introduced me to Luis Espinosa, a field worker from Desert 180. This man introduced me to other kinds of crops that my family and I could produce and self. My family benefited form participating in the program this past year. My one daughter now gets the vitamins she needs; she has grown 2 inches this past year and is no longer sickly. We made enough from selling our new kinds of crops, we were able to save and send my eldest son to the city to live with his cousin and continue to his education. I want to extend my thank you and am eternally grateful to Destert180 and muchas gracias a mi Dios.”

15. Testimonial • Farmer and Family: Rosa Maria de la Reina y sus hermanas • “My story begins when my parent passed away in a car crash. We are five sisters. I am the eldest. Leaving our small farm to us, we had to work together in order to survive. Our relatives all live in the city. They disowned my father and his family for wanting to farm. Anyhow, with no support, my sisters and I struggled. I travelled one mile everyday to the local well. I was gossiping with my friend when she told about Desert 180 in our community. I was very interested in what they were doing. Low and behold, they were having sessions about farming. Having been the daughter of a man who had some educatio; I signed up. I was the best participant in the program. After a year my sisters and I had enough crops to have our own little stand. The quality of the crops was spectacular. Since then, my sister Aurelia, who has a knack for entrepreneurship talked her way into setting up a business and maybe exporting some other crafts she does to the United States. My sisters and I would like to thank very much Destert180 for coming into our lives and transforming them for the better. Quiero que nuestro Dios les bendiga y sus familias.”

16. Testimonial • Chief’s son: Manuel Ortega • “My father, the chief of the village is very old. I am 40 years old and have a strong young wife, Matilda, 20. Many people look to me for support and advice. I participated in this program for their sake. At first, I was skeptical. However, the amiable workers from Destert180 made me feel as their equal and not their inferior. They introduced us to new techniques for farming. I now have a small garden. The delinquents in the village were put to work planting trees. Their job is to water and take care of the little tree forest. Now there is little petty theft. I see life improving here in our small village. At the health center I see babies growing and mothers happier. Muchismas Gracias Dester180 for coming into our village and showing us a way to improve our lives.

17. Program Officer: Andrea DeRocco in field checking newly sprouting crops.

18. Crops starting to sprout

19. Coca Plants

20. Children Smiling because they got the nutrition they needed.

21. Looking for the Future • Added value products (fertilizer, tools, seeds) • Micro-loans to fund fencing, water systems • Further integrate One Acre Farm and Komaza agricultural service bundle approach (inputs, training, credit, market access, crop insurance (risk management) • Added-Value Health Improvements (Credit?) • Salt Iodization • Deworming • Partner with water based initiated NGOs

22. Questions ?