Self Help International

Helping Nicaraguan Women and Farmers Acquire Enduring Skills

Location: Nicaragua

Self Help International Grantee in 2012 and 2013

Self-Help International’s (SHI) mission is community development. In Nicaragua, SHI educates farmers in cultivation and post-harvest practices to increase yields and reduce post-harvest losses. They provide training and loans to rural women to start small businesses that empower them within their communities and increase income. They partner with Project Redwood grantee Compatible Technology International to deploy affordable water chlorination in rural communities to reduce waterborne disease. In addition, SHI works to alleviate malnutrition in young children through the production of highly digestible protein porridge made from quality protein maize.

Project Redwood’s 2012 grant funded a training and food processing facility in Quinta Lidia, Nicaragua, which was modeled after SHI’s successful facility in nearby Melchorita. The new facility was used to provide training to 25 farmers in improved agricultural and harvesting techniques in the first year of a multi-year program. The grant also supported the installation of chlorination systems.

The 2013 grant to SHI will provide business and healthcare training for women and their older children as part of Quinta Lidia’s new micro-enterprise program for women. The goal is to help women start small businesses, to increase their income and improve family health.

For more information, see: http://www.selfhelpinternational.org/.

GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

2012: $25,000 to establish a farm methods training facility, and to install water chlorinators 

2013: $25,000 to provide entrepreneurial skills training to 35 women and 100 of their older children; women who complete the program will receive loans to begin small businesses

IMPACT

Doubled family incomes (previous annual income averaged $500 – $1,200)