Volunteer Team Carries out "Non-Traditional" Assignment in Nicaragua

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Kshinte teaches children about nutrition in milk
Earlier this week, two volunteers traveled from Wisconsin to Nicaragua to fill a "non-traditional" Farmer to Farmer assignment: video production. They are collaborating with another volunteer focusing on nutrition. In case you're wondering what video production has to do with farming, read on.

Even though Nicaragua is the country in the region of Central America with the most exports of dairy products, generally has the biggest cattle, and the most land potential to raise cattle, it is still the country that consumes the least amount of dairy products. According to official information the annual local consumption of milk is 75 liters/person in contrast to 220 liters/person in Costa Rica.

In the urban and rural sectors of Nicaragua there has been a decrease in the consumption of dairy products. Nicaraguans have changed their habits and now consume more sodas which do not have the same nutritional qualities as dairy products. It has been calculated that in Nicaragua for each liter of milk consumed, eight liters of soda are consumed. Furthermore, at times when milk production is at its highest there can be an abundance of local milk.

Volunteers Cheryl Dyermier and Lauren Rosen are helping to address this gap by creating a video consumption campaign in collaboration with local dairy farmers and organizations. They are working together with volunteer Kshinte Brathwaite, who specializes in nutrition and is a repeat volunteer to Nicaragua. Here are some photos from their trip so far, as they visit farms, schools, and organizations to gather information and footage as well as teach about the nutritional properties of dairy products.
Children observe calf getting milk straight from the source!
Sampling local dairy products - even more delicious with a fun straw

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