Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

EducaFuturo is a program currently being implemented by Partners of the Americas in Ecuador and Panama. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), EducaFuturo seeks to combat child labor in both countries through educational programs, vocational training, and livelihood services. F2F has partnered with EducaFuturo on numerous occasions over the past 5 years, sending 7 volunteers to support their efforts in improving the educational outcomes of youth involved in child labor, while also increasing the income opportunities of households to reduce reliance on child labor. Volunteers have provided training on a range of topics, including sustainable production practices, processing, business management, and marketing. In January 2016, F2F volunteer Carmen Pacheco-Borden traveled to Panama to work with native Ngabe-Bugle women’s groups in the tomato farming communities of Hato Chami and Boca de Monte to make value-added products from their harvests and consequently increase their hous...

Robert Spencer during an assignment in Guatemala in 2016 Alabama Extension agent, Robert Spencer, has been a long-time F2F volunteer with Partners of the Americas. During the current program cycle he completed 5 assignments, including 2 in Haiti on food safety and quality. His first assignment in the country was in September 2015, working with F2F host, Makouti Agro-Enterprise, and several rabbit producers in the northern region of the country. The focus of this trip was to train small animal producers in meat quality assurance and safety. Following site visits to producer farms, Robert conducted four days of workshops to address food quality and safety concerns that he observed. His presentations focused on HACCP, food safety and quality across value chains, and public relations in the meat industry. While in Haiti, Robert also visited over ten restaurants to conduct needs assessments and interviews to gain a better understanding of food safety expectations, inspection practices...

The Fabretto Foundation (Fabretto) is a non-profit organization that provides educational and nutritional programs to children and families in the most disadvantaged areas of Nicaragua. Aligning with Partners of the Americas' Women & Youth F2F strategy in the country, Fabretto seeks to build the entrepreneurship and leadership skills of children and youth to improve their livelihoods and empower them to reach their full potential. The Foundation boasts seven community Education Centers and over 400 public schools throughout Nicaragua, with programs focused on three strategic areas: (1) Early Education, (2) Primary Education, and (3) Technical Vocational Education. Fabretto’s community-based approach allows parents and teachers to also benefit from their education and health programs, while providing them with a platform to become leaders in their communities. Teachers and tutors at each of the schools and centers receive training on innovative methodologies and tools to improve...

In May 2017, University of Hawaii-Manoa (UH) professor, Dr. Ethel Villalobos and UH graduate student, Scott Nikaido, traveled to the regions of Valverde and Monte Cristi in the northeast of the Dominican Republic, where they surveyed eight apiaries and made recommendations on beekeeping management. The objective of this F2F team assignment was to provide hands-on training to banana producers of the Banelino Association on the development and implementation of apiculture projects for honey production. As part of this assignment, Dr. Villalobos and Mr. Nikaido worked alongside Banelino staff and led workshops focused on production techniques and technologies for honey bees and queen rearing. The volunteers also assisted Banelino by identifying the best set of endemic flowers for beekeeping and ways that local farmers could improve their apiculture management practices in order to optimize honey production. Dr. Villalobos during her visit to Partners HQ in October 2017 Thro...

The Federacion Comercializadora de Café Especial de Guatemala (FECCEG) is an association of small organic coffee producers established in 2006. FECCEG currently works with 10 cooperatives in Chimaltenango, Huehuetenango, Quiché, Sololá, San Marcos, and Quetzaltenango, and over 1,000 farmers, of which more than 350 are women. Their mission is to promote and support the sustainability of small-scale producers by providing training in the production of organic coffee, honey, and sugar cane, in addition to value-chain support services. FECCEG seeks to increase the incomes of member producers, while also promoting environmental sustainability and gender equality. In 2013, Kishé Foods, LLC (Kishé) was founded in California as a subsidiary of FECCEG in order to help the association have a more established presence in the U.S. market. In addition, as a social enterprise, Kishé Foods serves to strengthen the coffee value chain by directly selling Guatemalan coffee to US consumers.  ...

Clare Licher, owner of the Arizona-based family-run business PhiBee Aromatics, not only possesses thirty years of experience in aromatherapy and essential oils, but is also a frequent Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer. In the past, Clare traveled to Jamaica in both 2016 and 2017 to consult with the Yerba Buena Farm regarding the establishment of a commercial essential oils distillery and market growth potential. Most recently, she traveled to Haiti to again utilize her highly-specialized knowledge of essential oils to assist the non-profit, Prosperity Catalyst, and their Haitian affiliate Fanm Limye. [Left] Clare during a workshop in Jamaica in 2016. [Right] Clare during her assignment in 2017. Fanm Limye has operated in Haiti since 2012, working directly with over 400 beekeepers in Western Haiti. Most recently, the organization has assisted beekeepers in cultivating essential oil-yielding plants to provide nectar for their bees and scent candles made from their beeswax. Clare helpe...

In March 2018, Kathleen (Kath) Lestina, a business owner and designer from the United States, traveled to Zen Naturals' headquarters in Cali, Colombia as a Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer. The company's Zue Beauty line is a brand of quinoa-based natural cosmetics that emphasizes sustainable, ethical manufacturing and fair trade in order to improve the lives of quinoa farming communities in Colombia. Through Zue’s Give-Back program, customers are empowered to donate to Colombian organizations, contributing to the company’s two central goals: providing high-quality natural skincare products and generating social and environmental change.  F2F volunteers have been integral to the growth of Zue, as several agricultural and technical volunteers have helped train indigenous farmers to harvest quinoa. Other F2F volunteers have assisted with marketing, branding, and digital media. The purpose of Kath’s visit, the most recent F2F-Zen Naturals partnership, was to assist Zue’s publ...

EducaFuturo is a program currently being implemented by Partners of the Americas in Ecuador and Panama. Funded by the US Department of Labor (USDOL), EducaFuturo seeks to combat child labor in both countries by providing educational programs, vocational training, and livelihood services. The Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program has partnered with EducaFuturo on numerous occasions over the past five years, sending 7 volunteers to support their efforts in improving the educational outcomes of youth involved in child labor, while also increasing the income opportunities of households to reduce their reliance on child labor. Volunteers have provided training on a range of topics, including sustainable production practices, processing, business management, and marketing. Most recently, University of Oklahoma Extension food specialist, Dr. Barbara Brown, traveled to the city of Otavalo, Ecuador to provide training to EducaFuturo participants on fruit processing and value-added products from ...

May 1-15, 2018, I had the pleasure of working with Noel Diaz, Program Officer, Farmer-to-Farmer Nicaragua, and Xenia Castillo of Fabretto Foundation Nicaragua to conduct workshops for three groups in Nicaragua. The main objective of this mission was to help them develop business plans, specifically marketing plans. Pinos Fabrettinos is a cooperative formed by 38 indigenous women in San Jose de Cusmapa who decided to take charge of their lives by making and selling pine needle baskets.  The first week, we worked with them to provide training on business plans, specifically details on Mission Statements, SWOT Analysis, and Marketing plans. I admired their lovely baskets in their show room, and commented about the Easter colors on some of them, and how an Easter basket would be nice. They were not familiar with Easter baskets. Since we had free wi-fi from the park next door, I showed them some Easter baskets on line. They said they would have the woman who could make baskets th...

Written by F2F Volunteer Dr. Abner Rodriguez, Professor at the  University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus Located in Nebaj, Department of Quiché, Guatemala, Save the Children, with USAID and other funding agencies, developed the Goat Production Center of the Western Highlands, known by its Spanish acronym CEPROCAL (Centro de Producción Caprina del Altiplano). The project is focused on reducing malnutrition in families with children in Nebaj and other rural areas with the highest poverty rates in the country. In Guatemala’s Western Highlands, chronic malnutrition in children is the result of multiple factors, being the most important the lack of a good source of protein at the onset of the weaning period. Raising goats for milk production is the international agency and funding organizations strategy to alleviate the problem. During the last years, goat milk has been utilized for hundreds of families to improve children’s diets and as a product for local cheese production. In...

Written by F2F volunteer, John Tiedeman, April 15-29, 2018 Farmers are practical people wherever you find them in the world. Challenges in the Dominican Republic were to identify opportunities for soil and water conservation in the fertile Cibao Valley and surrounding mountains. Week 1 focused on a 160 acre ranch where goals include preservation of a remaining cacao plantation, plus demonstration of sustainable organic production methods.   Most acreage in the area of La Vega has been converted to intensive cultivation of cassava/yuca and bananas using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Adequate drainage and water supply are essential to healthy plant growth, whether in the humid climate of the D.R. or in the dry summer climate where I live in northern California.   For surface drainage, the starting point is to ensure an unobstructed outlet.   Although landowner Altair Rodriquez had installed hand-dug surface drains in her cacao plantation, the downstr...

During my volunteer assignment in Nicaragua I had the opportunity to visit different cities to give workshops. At first, I was a little bit nervous because I’d never given any type of workshops before. I was really excited about it, but nervous at the same time. Even more when they told me that I was going to give the first workshop to teachers. The first workshop was called “Marketing Digital” and I gave that to the middle school teachers of the Collegio San Luis. This one, consisted of giving teachers different ideas and tools that they could use within their classrooms. During the workshop, I explained what social media is and what type of social media platforms are out there. I also explained them the different kinds of Technologies of Information and Communication (ICT) like computes and cellphones and the way we utilize them. I told the teachers what were the benefits of using new technologies and social media platforms. For example, how their students are always in touch with...

Written by F2F volunteer Elizabeth Miernicki In March 2018, I traveled to the Dominican Republic for my first ever USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) assignment. As my plane flew over the country towards Las Americas airport, my eyes never left the window. I could not stop thinking about what the soil looked like underneath all of the lush green foliage before my eyes. I soon found myself in a country three times smaller than my home state of Illinois, but with greater soil diversity. A true treat for me! Terraces in Mao formed by livestock walking along the contours. My F2F assignment specifically focused on improving soil management and water conservation practices to reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility and improve water quality, with an emphasis on global climate change in the Ciabo Central region. The overall objective of the assignment was to provide vulnerable farming communities with the necessary strategies and technologies to improve the resiliency of t...

By F2F volunteer, Rebecca Roebber Marketing is changing so fast with the influence of social media and access to the internet. There are so many products we are exposed to everyday, when we open our Instagram or browse through Facebook, companies send us emails with discounts and new products. How do we know what to buy anymore? We are all looking to purchase products that speak to us, that stand out compared to other products. Great marketing shows us products that represent who we are, who we want to be, and what we believe in. I bet that if you look at some of the products you’ve recently purchased, you’ve felt that personal connection, even if you didn’t recognize that the company is working to connect. An example of a connection that brands make with the customer is a chocolate company called “Endangered Species,” their brand is sold at Whole Foods and other natural grocery store and reaches a large audience that care about animals in the rainforest, that is a pretty...