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SustainableAgriculture-OpportunitiesforYouthinRuralElSalvador

ProgressReport–September,2015

StudentTeamMembers:SamuelTuck(BiomedicalEngineering,CollegeofEngineering);SarahBaruch(MedicalSchool);SamanthaCabala(SchoolofPublicHealth).FacultyAdvisor:Dr.AndrewJones(SchoolofPublicHealth).PartnerNon-profitOrganization:BridgingInternationalCommunities(www.bridge-communities.org)BICProjectDirector:Dr.MichelleLeach(CoE,’13)Disclosure:SamuelTuckhassatontheBoardofDirectorsofBridgingInternationalCommunitiessince2013.

Background

HacienditaUno(HU)isasmallruralcommunitylocatedinthemunicipalityofSuchitoto,intheDepartmentofCuscatlán,ElSalvador.TheresidentsofHUarepoorruralfarmerswhoproducebasicgrainsandagro-industrialcropssuchascorn,coffeeandsugarcane.Othercrops,suchasvegetables,herbsand/orlegumes,wouldresultinbetterreturns,butarenotgrownduetoashortageofland,alackofirrigation,andcontinualincreasesinthecostofagrochemicals,aswellaspoorfarmmanagementwhichhasresultedinsoilnutrientimbalances.TheresultingrealityfacedbysmallSalvadoranfarmersisbleak–themajorityremainwellbelowthepovertylevelandsufferfrequentfoodinsecurity.

Thesituationforyouths(aged18-25)inruralElSalvadorisevenmoredire.Youthsareunlikelytoownlandlackingsufficientfundstopurchaseany.Theseyouthsaredoomedtoafutureofdaylaboringat$1USDperhour.Intheunlikelyscenariotheyareabletofindfull-time,orevenpart-timework,youngdaylaborerscanstillneverearnenoughtosaveforahouse.Issuesofobtainingahousedelaymarriageandstartingafamilywithinthecommunity.Facedwithfewoptions,youtheitheremigratetowork(frequentlyintheUS)orjoinagangwiththehopeofsurvivinglongenoughtoprofitoffcriminalenterprise.Neitherisagoodoptionfortheyouthsnorfortheircommunities.

OurproposedpilotprojectisdesignedtogiveSalvadoranyouthsanalternativeoptiontogeneratesubstantialincomebymanagingavegetablecooperativeconsistingof10producersutilizingdripirrigationonsmallplots.

InternationalDevelopmentEnterprises(IDE)hasdemonstratedthatsimple,low-costdripirrigationsystemscanreducewaterneedsby30-70%whilealsoreducinglaborandfertilizerinputsonsmallplots,resultinginyieldincreasesofupto30%.IDEhasover20yearsofprovenhistoryofthesesystemsfunctioninginAfricaandIndia,withmorerecent(2011)expansionintoCentralAmerica,primarilyinHondurasandNicaragua.However,theIDEsystemisdependentontheuseofahuman-poweredstair-steppertreadlepumptosupplywatertothesystemtank,whichiselevated1mtoobtainheadpressure(seeFig1).Treadlepumpscannotliftwatermorethan7meters.Encounteringanaquiferatlessthan7metersbelowgroundispossibleinmostcoastalandlowlyingareas.However,mostofElSalvadorissituatedonahighcentralplainborderedoneithersidebytwomountainrangeswithaquiferdepthsof10-100mwheretreadlepumpswillnotwork.Analternativemethodisnecessarytoobtainwater.

ElSalvadorreceivessignificantrainfallduringthesummer.Collectingandstoringrainwaterforuseduringthedryseasonisentirelypossible,butisnotfeasibleduetothehighcostofstoragecontainers.Forexample,6000gallonplastictankscost$3000beforeshipping.Cisternsconstructedonsitefrombrickandconcretecostapproximately$2000.Withpergalloncostsof$0.50and$0.33,respectively,neitherisanaffordableoption.However,24m3Flexitanks(6340gallons)usedintheshippingindustrytotransportbulkliquidsinside20ftcontainerscostaround$450,whichbringsthecostdownto$0.07pergallon.Furthermore,ifpurchasedinsignificantnumbers,Flexitankcostsreduceto$190,or$0.03pergallon.Flexitanksarepillow/bladdertankscomposedofmultiplelayersoflaminatedplastic(seeFigs2,3).Empty,theyweighapproximately100lbsandfolddownintoaverysmallspace,makingthemveryeasytotransport.Obviously

Figure1.IDElow-costmicro-irrigationsystemandtreadlepump:Ideorg.org

thesetankswillbetoolargetoelevateinordertoobtainheadpressure,butthesameeffectcanbeobtainedbyplacingincreasingweight(suchassandbags)ontopofthetankand/orrollinguptheexcessasthetankempties.

ProjectDescriptionandScope

TenyouthsfromHUwillberecruitedforthispilot.Theyouthswilleachberequiredtocontribute$25andwillreceiveazerointerest$125micro-loan,whichwillallowthemtorenta20x20mplot($25)andtopayanequipmentrentalfee($125).Thisensurestheyouthswillhaveaninvestment-fueledincentivetofullyparticipateintheproject.However,iftheprojectfailsthroughnofaultoftheirown,theloanswillbeforgiven,whichwillnotbeannouncedunlessneeded.

EachyouthwillreceiveaFlexitankwithalargetarpsuspendedabovetocollectrainwaterandfunnelitintothetank.Thetankswillbeallowedtofillduringtherainyseason(May-November).Six20mrowsofdriptapewillalsobeinstalled.Oncethedryseasonbegins,120tomatoplantswillbeaddedandtheyouthswillbetrainedtoirrigateandcarefortheplants,andlatertomarketthefruit.Withconservativeestimatesof10poundsoffruitperplant,thesesystemscanyieldatminimum$800grossincomeinfourmonths.Thisislargelyduetoelevatedpricesduringthedryseasonwhennoonecanproducetomatoeswithoutirrigation($40/box),comparedtothewetseasonwhentomatoesaremoreeasilygrown($14/box).Productionresultswillbecarefullymonitoredanddocumented.

ExpectedOutcomes/Impacts

Thetenyouthswhoparticipateinthisprojectwillgainknowledgeandmarketableskillsinsustainableagriculturetechniques.Additionally,theyouthswillbeableprovideforthemselvesandfamilywiththeirnewlyacquiredknowledge,skills,andresources.

Theknowledgegeneratedfromthisprojectwillbecompiledintoanarticleandsubmittedtoajournal,suchastheMichiganJournalofSustainability.AHow-tomanualanddiagramwillbeproducedinSpanishandEnglishandmadefreelyavailable.Ifsuccessful,weplantousethedategeneratedbythisprojectaspreliminarydatatoapplyforlargergrantstofurtherinvestigatetheuseofFlexitanksinthedevelopingworld.

ProjectCoordination

BICwillhaveamemberoftheBoardofDirectors(MichelleLeach,PhD,CoE‘13)inElSalvadorfromMaytoAugust.Dr.Leachwillserveasthein-countryprojectcoordinatorandfacilitatetheinteractionofthestudentswiththecommunity.Shewillcontinuethedatacollectionandprojectsupervisionwhenthestudentsarenotpresent.Theyouthswillbetrainedinhorticultureandmarketingduringthewetseasonasthetanksfill.Theprojectwillcontinueintothedryseason,atwhichpointagriculturalengineerJackieHernandezOrtizwilltakeoverprojectsupervisionincountryandreportresultsregularlybyemailtostudentsinMichigan.

Progress

SourcingandShippingDifficulties

Progresshasbeensignificantlydelayedbyanumberofdifficulties.First,wewerenotabletosourceFlexitankswithinElSalvadororadjacentCentralAmericancountries.Instead,wefoundasourceinMichigan.Shippingthetankshasbeenverydifficult.Duetotheirweight(approx.100lbseach)themostcosteffectivemethodistoshipa20ftcontainer.ShippingcostsforacontainerfromDetroittoElSalvadorare$3,000withcustomsclearingcostsandfinaldeliveryfeesareestimatedatanadditional$800.BridgingInternationalCommunitiesundertookfundraisingeffortsandraisedthenecessary$3,800.

Figure2.Flexitankin20ftshippingcontainer.

Fig3.Flexitanksusedforstaticstorageoutside.

ThenwebegannavigatingthecomplexworldofSalvadoranshippinglaws.UnliketheUnitedStates,whereanynon-profitorganizationcanreceiveshipmentsofdonatedgoodswithoutpayingimporttaxesof30-50%,noteverynon-profitinElSalvadorhasthisprivilege.Veryfeworganizationsretainthisprivilege(whichisreferredtoas‘havingafranquicia’);however,itispossibleforanorganizationwithoutafranquiciato‘borrow’one.Requirements(andsometimesfees)todosovarygreatlydependingonwhattypeoforganizationyouwishtoborrowfrom.

Afterexamininganumberoffranquiciaoptions,wewereputincontactwiththepastoroftheCatholicchurchinSuchitoto.ThemajorityoftheresidentsofHacienditaUnoattendthischurch.Weexplainedtheprojecttohimandourgoalsofsupportingruralyouths.ThepriestwasveryreceptiveoftheideaandhasagreedtohelpusnavigatetheadministrativeprocesstoborrowthefranquiciaofhisArchdiocese.ThepriestwassubsequentlytransferredtoPeruandwehadtobegintheprocessagainwithhisreplacement.Luckily,thenewpriestisalsocommittedtosupportingtheproject.Heiscurrentlyworkingonobtainingthefranquiciaapprovalletter,andwearehopefultoobtainapprovalbytheendofSeptember.

Oncewehavethefranquicia,wewillshipthecontainer,whichtakesthreeweekstoarriveinElSalvador.Weanticipateafewdaysfortheshipmenttoclearcustoms.WehopetohavetheFlexi-tanksinthecommunitybytheendofOctober.Novemberisthelastmonthoftherainyseason,soweshouldstillhavetimetofillthemwithrainwater.Ifnot,wewillpaytotruckwaterin.

Beneficiaries

FollowingdiscussionswiththeleadershipcommitteeofHacienditaUno,wehavemadesomechangestotheproposedbeneficiaries.Wewillbeworkingwiththecommunity’sofficialYouthGroup,whowillmanageacollectiveplotandoneflexitank,andwillrecruit9othersfromanagriculturalcooperativetoutilizetherestoftheFlexitanks.ThecommitteewantedtheyouthsoftheYouthGroup,whoaresignificantlyyoungerthanthoseinthecooperative,tohavethechancetolearnmoreabouthorticultureanddripirrigation.However,thecommitteethoughtitbestthattheYouthGroupmanageoneplotcollectively,soasnottoplacetoomuchresponsibilityonanyoneofthemembers,whoaregenerally12-18yearolds.Theyouthsofthecooperativeareall18andolder.

WorkingwithHacienditaUno’sYouthGroup

WehavebeenworkingwiththeYouthGroupofthecommunityinanticipationofreceivingtheflexitanksanddripirrigationsupplies.Theyouthgroupissupervisedbyamemberofthecommunity’sleadershipcommitteeatalltimes.Withthehelpofthecommittee,thegrouphasobtainedpermissiontoborrowatractoflandtouse.ThegroupmetwithresidentagriculturalengineerJacquelynHernandezOrtizanddevelopedaplanofwork.Theythenworkedinshiftstocleartheovergrowthandopenraisedbedsinrows(Figure1).

Figure1.Aworkgroupgetsreadytoprepareground(left)byconstructingraisedrowbeds(right).

Sincewearecurrentlystillinthemidstoftherainyseason,theyouthswereprovidedwithtomatoseedlingsandcucumberseedstoutilizethebedswhileitisstillpossibletocultivatewithoutdripirrigation.Unfortunately,weunderestimatedthesizeoftherabbitpopulationinthearea,andmanyoftheyoungvegetableplantswerelost.Weareintheprocessofplacingfencepoststoenclosetheareawithachickenwirefence.However,wedostillexpectasmall

cropofcucumbersfromthisendeavor.Wewillreplantthetomatoesduringthedryseason,oncethedripirrigationisinplace.

Budget-ToDate

Category Description Source AmountMisc.materials Driptape,tubing,connectors,piping,tarps,etc. Dow $500

Tanks TenFlexitanks. Dow $4,500Shipping 20ftcontainerfromDetroittoSanSalvador. BIC $3,000Customs Customsclearingandfinaldeliveryfees. BIC $800

Total: $8,300RemainingProjectPlans

Themajorityoftheprojectremainstobecompleted,pendingreceiptoftheshipment.Wewillsubmitafinalreportfollowingthecloseofthedryseasonwhenharvestiscomplete,likelyinmid-May,2016.

Funding

Wearenotrequestingfurtherfundingatthistime.