Final Report 2021 

This project is located in the rural area of the municipality of Puerto Tejada, Cauca, Colombia, in the premises of the University Center for Rural Wellbeing. The project focused on the conversion of 2 hectares of land into productive plots, involving a variety of crops and the production of organic fertilizers in response to the adverse social and economic conditions caused by the pandemic. The project contributed to the healthy and nutritious diet of families and a food marketing network was established for 70 families. 

Project Objectives 

• Establishment of Diversified High-Efficiency plots on 2 hectares 
• Establishing a food network for marketing organic products 
• Systematization and dissemination of knowledge generated based on experience. 

Achievements of Activities 

• Identification and diversifying two hectares of land with plantain mounds, banana mounds, lemon trees, orange trees, tangerine trees, casava and pumpkin plants 
• 2 compost bins were built and 92 bags of bokashi were produced as organic fertilizer to improve the soil of the two hectares of land.  
• Establishment of Diversified High-Efficiency plots, maintenance, and fertilizing in optimal conditions 
• Construction of structures for fertilizer production 
• Selection of species to plant in plots. 
• Identification of 70 families interested in organic products. 
• Creation of a marketing network for natural products and fruits benefits 70 regular users per month. 
• The quality of products harvested was very popular among consumers and was marketed throughout the year very well. 
• Identifying products regularly consumed in homes.  
• Evaluation of the marketing methods. 
• Knowledge, learning, and actions were systematized and disseminated. 
• 4 workshops were held and 5 bulletins prepared for the general public had a positive influence on them and raised awareness on the dignity of farmers, food security, and strengthening the local economy through productive initiatives by families.  

Learnings 

• Regular meetings held to plan the weekly work allowed each member to be involved and fulfill the goals. Community volunteers helped with planned tasks on community work days. 
• Weekly consultation meetings with the team helped to identify the highest priority issues. 
• Organic products were marketed to more than 70 families and 2,400 kilograms of food was produced. 
• Learning about using fertilizers such as guano and production of Bokashi. 92 bags of excellent quality Bokashi were produced. 
• Contacting El Mirador agroecological farm to learn about the different vegetable and fruit tree production processes, the importance of having space for producing organic fertilizer, the marketing methods implementation and the promotion strategies they use.  
• Learnings from the simple weekly cycle established in product marketing including: Supply-Demand-Harvest-Distribution, to monitor and follow up on sales. 
• Setting up a simple accounting system in Excel to consolidate financial information and ensure transparency. 

Challenges 

• Bad weather and intense rainfall which affected the crops due to excess moisture; efforts have now been made to cut back tree branches to provide greater access to sunlight.  
• Obtaining a greater variety of agricultural products, since not all the plants adapted well to the environmental conditions. 
• Further progress is needed to identify and encourage farmers in village of Perico Negro in Puerto Tejada to join the marketing network because the participation of small producers in the village is needed to increase the diversity of products.