July to December 2021

This project began in January 2021, in the commune 20 of the city of Cali, Colombia with the purpose of strengthening small vegetable garden initiatives for 100 families to overcome negative impact of the economic recession during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was linked to programs offered by the Créalo Foundation, a local organization that works in partnership with FUNDAEC.  

Project Objectives 

1. Providing financial support to 100 small productive initiatives with seed funds and basic infrastructure to develop and apply food marketing and exchange models. 
2. Designing four training workshops on the following topics and offering them to 100 participants:  
3. Introductory concepts: Food security and sovereignty, health and nutrition, leadership 
4. Organic fertilizers 
5. Small-scale production 
6. Marketing 
7. Strengthening the infrastructure of Créalo in the Siloé neighborhood to provide 1,500 packages of basic food products to lactating and pregnant mothers, 30,000 lunch rations to 150 families and building a terrace that can house a nursery for distributing seedlings among the productive initiatives. 

Learnings and Challenges 

The systematization of the experience which began during the project to record learnings and challenges of the process itself generated many new things to learn itself.  

Challenges 

• Lack of electronic devices for people to connect to the training offered. 
• Little knowledge of virtual platforms by the project beneficiaries.  
• Social unrest as a result of the national strike since April of 2021.  
• Lack of spaces of common interest in the neighborhood. 

Learnings about the progress of the project 

• The need to carry out the training workshops in person and face-to-face for small groups of people (between 5 and 10 per session) to reach more people. 
• The importance of families' awareness about food production in their homes after the social unrest due to the national strike since April of 2021. 
•  Identifying which foods are most consumed in homes (tomatoes, coriander, chilis and aromatic herbs), and which foods grow best in the community. 
• The necessity of a community fund to support initiatives contributing to neighborhood development. 

January to June 2021

Building Culture 

Everyone can contribute to strengthen local food systems 

In Siloé, the neighborhood of Cali in Colombia, which has a highly defenseless society and economy, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are devastating and fatal. Additionally, the inhabitants experience national strikes resulting in challenges such as insecurity, violence, and social instability. However, many people, local organizations, and companies are joining together to improve the living conditions of these people. 

FUNDAEC, in collaboration with the Creálo Foundation, trains promoters of community well-being despite the difficulties. They help to distribute groceries to people in the neighborhood who are unable to work and support their families. Mayor's Office and the Archdiocese of Cali supported the foundations to continue providing food for families, so they distribute buckets with seedlings to families that intend to produce food in their own homes. 

The most important aim of the learning and development programs is to create independent people who can build their community on their own. The inhabitants are trained by FUNDAEC programs to be responsible for their lives. They will be encouraged to plant beans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, carrots, paprika, corn, broccoli, and herbs such as basil, coriander, oregano, lippia alba, lemon balm, mint, and parsley to improve their lives. 

Program Objectives and Challenges  

The program has three objectives as well as some challenges to tackle, but the encouraging acceptance by the community members motivated them to train more people. 

“The First Objective is providing financial support to small productive initiatives with seed funds and basic infrastructure, to develop and apply food marketing, and exchange models. The main activities focus on identification of families that would participate in the process, delivery of supplies to the families for establishing productive initiatives, follow-up of each productive initiative, and the establishment of spaces for evaluation and consultation on the project.” 

“The Second Objective is to organize training workshops on the topics of food security and sovereignty, health and nutrition, organic fertilizers, small-scale production, and marketing.” The workshops are often online but due to the difficulties of internet connections or technological device accessibilities, sometimes small groups were invited to gather in person and express their experiences and progress. 

“The Third Objective is strengthening Créalo's infrastructure to provide packages of basic food products to nursing and pregnant mothers, and constructing terraces to shelter plant nurseries to distribute seedlings to the productive initiatives.” 

Just as any other significant program, this program also has its challenges and shortcomings. For example, although families gain adequate knowledge, they have limited or no planting areas which is resolved by financial support and delivery of already planted containers. This solution in turn extends the diversity of the plants grown by each family. Moreover, social disturbances, lack of electronic devices and online platform experiences, and problems with internet connectivity were and are still major hindering factors that need permanent solutions. 

The results are found in adjustments to the initiative and with the financial support of the TwoWings Foundation, the program has developed. TwoWings owes contributors and donors who support programs as this has allowed continuity of learning and training in an urban neighborhood such as Siloé.