Mobilizing for a Better Community
Cristóbal learned about the many offerings of local partner Centro Inter Eclesial de Estudios Tecnologicos y Sociales (CIEETS) from a neighbor. Since then, all the training he’s received has made him busier, more successful as a farmer and more involved in community leadership and development.
He lives with his wife and daughter on a tiny plot of rented land – less than an acre – where they focus mainly on growing staple crops and keeping a vegetable garden. Through CIEETS he’s participated in the hands-on Farmer Field School (FFS), joined a local savings and lending group, and studied applying Biblical principles to community development and leadership. He’s a member and vice-director of an area cooperative that collects the coffee and staple grains of local growers for sale.
Cristóbal says, “The FFS gives me the opportunity to grow as a person, to learn new things, and to practice an agriculture more suited to the times we live in. Analyzing planting calendars, for example, is critical to our success in producing crops. We’ve received plantain, cassava, and corn seedlings as a way to diversify our farms and make us less susceptible to losing everything in the case of a disaster. And I’ve been involved in a beekeeping initiative.”
As a member of his community, he hopes to be useful to others, to encourage neighbors to mobilize for community betterment, to support leaders in seeking solutions to challenges and managing the needs of the community and the cooperative.
“CIEETS is contributing to our development in a fundamental way, both individually and communally,” says Cristóbal.
Nicaragua Matagalpa Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partner Centro Inter Eclesial de Estudios Tecnologicos y Sociales (CIEETS)