Tierralgre A.C. is committed to promoting the health and economic prosperity of our local communities through a variety of outreach initiatives. Family well being is central to these efforts and access to sufficent food supply is a priority. According to Mexico’s 2016 National Survey of Health and Nutrition, nearly 70% of households are classified in one of three categories of food insecurity. Instead of simply making food more available, combating food insecurity requires addressing the causes and contributors to poverty for low-income families who need access to nutritionally adequate, safe foods. We address such needs by implementing the following initiatives.

School Gardens & Nutrional Outreach Program. As there exist a notable correlation between food insecurity and low education levels, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has promoted school gardens in an effort to foster early education about food and nutrition as well as to provide fruits and vegetables to students and their families. In response to such needs, Tierralgre provides outreach support in collaboration with rural extension programs, most notably the Special Program for Food Security (abbreviated as PESA), which aims to develop family agriculture in marginalized communities while addressing nutritional education and by providing access to available resources. Our organization, in collaboration with the Capacha Center, also collaborates with non-profit associations, called Fundaciones Produce, to align our efforts with exisitng services.

Our combined programs offer resources and support services for small scale home gardening at local residences. Outreach staff conduct site visits to homes to aid in the establishment of functional gardens in consultation with local ejidos. Additional nutritional outreach also seeks to improve community health literacy by offering technical support to acquire federal and state grants for supplemental foods and health care referrals. Staff and volunteers provide on site nutrition education for low-income pregnant, women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk. Outreach teams offer the latest nutrition guidelines and present information on available governmental assistance to promote optimal family health and well-being.

Economic Investment in Local Communities.  Tierralgre further supports agricultural development on a broader scale at the Capacha Center’s ranch which produces a variety of unique farm products. Our small scale farming operations and infrastructure not only to provide building trades & argicultural workforce development for local community members, but also help locals to establish their own businesses. For example, the orchard and gardens on the Capacha ranch produces surplus food to create micro-businesses, providing produce for the sale of fruits and vegetables, jams, jellies, honey, and health tonics. In this way, we can support local, organic agriculture and promote permaculture practices alongside the development of small businesses, thereby offering a model for others to follow. Under this program, our partnership with Capacha Center makes funds available through community-based lenders (Microlender Intermediaries) which, in turn, make loans to eligible borrowers in amounts up to a maximum of $5,000.

Community Emergency Rapid Response. In an era of climate driven catastrophic events, community support has never been more needed along a coast increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes, landslides, flooding and wildfire threat. Tierralgre has responded to these formidable challenges by offering funds to local families and voluteer support when needed. For instance, during the Hurricane season of 2022, when many of the homes in Arroyo Secco were flooded, Tierralgre was there to help. As the flood waters subsided, our team and community volunteers responded quickly to restore homes and help re-establish community infrastructure. This included the “mattress brigade” where our organization donated new beds and mattresses to flooded homes.

For more information, please check out this Government site about the Produce Foundation.