Sponsor a Family, Change Lives! Meet Ciriaco Olmos!

Semilla Nueva has just introduced it's newest, most intimate way to directly connect you with the farmers and families we work with. The membership program allows you to be part of a truly sustainable movement that helps a family learn and implement life-changing agricultural techniques.

For $20 a month, sponsorship helps farmers receive one on one training by Semilla Nueva staff, access new kinds of seed, and participate in our sustainable agriculture groups.Your sponsorship will help a family up to
double their income, protect their soils for future generations, improve their diet with more nutritious foods, and finally pass the gift on to other families in their community. You can learn more about the membership campaign on our website.


Today, we would like to introduce Ciriaco Olmos, one of the 80 farmers and families that needs sponsorship.

Meet Ciriaco Olmos:

Ciriaco and his son.

Ciriaco has known difficulty during most of his 54 years of life. Ciriaco grew up poor in the northern region of Quiche, often begging for food with his mother and sisters. No stranger to hunger, Ciriaco promised himself that one day he would farm his own land, producing enough food to feed his family. With no formal education and with a large family to provide for, he has had to work hard to provide the basic necessities.

In his early twenties, Ciriaco participated in the peaceful land reform marches of 1986. He marched alongside 16,000 other displaced and landless peasants to the national palace in Guatemala City. The peaceful resistance, the march, and the fasting all finally caught the attention of the government. Along with his companions, Ciriaco finally gained the rights to own and farm his own land.

 

Ciriaco now grows corn, sesame, jalapenos, and cashews on his five acre plot in Willywood. He is an enthusiastic participant in Semilla Nueva meetings and workshops, eager to put the educational principles into practice on his own land. Ciriaco has been excited to see the tangible results of this work: by recycling organic material through the practice known as conservation tillage, he has seen the return of some native herbs – like iron-rich yerba mora – that can supplement his family’s diet or be sold in the local market. He has also been able to cut his costs and has more money to reinvest in his farm. Ciriaco has tried a number of other Semilla Nueva technologies, and most importantly, he has been the program's biggest advocate. He has helped over a dozen members of his community learn about his experiences and begin experimenting on their own.

Among the other farmers in his town, Ciriaco is an important role model and an ambassador of Semilla Nueva. He is a community leader, family man and a personal friend to the Semilla Nueva staff.

Your sponsorship enables us to continue working with Ciriaco, and together make an impact in his community.