Panamá Self Sustainable Farms Project
South Perth Rotaractor Simone Collins met Alvaro Ortega from the Rotaract Club of Panamá through the internet in early 2003; they started chatting daily, and through their friendship a sister-club agreement between the two clubs was born.
The Rotaract Club of Panamá, with a current membership of 14, is one for aiming high and taking on ambitious projects. One such project is their annual "Gira Médica", a medical tour they organise themselves where they accompany volunteer doctors, dentists, and vets, along with donated medicines, vaccines, clothes, food, and school equipment to a different poor rural community every year, which they identify as needing help in advance. While on one of their annual medical tours, they realised that there was more they could do to help some of these people, and the idea for their biggest and most ambitious project yet was born.
The idea: small self-sustainable farms, where not only would the villages have a supply of food they grow themselves, but they could also earn a living from sales of extra produce.
Originally, they had found a Rotary Club in the USA to partner them in a Matching Grant so they could receive the funding they needed to turn this idea into a reality. But the Rotary Club later pulled out, and a distraught Alvaro contacted Simone at the beginning of 2004 asking if she knew any clubs that could help instead. The Rotaract Club of South Perth immediately agreed to provide some of the funds, which the Rotary Club of Mill Point agreed to match... and another West Australian District, 9450, was looking for a good project to use its spare funds for... and the dream of the Panamá club was now able to be realised, as a Matching Grant to the tune of some US$32,000 was approved by Rotary International in 2005.
Between the budget being drawn up in 2005 and the start of the project in April 2006, petrol prices have soared, so the funding received by the Panama Club no longer covers the full cost of the project. We raised a further $975 (approximately US$730) for the project at our "The Da Vinci Code" movie night in May 2006.
Delivery of the Construction Materials - April 2006
In parallel with their 2006 Medical Tour, the Rotaract Club of Panamá began it's biggest and most ambitious project in the 29 years of its existence: the creation of 5 self-sustainable farms in poor areas that are among the most difficult to access in the whole country.
On Saturday the 1st of April, the Rotaract Club of Panamá delivered the construction materials for 2 farms in the Coclé province, to "Las Huacas" (the village which was the recipient of the medical services this year) and "Luisa", both of which are 4 hours from Panamá City.
On Sunday the 2nd of April, they delivered the construction materials for two more farms, to "Los Valles de Cañazas" and "Los Guarumos" in the Veraguas province, 4 hours from the communities visited the previous day. All four of these villages are in mountainous areas, making transport very difficult.
It was a huge challenge for one weekend, where only the long hours of preparation beforehand could make it possible to achieve all the logistical functions perfectly, thus bringing the seed of hope to dozens of families who have with these farms a great opportunity to improve their quality of life and to think of a better future. Special mention goes to the girls of the Rotaract Club of Panam´ who worked as hard as the boys in carrying heavy steel posts and sheets to and from the vehicles.
Delivery of the Seeds, Tools & Fertilisers - June 2006
On the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June, Panama Rotaractors Giovanna, Carlos, Esther, Ioana, Jeannette and Alvaro delivered the materials for the construction of the animal shelters of for the self-sustainable farm of the community of Llanas Arriba in the province of Herrera. This was the last of the the five communities that still needed to receive the materials in order to start the construction of the shelters for the chickens, rabbits and pigs.
In addition to this, the seeds, tools and fertilizers for the orchards were distributed to all 5 villages - "Huacas" and "Luisa" in the Coclé province, "Los Guarumos" y "Los Valles" in the Veraguas province, and "Llanas Arriba" in the province of Herrera - so that planting could being this month.
This time is the rainy season in Panama. These communities are difficult to access at the best of times, but with the rains, they are even harder to access, with many of the roads damaged.
Villager Training Sessions in Coclé - July 2006
On July 15th, our sister club made another trek out to the Luisa and Huacas communities in the Coclé province, to provide training in the areas of teamwork, managing money, inventory control, and equitable distribution of goods, among other things.
They report that it is wonderful to see that construction of the cages for the chickens and rabbits has already begun, and that the seeds have started to sprout. The farms are well on their way to beginning official operation in August!
The Chickens Arrive! - August 2006
On the weekend of the 5th & 6th of August, members of the Rotaract Club of Panama completed a supervisory visit and delivery of chicks and tools to 4 of the 5 communities benefiting from the Self-Sustainable Farms Project which is in full swing of productivity. Already 3 months after starting the project, they are almost ready to harvest the first orchards. During this visit, the Rotaractors also provided training to the villagers on the importance and effectiveness of working in a team.
The Final Farm is Initiated - October 2006
On Sunday 15th of October, the Rotaract Club of Panama started the fifth and final self sustainable farm, in the Llanas Arriba community in Herrera province.
During this visit, they took the first group of chicks, plus their feed, medicines and feeding equipment. They also provided some training to the members of the community.
All five self-sustainable farms are now operational!
Last updated on Monday 30th of June 2008 by Ian Ball © copyright 2000 - 2010 Rotaract Club of South Perth
Rotaract is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious international professional development and volunteer service organisation of students and young professionals aged between 18 and 30. The Rotaract Club of South Perth, District 9470, Western Australia, is sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Perth-Burswood. ~~ May Peace Prevail on Earth! ~~
