7/31/2019 Berriz Sisters Jason Searing
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The work of the Berriz sisters
From October 2011 to June 2012, Jason Searing (right) served as
a
volunteer worker on a number of projects in the Cosigina
Peninsula in
the north-west of Nicaragua. He was mainly involved in
environmentalprojects, but whilst there he visited a number of
educational projects
managed by our partners, the Berriz Sisters in the town of El
Viejo. These
are projects funded, at least in part, by the Santa Rosa Fund.
He wrote
the following account of an event organised by the Sisters
specifically
by Sister Abdontxufor several rural communities in the area, and
we
think it will give our readers an idea of the wide range of work
carried out by our partner
organisation, the Berriz Sisters.
December 2011
The Centro Catequstico [which houses the Berriz Sisters]
celebrated the year end with areunion on 13
thDecember, 2011. The event highlighted the wealth of projects
the
organisation currently undertakes and continues to promote with
rural communities including
Women Against Violence, drinking water projects, the use of
organic and sustainable
farming techniques and Taking Care of the Environment, all in
the Cosigina Peninsula of
north-west Nicaragua.
The 50 strong meeting gave a wonderful opportunity for
participating groups to discuss the
various recent achievements and environmental issues, as well as
recognising the hard work
that women at home carry out on a daily basis. One of the
subjects meant exploring
overconsumption while another looked at the problems of chemical
fertilisers.
Sister Abdontxu (shown below), who has been a
leader in many projects in the area, facilitated the
meeting and promoted the successes of the
groups. Achievements include an increase in the
amount and quality of crops which are being
produced, although unfortunately market prices
have remained low. In terms of animal farming,
those who have been rearing pigs have had great
success in the sale, which has provided an
increased income. Micro-loans have been
provided by the organisation to helpcommunities in the
collective. Understanding of
the procedures was realised through some
powerful role plays and reassured the
communities that their combined efforts have been
worthwhile.
A major problem in 2011 was the heavy rainfall which affected
crop production in some
areas. Rice growers noticed that using a particular strain of
rice gives difficulty pollinating
during the rainy season, although that can be changed for next
year. Rice farmers also saw
storage as a current problem. Without storage they have to sell
in a saturated market for a low
price. However the use of silos (rice storage containers) would
mean they could wait to sell
the rice when the demand becomes greater. Some communities have
been physically isolated
