Karina Madariaga began collecting and selling recyclable materials at a young age to add to her family’s income. In 1999, she and nine others who made a living salvaging recyclables decided to a form a collection center called Oreste Plath which they would manage themselves. Their work consisted of…
Mónica’s path to independence began three years ago when she joined an association of women from the San Lucas Tolimán region, who learned practical skills like weaving in an effort to find income opportunities. Mónica’s husband had abandoned the family, leaving her in debt and with few opportunities for employment.
The average Haitian lives on less than $2 a day, hunger and malnutrition are commonplace—and the January 2010 earthquake made matters worse. But more than 200,000 Haitians have the key to a better future growing in their backyards: the mango tree. Just weeks after the quake,…
Oil palm farmers in Honduras more than doubled the amount of oil they can collect thanks to a partnership between TechnoServe and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program. These small-scale farmers now own an oil processing plant, enabling them to generate income and jobs for their…
Carmela Francisca Sacuj Matzar is a leader among Mayan women in San Andrés Semetabaj, a poor rural community in central Guatemala. As the founder of Asociación Visión Maya Mujeres, a women’s association that produces textiles and cultivates mushrooms, Sacuj is helping 50 women to generate income and improve the…
El Petén has long suffered as one of Guatemala’s poorest areas despite its bounty of natural resources. Two thirds of El Petén’s residents live below the poverty line and half lack sanitary services. Many of the children living in this area are severely malnourished, jeopardizing Guatemala’s future generations. Gladis Rodriguez…
In early 2001, much of El Salvador was devastated by massive landslides. Thousands of already poor farming families in the highlands were left homeless and destitute. Ana Rosa Graf, an architect from San Salvador, joined the rebuilding efforts. But she soon realized that without sustainable livelihoods, people would still struggle…
The Jorge Salazar Cooperative, located in the northern municipality of El Tuma-La Dalia, is a collective of 46 farmers – mostly veterans of Nicaragua’s civil war in the 1980s, which devastated the country’s economy. In an effort to incorporate ex-guerillas back into civilian society, TechnoServe – with the support of…
Peruvian entrepreneurs Jacob Tejada, Juan Guzmán and José Mendoza came up with a way to package cattle feed in long-lasting bags, benefiting both maize farmers and cattle farmers.
Intibucá, in southwestern Honduras, enjoys a favorable climate for farming, yet is one of the country's poorest regions. Most area farmers own less than three acres, but in the past decade, they have improved their lot by planting market crops like cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce, and by organizing a…
