Bless our family and our friends, and be with all those in need this holiday season.
Heifer Update for October 2022
I want to join my friends above in congratulating the “Lakeview United Methodist Church” for a job very well done. Thank you. The final numbers of animals relocated around the world are 8 Heifers, 4 Alpaca, 5 Goats, 4 Sheep, 4 Pigs, 15 Hives of Honeybees and 15 Flocks of Chicks. Outstanding! These numbers include matching funds from Heifer International. Then we went right into the “Bees ‘n’ Seeds” Program. This program will run until January 1, 2023. Through the first 15 days of September our donations were 5 Hives of Honeybees and 6 Seed Packages. Here are two more examples of you and Heifer International at work.
Across Guatemala, thousands of little green pods grow from the tall stocks of cardamon plants, one of the world’s most expensive spices. Here, Heifer launched the Carda Forestry Project with an investment of $1.55 million. This program ensures farmers earn a steady and reliable income from cardamon crops. Now these farmers have enough money to feed their hungry children. They have access to safe housing, clean water and much more.
Across Guatemala, thousands of little green pods grow from the tall stocks of cardamon plants, one of the world’s most expensive spices. Here, Heifer launched the Carda Forestry Project with an investment of $1.55 million. This program ensures farmers earn a steady and reliable income from cardamon crops. Now these farmers have enough money to feed their hungry children. They have access to safe housing, clean water and much more.
Alex struggled to make a reliable income from beekeeping. Each beekeeper in his tiny town in Mexico worked alone, and no one made a steady profit.
Then Heifer taught them to join together in a beekeeping cooperative. Alex and his neighbors gained both the expert training on how to manage a hive, and the skills to market their honey to sell. Today, Alex owns the hives used by the 50-person cooperative. Working together and sharing their skills, they help each other earn a steady living thanks to bees. “We help each other and that is money we can save because we don’t need to hire other people,” says Alex.
Heifer Update October 3rd
Today I want to step back to the COVID-19 Pandemic days, particularly how Heifer International responded to the crisis in Ecuador. Rosa Rodriguez, the Country Director for Heifer’s programs in Ecuador. Rosa said “Food Producers are First Responders because they guarantee people’s health by delivering nutritious, healthy and safe foods.” Because markets were closed, Rosa put together the plan called “Future of Food.” Rosa and her team quickly established a safe Farm to Table Delivery Service. Their customers ordered off a menu via smart phones, and delivery of baskets of farm-grown vegetables, beans, quinoa, and other healthy food orders delivered right to people’s homes, by bicycle. What started in Guayaquil, Ecuador traveled to other cities, even as far as Galapagos, an island 600 miles off Ecuador’s coast.
How do we produce more healthy foods? By using the “unBEElievable” Bee. Here are some Fun Facts of the Bee.
Don’t forget to support our latest segment of the LUMM Heifer Project “Bees & Seeds”. Last month produced 10 Hives of Honeybees and 6 Gifts of Garden Seeds.
Thank you for your support.
Heifer Update October 10th
One hive of bees produces nutritious honey which children can eat – and parents can sell at the market to earn income. Not only that, but bees help pollinate crops, increasing harvests – helping families secure a future free from hunger and poverty.
All of that with a single hive of bees. That is why we’ve launched our “Bees ‘N’ Seeds” Campaign to feed hungry children … not just for a single meal, but for the rest of their lives. Honeybees are essential to healthy crops, and their rapid decline threatens global food security.
Your gift “Bees ‘N’ Seeds”
- Increases the global honeybee population to support the environment
- Boosts income through sales of honey, wax, and pollen
- Stimulates growth of the family’s crops through pollination
Let your honeybee donation turn a family’s struggle into a lifetime of opportunity.
Heifer International produces many success stories. I try to reduce them to what I feel are the meaningful points of each story. It always leaves a number of important points out. So, today you can read these articles in full, enjoy!
Heifer Update October 17th
I want you to meet Edith, Lubia, and Clara. These three women are shattering gender stereotypes in a beekeeping co-op, in Chiapas, Mexico. It had always been men who were beekeepers, but these three women are forging their own path. And after seeing Edith, Lubia, and Clara succeed, other women are joining them. Not only have they inspired others, they have also increased the prices they receive for their honey by 290%. We can see the same happening in Guatemala.
The other product that the bees have a hugh effect on is the fruit, nut, and vegetable production.
In Honduras, Aryeri makes delicious chips from their plantain crop.
And we see the bounty around the world. This is what your gift of “Seeds “N” Bees” can provide to poor struggling families, here and worldwide.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Heifer Update October 24th
“Bees ‘N’ Seeds” – How well they go together. Irma Carrión Paz was gifted her grandfather’s farm when she married. He said “It’s productive, that’s what’s going to enable you to eat.” Years later, Paz’s farm is vital to the whole of her Galapagos Island’s Community. Mainland Ecuador had supplied up to 75% of the food needed on Galapagos Island. Covid 19 changed that and required local farmers like Paz to fill in the gaps. With supplies and a greenhouse from Heifer, Paz produces lettuce, peppers, basil, and watermelon which she sells at an open-air market on San Cristobal, the same island where she grows her crops. Paz says “That’s what I consider a sustainable food system: Producing food for my customers and for everyone who lives in and enjoys the Galapagos.”
And in Mexico, Alex struggled to make a living from beekeeping. But Heifer taught him to join a group and put together a co-op. He received expert training in managing a hive, and skills to market honey. Now Alex owns the hives of a 50 person cooperative. They work together, share skills, and help each other earn a steady living. Thanks to bees, “We help each other, save money by not having to hire other people.”, says Alex.
