Success in Overcoming Barriers to Education in San Andres Ceballos
ProCrea Foundation identified a significant problem in the community of San Andres Ceballos, located in the municipality of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Sacatepéquez: many boys and girls lacked the necessary documents to attend the elementary public school. This issue was a significant barrier to their education and future opportunities.
Over a year, a collective effort was made to resolve this issue. The required documents were not just generated, but successfully so, allowing the children to be enrolled in public school. Today, they continue to attend and benefit from their education, a testament to our shared commitment and dedication.
Additionally, we are deeply grateful for the ongoing support and educational reinforcement provided by the Semillas de Éxito (Seeds of Success) school staff, especially Sabina Perez and her husband David, who focuses on organic food production and environmental programs. Their contribution has been invaluable in our collective efforts to overcome educational barriers.
Despite the unforeseen challenge of the pandemic, which unfortunately led to the closure of the Semillas de Éxito (Seeds of Success) school, ProCrea Foundation remained steadfast in its primary objective: to enable children to access education and improve their prospects. This resilience is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the community.
Education: Escuela Semillas de Exito (Seeds of Success):
The school aims to provide children a quality education to reinforce their current level, and helps to ensure their success in the next levels of education.
Currently, classes are being held in the house of the director of the education program and take place four days a week from 2-6pm.
The project has property where a new school will be built in the near future and will allow us to have a full time program.
We started this project in April 2015, and today we have 22 children attending formal educational activities.
In addition to classes, children also receive training in making bracelets, necklaces, and other crafts which will be on sale through our website and planned monthly events.
Food Production: Production of Organic Chickens and Eggs
The project aims to produce organic food that will improve our children’s and their families’ diets.
In the pilot project at the Procrea headquarters in San Andres, we have corrals and free-range areas for the production and maintenance of broilers and laying hens for meat and eggs.
The difference in our project is based on the food that we provide for the chickens.
The system consists of a balanced diet of green leafy vegetable matter, sprouted grains, and fermented seeds and grains.
The sprouting and fermenting processes greatly increase the mass and nutrient availability for completely organic meat and egg production.
The system is being implemented in each of the homes of the children from our school to help to provide adequate food and quality dietary protein.
As the number of families increases in the medium term, the production of meat and eggs will be surplus.
This will allow us to organize sales activities for organic products to generate income for the families and our organization.
Environmental: Energy Saving Stoves The Procrea Artisan Stoves
The energy-saving stove project captured our attention several years ago.
After many hours of research and building numerous prototypes for ourselves and other families in the area, we have found the right combination of form, function, price point, and (most importantly) acceptance in the community.
In Guatemala, many women and mothers still cook on an open fire, even in indoor kitchen areas. We are very aware of the numerous problems presented by this situation, including health and safety issues like indoor air pollution, smoke inhalation, and children eating or playing around an open fire in a small enclosed space.
Our focus has always been on having a positive impact on the environment and the health of its users.
The Procrea stoves provide families an attractive, cost-effective, fuel-efficient, clean-burning, and user-friendly cooking tool. The design principles are based on the work of some of the great pioneers of stove making.
The construction materials are abundant, available locally, and very inexpensive. The type of construction is durable, long-lasting, super-insulating, and easily tolerates the heavy-duty, high-temperature requirements of a wood-burning stove.
The stove could be built by almost anyone with a basic knowledge of masonry. The clay bricks are by far the best insulators for this high-temperature application. Only the ironwork is specialized and a bit costly.
The rocket stove design provides ideal airflow and increases fuel efficiency by at least 50-70% compared to traditional cooking methods.
The small firebox and cast iron plancha capture much more available heat, and any residual exhaust gasses are vented out and away through the chimney.
The Procrea Aritsan Stoves are available in three different models to meet the individual needs of the end users.
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Email: info@procrea.org
Call Us: +(502) 7791 0205