The Magtel Foundation is working on a project to improve water management and to increase agricultural production in Peru’s Cedropampa community. The aim of this initiative is to raise the income of 50 families in the community, currently in extreme poverty, by promoting eco-friendly agriculture and associativism, and improving product commercialization.

The project was launched last December to create a new irrigation system that includes installing an artificial water storage well and building irrigation canals on the communal land. It will also involve working with Cedropampa residents on how to use and maintain this new infrastructure, along with agricultural training.

Additional plans include encouraging locals to plant and restore traditional crops, such as native potato varieties, by using natural compost to improve soil fertility. Thanks to this project, Cedropampa residents will be able to harvest twice yearly as opposed to only once per year.

With this initiative, the Magtel Foundation strives to implement sustainable and environmentally friendly practices that support the socioeconomic development of this community, one of the poorest in the nation. In this sense, the project works on promoting associativism, women’s empowerment and a stronger commercialization network that will help farmers receive fair prices for their products.

Cedropampa community

This community belongs to the Salcabamba district and is located between the Western and Eastern Ranges of the Andes Mountains, in Peru’s central region. According to the latest census, it is made up of 50 families with limited resources and without access to basic services such as a public water system. However, Cedropampa has a significant amount of water resources and extensive farmland for agriculture.

The project will assist these families, with a special focus on women and girls in light of the discrimination they frequently face. For its execution, the project has a team of professionals who speak Quechua, the residents’ mother tongue, making it easier to communicate and respect the cultural diversity.

Participating entities

The initiative is funded by the Cordoba Provincial Council and backed by the Magtel Foundation, which provides the technical consulting needed to manage and execute the project, along with the experience obtained in similar water cycle management projects. The local counterparts in Peru include the Proyecto Solidario por la Infancia and the Salcabamba municipality as the local partner to which Cedropampa residents belong.

A participatory project

The project’s design has had a strong participatory nature because it resulted from a preliminary analysis performed by the entities involved, in which Cedropampa’s residents expressed their needs and proposed solutions. The main issues it aims to address are the limited resources among families, the minimal involvement of women in the community’s local development and the insufficient access to water for irrigation purposes.

This project is an extension of the work started in 2016 in Cedropampa, also in conjunction with the Cordoba Provincial Council. That project made it possible to create an Irrigation Committee and train 30 mothers. The second phase aimed at improving the irrigation, production and commercialization systems remained pending, although it is currently underway.

La entrada The Magtel Foundation fosters eco-friendly agriculture among the Cedropampa (Peru) community to boost its socioeconomic development se publicó primero en Fundación Magtel.

The Magtel Foundation is participating in a project to improve the crop systems used in Peru’s Cedropampa community. The aim is to provide 15 families with the necessary equipment and training to install a sprinkler irrigation system in their small agricultural operations.

Thanks to this initiative, Cedropampa residents will be able to increase production by harvesting twice yearly as opposed to only once per year. This will enable members to earn more money, thereby lowering the social exclusion levels of this village, one of the poorest in the Andean nation.

The planned actions are aligned with the community’s traditional practices and the Andean world view promoted by the harmonious and positive relationship between nature, humans and Mother Earth. As part of this project, efforts are made to train farmers, use natural compost and restore traditional crops.

Additionally, the “Cedropampa Irrigation Committee” was created by the community’s Quechua women. This community organization is backed by the Salcabamba municipality. Female participants are receiving training and technical assistance on how to manage and maintain the irrigation systems, as well as on the efficient use of water. This strengthens the social and active presence of women in rural areas along with their role in local governance, and it also helps reduce gender inequality.

Cedropampa community

Cedropampa belongs to the Salcabamba district and is located between the Western and Eastern Ranges of the Andes Mountains, in Peru’s central region. According to the 2007 census, this village is made up of approximately 100 families with limited resources and without access to basic services such as a public water system. However, Cedropampa has a significant amount of water resources and extensive farmland for agriculture that require a project of this type to optimize their use.

The project gave priority to 15 indigenous families, with a special focus on women and girls in light of the discrimination they frequently face. Additionally, there was always a team of professionals who speak Quechua, the residents’ mother tongue, making it easier to communicate and respect the cultural diversity.

Participating entities

The project to improve shared water use is the result of efforts by the Posadas City Government and the Magtel Foundation. The local partners in Peru are the Proyecto Solidario por la Infancia and the Salcabamba municipality to which Cedropampa residents belong. Funding is provided by the Cordoba Provincial Council as part of its 2016 call for International Cooperation for Development.

The Magtel Foundation provides the technical consulting needed for the project’s management and execution, along with the experience obtained by its parent company, Magtel, in similar water cycle management projects.

Preliminary analysis

The joint effort of the Spanish and Peruvian entities resulted in a preliminary analysis of the situation. The main issues identified were the limited resources among families, the minimal involvement of women in the community’s local development and the insufficient access to water for irrigation purposes.

Using this analysis, a project was designed that would address these needs, taking into consideration the proposals received from the Salcabamba community, which was actively involved in the project, and from the participating public and private institutions.

La entrada The Magtel Foundation participates in a project to improve the crop and irrigation systems for the Cedropampa community in Peru se publicó primero en Fundación Magtel.

The results of this project, which is financed by the Seville City Government, were presented at the Cooperation Meeting for Non-Volunteers held in Hogar Virgen de los Reyes

The Magtel Foundation has teamed up with the Peru Solidarity Project to carry out the initiative “Support, prevention and risk mitigation in Andean communities affected by strong rainfall in Cuenca (Peru).” The main goal of this project is to provide 50 families living in extreme poverty with guidelines and basic infrastructures that will enable them to face natural disasters more safely.

The results of this initiative, which is backed and financed by the Seville City Government, were presented at the Cooperation Meeting for Non-Volunteers held in Hogar Virgen de los Reyes. The event was attended by the Director of the Seville City Council’s Cooperation Service, Macarena Smith, and the Project Coordinator, Rocío Ciero.

Aid for more than 180 people

The Cuenca region is frequently affected by high levels of rainfall that cause flooding and landslides with serious consequences for the community. In fact, local homes, small agricultural operations and the nearby school were seriously damaged by a recent Cuenca landslide. This is in addition to the emotional damage to the more than 180 members of these communities. All of these factors contributed towards putting into motion this humanitarian initiative.

To help alleviate the situation, the project focused on two aspects. The first was to teach families techniques for preventing, preparing for and effectively responding to natural disasters with the aim of improving the safety, resilience and sustainability of these communities. This involved psychological therapy and emotional recovery initiatives, particularly for children, following the latest natural disasters in the region. There were also two early response simulations that made it possible to put into practice the knowledge acquired.

The second line of work focused on building infrastructures and utilities that would restore basic living conditions for the families participating in the project. The measures implemented include installing an artificial well that enables locals to store rainwater that can later be used for crop irrigation during periods of drought. Seeds and organic compost have been provided to 50 female heads of household to help restore their agricultural fields, which were seriously damaged and even destroyed by rain.

Other initiatives include building 50 eco-friendly greenhouses (each measuring 86 ft² / 8 m²) to help families supply their own food and sustain themselves, as well as 50 livestock modules to raise guinea pigs and chickens in stables adapted to the Andean culture.

Cuenca district

The Cuenca community is located in the Huancavelica province, in the heart of Peru’s South-Central Range and approximately 9,840 feet (3,000 meters) above sea level. It has a population of 392 residents, mostly women and children with limited resources. In fact, at least 50% are malnourished and forced to begin working at an early age, resulting in elevated school dropout rates. The main economic activity primarily consists of livestock and subsistence agriculture, which must be restored so families may support themselves.

To carry out the project, 50 Quechua families were selected—for a total of 188 people (49 boys, 41 girls, 48 men and 50 women)—and work was done alongside 10 local authorities and 6 civil defense entities.  Additionally, there was always a team of professionals who speak Quechua, the residents’ mother tongue, making it easier to communicate and respect the cultural diversity.

Participating entities

The “Support, prevention and risk mitigation in Andean communities affected by high rainfall in Cuenca (Peru)” project is the result of a partnership between the Magtel Foundation and the Proyecto Solidario por la Infancia as its local counterpart in Peru, with funding from the Seville City Government (Office of Equality, Youth and Relations with the University Community for Development Cooperation).

The Magtel Foundation provides technical consulting and experience from its parent company, Magtel, which has completed water cycle management projects. For this initiative, in addition to coordinating the project, it has also provided an engineer with experience in technology, geomembranes, wells and greenhouses, who has ensured the correct technical execution.

La entrada The Magtel Foundation and the Peru Solidarity Project train 50 families from Peru’s Cuenca district on what to do in the event of a natural disaster se publicó primero en Fundación Magtel.