Peru: Community gardens help increase agricultural knowledge and food security

A project in Peru is creating community gardens, helping women farmers grow crops that are supporting themselves and their families, as well as boosting the region’s environmental health.

The Cuso International-supported Mujeres Unidas por la Seguridad Alimentaria y Ambiental (MUSA)/Women United for Food and Environmental Security project works across nine districts within the Lima area with municipalities, the National Agrarian University La Molina, and local organizations, including Promoción del Desarrollo Sostenible (IPES).

Supporting approximately 350 farmers the project provides training in agriculture, a mentorship component, food security, and nutrition, along with promoting knowledge exchange among women.

As part of the MUSA project, Cuso International volunteers helped build 204 gardens.

For Dorotea Escalante Cahuana, a farmer with an orchard in Nuevo Oeste, the urban garden has helped create connections with other farmers in the community.

“We are a group, we are all very happy, we enjoy, we share, we have become a family. We thank IPES for what we have, what we know, and thank them for all the support and help they have given us,” she said.

“We have learned a lot from them, and they have also learned from us, seeing how we don’t shy away from any other obstacle that comes in the water, bugs and all that. And we make our own insecticides from the same plant that grows.”

MUSA is part of Cuso International’s Sharing Canadian Expertise for Inclusive Development and Gender Equality (SHARE) program. Launched in 2020 and funded by Global Affairs Canada, the project helps improve the economic and/or social well-being of marginalized and vulnerable people.

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