Another community in Peru is taking big steps toward lasting change thanks to their own hard work and the support of Centro Esperanza, Heart-Links and you, our community of donors. Women are leading the way in this new project in the rural community of Coloche, in Lambayeque. They are learning to raise guinea pigs and make pastries for the local market to contribute to their family incomes and make better lives for themselves and their children.
A lot has happened since this project started four months ago.
The 21 families began by forming an association and electing five women and one man to the board. A woman was elected chair.
Then they built pens for their guinea pigs and planted alfalfa to feed them. They also learned to make compost from the agricultural waste.
As part of their learning, they attended workshops on guinea pig health and hygiene, proper feeding, and reproduction. They also learned about bookkeeping.
Pastry making drew even more interest, with seven teenagers joining their moms to learn to make cakes and turnovers. Some of the women plant to take what they’ve learned to started home-based microbusinesses.
There is one more thing that is not so easy to measure. The families feel united as a community and committed to building a better future together.
