Give a little piece of peace for Christmas

What do we all want as our holiday gift this year? Peace on Earth. Many agree that it will be impossible to win the “war on terrorism” unless we can do more to reduce global poverty and inequity. Of the world’s 6 billion people,

1 billion possess 80% of the wealth
3 billion live on less than $2 a day

Making a contribution to Co-partners as a holiday gift is a move toward a more equitable world. If you know someone who would like to receive a peace gift, rather than some more stuff, Co-partners can help. For contributions of $50 or more, specified as a “peace gift”, Co-partners will send a notice of your gift accompanied by a colorful, made in El Salvador, wooden tree ornament. Shaped like a dove, the ornament measures 2 ½ inches on each side. For delivery by Christmas, please order your peace doves before December 15.

Skill Share 2004

Co-partners’ volunteer program is growing and drawing interest from prospective volunteers. Last February four women went to Guatemala to evaluate the success of the sheep-raising program. In June two women spent a week in Ilobasco consulting with La Nueva Esperanza and refurbishing the training center.

Volunteers need to have a little Spanish, perhaps a semester, and be able to pay their own expenses. This year volunteers to both projects will include donated computers in their luggage and help with the installation of the computers. The Guatemala trip is scheduled for February and the El Salvador trip for June. If you’re interested, please call or write.

How best to Help? Sheep, chickens, or credit?

Development professionals have been struggling for over half a century to identify the best ways to help individuals, communities and countries move out of poverty. Every country and every community is different and, although some principles for good development, such as participation, are clear, there are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers. During the last three years Co-partners has been very much a part of this search, in trying to help Mayan women in Chichicastenango establish viable income-producing activities.

The collaboration began when Catalina Ventura, a university-trained indigenous woman and a volunteer supporter of a Mayan women’s organization, met Archer Heinzen while she was consulting on an education project in Quiche, Guatemala. When Catalina learned that Archer was a volunteer with a US organization dedicated to assisting campesino women, Catalina wrote a proposal for a sheep husbandry project. Twenty sheep were distributed among five women with the expectation that the female sheep would give birth to as many lambs that could be given to other women to begin other flocks. The sheep would eventually serve as sources of both food and income. When the sheep did not reproduce as expected during the first year of the project, Co-partners recruited a volunteer expert, Rolly Thompson, to visit and evaluate the project. Rolly concluded that there was not sufficient, easily accessible pasture for the project to be successful.

Not to be deterred in their quest for increased income, the group proposed an experimental chicken project to compare the earning potential of egg-laying hens with chickens for slaughter. The women provided the materials and manual labor for constructing chicken coops and paid for half of the needed commercial feed. Funds from dissolving the sheep project were used to buy chickens and half of the feed.

The egg laying demonstration project showed more profit potential than fattening chickens. During the five months between December and April of 2003, fifty chickens produced 7,500 eggs that sold for an average of Q0.48 or a total of Q3, 445.80 quetzales or approximately US$450. After the cost of feed and transportation, there was a small profit. The Guatemalan women consider the results of this chicken project experiment a success and they intend to expand it to more members.

The group is also trying another approach to business development—micro lending. With the income from the sale of the lambs and fattened chickens, a micro lending fund of Q 5,102 quetzales was established to make loans of Q600 (less than $100 dollars) to seven of forty ASODEMN women. Some of the women are raising free-range chickens, while two are selling in the central market, one selling flowers and the other food. In February, Co-partners volunteers and ASODEMN members will evaluate the mico lending activity and determine if this is the best approach for Co-partners collaboration.

Students using donated computers in El Salvador.

Computers for Development

Co-partners recently received a generous donation of 10 Pentium II computers from Westat, an employee-owned research firm, located in Rockville, Maryland, that provides research and evaluation services to federal agencies in health and education. During an upgrade of its computer systems, Westat made used equipment available to charitable organizations, like Co-partners. On August 26, 2003, Board members Julia Gonzalez, Michelle Schuster, and Claire Schuster retrieved 10 sets of color monitors, keyboards, and central processing units equipped with Windows 95 operating systems. Co-partners is grateful to everyone at Westat who made this contribution possible

Co-partners of Campesinas, Board of Directors

Archer Heinzen, Chairperson

Michelle Schuster, Secretary

Jim Heinzen, Treasurer

Donna Breslin

Julia González

Jeannette Rodríguez

Claire Schuster

El Salvador Volunteers

Gloria Martel

Mario Martel

Guatemala Volunteers

Catalina Ventura

Tomasa Guarcas Sis

La Nueva Esperanza, Board of Directors

Rosa Flores, President

Elisa Mercado, Vice-President

María Gloribel Flores, Secretary.

María Eduvina Peña, Treasurer

ASODEMN,Board of Directors

Ana Suar, President

Josefa Larios, Secretary,

Candelaria Ignatio, Treasurer