Nicaragua

La Semilla Ministries (the SEED)

Sustainable Agriculture Development in Nicaragua

Planting for today and for eternity

Development Strategies For Long-Term Poverty Alleviation

Because of our more than 12 years of experience in rural development in Nicaragua, we want you to

understand the potential of long-term strategies to help eliminate, that's right - ELIMINATE - poverty.

To properly engage small farmers in Nicaragua, each year, in the early weeks of March, we host a

series of seminars at La Semilla, which encourage participants to consider God's purpose for their

lives and the role of agriculture in meeting the financial needs of their families. Once farmers attend

The series of 3 seminars and understand our mutual goals and how we operate as an organization,

They are welcome to participate in the various programs where we teach and unlock potential

through modern, technical agriculture.

Our work in Nicaragua agriculture development is practical, but we are not focused only on

helping to boost yields. YES, it is a part of what we do, but ours is an integrated strategy for holistic

development. We teach in ways that encourage the rural families that we work with to implement

changes in many areas of their lives – personal, family, faith, and community. That leads to a fulfilled

life, a dignified existence. Producers earning more, living lives of integrity, caring for their families and

their communities, and encouraging their children to expect a better future. Do long-terDo m

development strategies work? You bet they do!

La Semilla exists to improve the economic incomes of rural Nicaraguans and their families so that

agriculture can be a stable and secure source of income for the entire year, and for the next generation.

Are there opportunities in Nicaragua? YES! The climate is right. There is plenty of productive and

underutilized land. A ready market. Farmers with local knowledge. We lead where there is no government vision for establishing strategies that would lead to a more stable and robust agricultural economy.

We have been established for 12 years in agriculture initiatives in Nicaragua. Many hours of planning and many dollars of investment in agricultural development are already at work. Our next growing season is always just around the corner. Typically, we see our first rains of the year in the first week of May, and soon after, growers are ready to put some seed in the ground. Our second growing season each year runs from September to January. We’re always investing time and resources in improving agriculture:

- Workshops and courses are offered on pertinent topics like finances, application methods, and personal protection equipment.

- Field days are offered so that producers see and can learn about the latest crop protection products, seed varieties, and growing techniques that could benefit their farms.

-Certified bean, sorghum, corn and rice seed are produced and maintained in our cold storage facility

Hybrid seeds, herbicides, and sacks of fertilizer are sourced at fair prices and available for sale

-Our team of Nicaraguan agronomists have researched and published a current “best practices manual” for beans, corn, sorghum and rice production.

-Numerous farmers have graduated from our prerequisite seminar. Currently over 800 producers have

received training and are eligible to participate in our ag programs. That’s 800 Nicaraguan farmers that now have full access to the services we provide, including credit for farm inputs, technical advice, and a more secure future of providing the funds their families need for daily existence!

LA SEMILLA is making an impact in rural Nicaragua. Yields achieved by the growers benefitting from our technical production programs in beans, for example, is now at 150% of the Nicaraguan national average and often double or triple the existing yields. As growers adopt corn and sorghum into their rotations, yields have been tremendous - more than doubling the national average. DEVELOPMENT is a long-term strategy to help alleviate the effects of poverty. Many growers are shifting their thinking and embracing a brighter future.

Will you consider being generous towards these hard-working farmers! It costs us about $700/family to provide the type of support we offer. We couldn’t do it without YOU!

Explore giving options at:

El Dulce Refugio- Home for the Elderly

The Sweet Refuge

A home for the Nicaraguan elderly, located in the city of Diriamba, Nicaragua. It is operated and managed by the local “Fundacion Casa De Mi Padre” and is considered home for up to 20 elderly Nicaraguan individuals. Each resident receives a clean, loving room, 3 square meals daily, medications, and medical care.

Interesting fact: In Latin American culture, elderly care is normally provided by family members,

but what happens when families are estranged or the elderly are alone and without younger family to

provide care? Well, many of these seniors will end up living on the streets and begging to provide for

their daily needs.

In 2015, we opened the home for the elderly, El Dulce Refugio, to love these seniors with the dignity they deserve. Many of these seniors come to us (through various local social service departments and the local police) in poor physical health, from months or even years living on the streets. We provide a family-like setting full of love and proper care for each resident.

We began the home by renting a house and operating from a downtown location for several years.

In 2016, we purchased a large property just outside Diriamba, already developed with buildings

suitable for our purposes. With some renovation and ongoing maintenance, we now have a beautiful

natural, shady setting for our seniors to enjoy time both indoors and outdoors. Currently, 20 beds are

available to address this critical social need in Nicaragua. Nicaragua has strict guidelines for this type of care facility, and we have met those requirements of professional staff and adequate infrastructure in order to obtain our license to operate. Full-time staff include 2 nurses, 4 auxiliary nurses, a custodian, the cook, the guard/groundskeeper, and an operational director.

Volunteers come to help with the residents with such things as personal grooming, handicrafts, patio

games, and physiotherapy. We try to keep the seniors as actively engaged as possible so that their

physical and mental wellness can be maintained as well as possible. Our cost of care is about $600/resident each month, and although there is a small stipend (5% of budget) that comes from Nicaraguan Social Services, the bulk of the budget is borne through donations. Fund-raising events are held locally throughout the Diriamba area to help raise funds by way of “Diaper Drives”, garage sales, and coin collection boxes in collaborating businesses.

It’s also our privilege as the broader community to participate! Will you consider helping with the

costs? We need people with compassionate, generous hearts to help us meet our budget each month.

Salaries, groceries, and medicines have their costs, and we don’t want to turn away any deserving

individuals. Our short-term goal is to raise sufficient monthly giving so we can fill each of the 20 beds.

Our long-term goal is further renovation and operating budget to expand to 26 beds.

When sitting with the residents and listening to their stories and to their testimonies, many recount

that what they experience each day at El Dulce Refugio is the strongest sense of family they have

enjoyed in their lives!

Child Development Centre

The community of San Carlos, Carazo needs your help!

The Child Development Center “Casa de Mi Papito” is a fully integrated plan to improve the

nutrition, education, health, and the futures of the children of San Carlos, Carazo, Nicaragua.

We began a relationship with a local organization, Fundacion Casa De Mi Padre, in 2013 when

We met the highly motivated and genuinely loving couple who are the leaders – Juan & Ximena.

They have a strong vision of meeting local needs and helping the poor, and have identified one

community – San Carlos – as having a particularly acute need. School grades and learning were

being hampered by poor family dynamics and by malnutrition amongst the children. When

measured according to World Health standards, a whopping 85% of the children were

malnourished, leading to poor school performance. We wanted to help make a change.

To achieve this, a large building has been constructed and staff have been hired. Children are fed

a lunch of 800 calories, 5 days a week, to combat the malnutrition that is common in this farming

community. Medical visits and attention as needed are arranged every quarter. Training

and goal setting around healthy family structures, family planning, home/personal hygiene, and

healthy living choices are offered to the adults as well as the children of San Carlos. As many as

140 children are fed each day, and up to 90 students per day are receiving tutoring to help them

with their schoolwork.

Through our local partners, Casa de Mi Padre, we supply the groceries, the kitchen staff, three

teachers, and the complete facility for this child development initiative that inspires HOPE!

Casa de Mi Padre, under the direction of Juan & Ximena Vado, coordinates all activities of the

Center. In 2018, a computer lab was added to teach basic computing skills to the adolescents, a

marketable job skill that will help them dream and achieve a better future.

Thanks for your consideration of support for this worthwhile project. It takes many dedicated

partners to keep the budget in the black. We have some faithful supporters, but if this

description has left you with doubts or questions on how you can be involved – please ask! –

We would be happy to provide more details.

The poverty that we encounter here in Carazo, Nicaragua, is of a material nature. Families get by

with very little. The Center and its programs are designed to inspire hope in their futures!

There is so much more that I could tell you about San Carlos, the many volunteers that help out

there, our goal of self-sustaining ministry, and the steps we have taken so far in that regard. Be

sure to ask us about the coffee plantation that we manage in San Carlos, that generates great

fresh coffee to help towards budget costs.

Roberto & Leslee Oudman

Serving Nicaragua with EMPOWER GLOBAL

www.empowerglobal.ca/donate-now