Friendship Bridge (Guatemala)
Since 1998, Friendship Bridge has worked in Guatemala, a war-ravaged country suffering from extreme poverty with severely limited opportunities for women, especially indigenous Maya. Searching for a sustainable solution to poverty reduction, Friendship Bridge developed the Microcredit Plus programme, which uses the levers of financial capital, human capital, and social capital to accelerate gender equality by giving women equal rights to economic resources.
In 2021/2022, the Eurofins Foundation supported the Friendship Bridge Agriculture Credit & Training project.
This programme provides advanced training and tools to small farmers to support their ability to thrive in a sector vital to their local and regional economies. Professional agronomists work with female farmers, both individually and in community groups, teaching techniques to help maintain and improve soil fertility, better manage resources, reduce costs, improve quality, and increase production.
Thanks to the Eurofins Foundation’s support, The Friendship Bridge Women’s Agriculture Credit and Training Programme was able to continue its implementation in the rural areas of Guatemala. It supported 1,780 women through technical training delivered by professional agronomists, tailored to fit each participant’s specific needs considering types of crops, livestock, and their environmental conditions.
Participants also had access to community demonstration plots where they studied advanced production techniques and experimented with higher-value crops before introducing them into their own production activities.
The Eurofins Foundation’ support facilitated the implementation of 19 new field schools and 2,950 technical assistance visits to upgrade production and create better opportunities for the participants and their families.
One participant, Ms Ana Castro Icotoyac, mentions that “Friendship Bridge has helped me to know that I have the right as a woman to be able to participate and take part in society (…) Additionally, it has helped me generate more income by having new planting alternatives and being able to incorporate other activities such as sewing which my daughters are learning.”
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
