Puente a la Salud Comunitaria

The Eco-amaranth program promotes the production of amaranth in rural communities through agricultural training, technical assistance, and farmer-to-farmer exchanges. Since 2007, Puente has worked with hundreds of Oaxacan farmers from rural communities to cultivate amaranth using sustainable and agroecological practices. The Eco-Amaranth program presents small-scale farmers with the opportunity to create a healthy food source and to generate additional revenue for their families. The program collaborates with the Healthy Families team to contribute to food sovereignty and to improve family nutrition by promoting amaranth, a native crop rich in nutrients and with economic potential.

Social economy: Farmer families can sell their harvest at a higher profit by organizing micro-enterprises and regional networks with increased access to markets and value-added technology. The program aims to derive both social and economic benefits for participants. The Program Director and staff provide training to micro-enterprises to increase their ability to develop and commercialize food products, based on amaranth. Also, we support local and regional point-of-sales operations to allow enterprises to increase their clients and direct sales.

Healthy Families: Puentes Healthy Families program works with rural communities in Oaxaca to foster a more diverse and nutritious diet for their families and help combat child malnutrition through the consumption of amaranth. Since 2003, Puente has worked with over 12,000 women from more than 80 communities in Oaxaca to prevent health problems and malnutrition through this program. Using a participatory approach, the program works with women from vulnerable populations to address some of the root causes of malnutrition in their communities and to make informed decisions regarding the consumption of amaranth.