current
past
In the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca, Mexico, the degradation of natural resources, particularly soil, has led to a decline in food production within the traditional "milpa" agricultural system, resulting in insufficient food for the local community. The food shortage, compounded by various environmental and economic pressures, has caused youth emigration, depleting the region's labor force. In response, in 2016, the Spanish and Latin American Student Society of McGill University (SLASA) partnered with the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to support two communities in Oaxaca by providing the training and resources they needed to improve their conditions.
As a project leader, I spearheaded the funding application and project implementation. The following year, I led the application process to secure additional funding and conducted monitoring and evaluation of the food security intervention, which was subsequently analyzed in a course I developed at McGill.
Impact
- The photo below illustrates the impact of our intervention on corn production. The corn stalk on the left was grown after the intervention, showing a much thicker and therefore more resilient structure. Additionally, the size of the corn itself increased significantly, highlighting the improvement in crop health and yield.
Location: Cuquila , Oaxaca, México ; Santo Domingo Tonaltepec, Oaxaca, México
Years: 2017, 2018