Project Launch:

Nearly every family in Buena Vista in Northern Peru is supported through farming. The soil is poor; pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers are used to increase production. Environmental engineers are concerned about the effect these practices are having on the environment; sustainable farming methods are not practiced. With a $500 grant from World Connect's Kids to Kids Program in 2011, kids were able to start a "Biohuerto" or bio-garden. Buena Vista's secondary school planned, painted and now maintains the garden, compost piles, and oversees recycling and micro-landfill. Workshops, including at least two on nutrition, complemented the garden work during class time. Students elected a committee to coordinate work schedules and assign peers to various project components, including managing the sale of the harvest. Schoolmates supplied the organic materials for the compost piles.