El Salvador

Nejapa-El Salvador
Improving health and food security with a gender perspective.

The local counterpart

The Asociación de Educación Popular CIAZO is an educational institution that conducts its work with the philosophy of Popular Education. Its purpose is based on the articulation of different sectors of civil society in the search for solutions to key problems that affect them, such as: low educational levels, limited technical-productive and methodological knowledge, lack of cultural dynamics, little impact at the local level, lack of a sustainability perspective in the projects they develop, and organizational and leadership problems, among others.

During 2023, the project "Improving Health and Food Security with a Gender Perspective" was developed in Nejapa, El Salvador, with the goal of improving the healthy living conditions of 125 rural families living in poverty in five communities in the municipality of Nejapa, Canton of Tutultepeque. Special attention has been paid to two aspects: improving sanitation conditions by reducing the risk of contamination of water sources, and simultaneously improving families' food and nutritional security through small-scale food production in backyard gardens.

To achieve the stated objectives, the following actions have been carried out:

Community health training for families, including the need to maintain health, hygiene practices, the importance of using composting latrines, and their contribution to a healthy environment. Training is provided on women's human rights and the human right to water; as well as awareness-raising for men and empowering women on gender equity in community development and the home.

Training for caregivers on adopting hygiene and health practices, as well as eating habits at home.
Each workshop promoted specific practices, such as the importance of maintaining family gardens, hygienic food handling, preparing healthy recipes, and promoting the cultivation of medicinal herbs for women's health.

Improving food and nutritional health through the construction of family gardens. Food security has been improved by creating nutritional gardens with easily adaptable native varieties, with the aim of fostering greater awareness of the need to benefit from the resources available to the community and municipality. The principles of the Farmer-to-Farmer methodology were followed: developing a multiplier effect; experimenting on a small scale; achieving rapid and recognizable success; limiting the introduction of technologies; and starting slowly and small.

Construction of dry-chamber composting latrines; related to agroecology, based on the production of fertilizers, which would be one of the inputs for fertilizing family gardens. Given the urgent need for latrinization in the Canton, there is a demand from families without latrines. This becomes more complicated in the summer due to the lack of water; many families have to use water from a spring or stream for activities such as bathing or washing clothes, much of which is contaminated by open defecation. In total, 98 families were registered without any type of latrine in their homes. In 2023, 26 latrines were built.