Testimonies

Who can speak of results achieved better than those taking part in the projects?

From this testimony, discover the various impacts of the programs we conduct in Africa and Latin America. Sometimes, these impacts translate into daily access to a variety of quality foods, increased harvests and incomes, as well as increased confidence and self-esteem, and even a new feeling of empowerment within the families and community.

So many factors that contribute to the dignity that everyone rightly deserves.

Julia in Peru

My name is Julia. I am a peasant in the region of Huánuco in Peru. I have five children and I am a widow. My children are living and working in the city, so I am alone. As part of the program I am following with IDMA (a partner of Iles de Paix), I have drawn my dream farm, and therefore the goals I would like to reach. And as long as I am enough healthy, I will go on.

One of my biggest motivations is to offer consumers healthy products, because I see that they like them! This is what encourages me to sow more each season! Currently, I have 50 species of plants and trees on my plot of land. For a few years now, I have been a member of the AGRECU cooperative, through which I can market my products by several means.

The challenging time of Covid-19 was very difficult because I could not go to the market to sell my fruits and vegetables. Everyone had to stay at home. What helped me to overcome this crisis was the loyalty of my customers, born at the market. From now on, some of them place orders with me! They come directly to pick them up at my place, or wait to meet me at the market. This loyalty really warms my heart. Moreover, my neighbours see that my sales are quite successful and are also thinking about switching to agroecology.

Personally, the agroecological transition links me to my roots, my culture, my values; because working this way reminds me of how my mother was working in the fields. When I get more income, I pay my nephews and nieces to come and help me on the plot. In addition to the tip that this gives them, they see and understand more sustainable ways of working in the fields!

Amadou in Burkina Faso

Amadou Niongre is a maize and sorghum producer. He lives in the Gounghin commune in Burkina Faso. Amadou has been attending our training sessions for the past three years. Today, he reports:

“We learned to make compost, save the trees in our fields, to plant others to strenghten the vegetation. Personally, the advice I received helped me a lot. I now produce maize and white sorghum as well as red, which was my only crop before this. The diversification of crops and their protection against severe weather and climate change allowed me to have better crops than I had hoped for to feed my entire family.”

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