The program has worked at three levels: at the community level in 11 communities of Somotillo; at the national level from its office in Managua; and, at the regional level, throughout Central America. The work is primarily accomplished through the support of local civil society organizations.
Strategic Proposal for 2008-2012
Our fundamental principle is working together with others through associations. We plan to work in public policy advocacy related to land rights and environmental protection. We also propose to strengthen a culture of prevention in the face of natural and socio-environmental risks. In the cultural area we will focus on relationships of power by seeking to break social hierarchies, promoting the participation of women and young people in regional committees and in all decision-making spaces and, lastly, by the active participation of families and communities on municipal councils to demand compliance with their human rights before local authorities.
In 2008 we will add two more communities in Somotillo and six in Villanueva to the 11 communities where we worked in 2007, bringing the total to 19 communities.
The greatest point of complexity that has been identified to date is the prevailing culture of dependence, mainly due to the welfare vision that many Non-Governmental Organizations and State institutions promoted in the communities. Likewise, the political polarization of the country is reflected in the fragmentation of the communities and the lack of organization from their own specific identity.
The process of local power is not yet deeply rooted in the communities. The political culture of the municipal governments is still authoritative. A sufficient practice has not been developed in which local authorities allow citizens to exercise their full rights in requesting community supervision and control, such as through open town meetings, accountability and responses to social audit demands.
Because of this, we believe we must place emphasis on cultural aspects in order to transform the patterns of the productive chain and effectively support diversification, agro-ecology, appropriate management of water resources and fair trade. The main investment in this area should not be to provide animals, inputs or materials, but to change the vision about the methods and productive processes; to raise awareness about conservation and preservation of seeds, original forestry species, the environment in general; to recognize the capacities of the communities for production and social and ecological sustainability; and to strengthen a culture of risk prevention in nature as well as in the socio-environmental area.
This means moving from the vision of dealing with flood emergencies every year, to one of prevention, and to establishing appropriate relations with the environment that will lead to a decrease in the risks associated with environmental change.
Cultural aspects in food security and sovereignty determine the production, distribution, trade and consumption of the quantity and quality of food that will provide improved levels of life in the families and communities. There are still concepts in the communities that are linked to food dependency and that reproduce a generational poverty cycle. Groups of producers, natural leaders and families still demand and expect to overcome their vulnerability through donations of food packages and material goods, and not through their own increased production and management capacities in their communities and families.
The thematic focal points to be implemented in these territories are:
Local Trade
Associations will be strengthened as an organizational process, since the lack of organization on the part of the producers has contributed to markets having new trade and production structures that increasingly marginalize them. Associating with others is a possibility for the productive sector in communities with the least income, not only for survival, but also to facilitate fair trade alternatives with the excess production.
By strengthening associations, food security and sovereignty will also be strengthened. Food security is understood to be the material and economic access to sufficient food that is safe and nutritional for all individuals, so that it can be adequately used to satisfy their nutritional needs and to have a healthy life. Food sovereignty is the right of people, of their countries or Unions of States, to define their own agrarian and food policies, without dumping in third countries. It is the right of campesinos to produce food and the right of consumers to be able to decide what they want to eat, and how and who produces it.
Environmental Protection
The destruction of forests and lands, monoculture crops and the use of chemical inputs in agriculture are destroying natural soil processes. Climatic conditions are unfavorable for productive activities because there are prolonged periods of drought and because the adverse topographical conditions do not permit the formation of large aquifers needed for irrigating. The water sources in Somotillo can be used to develop small areas using a mini-irrigation system, which will guarantee food security. This system can be implemented through capturing water from small streams and brooks in the territory.
The municipality’s management of the water basin, rivers and springs produces alterations in the hydrologic cycle by increased the run-off and reducing water filtration in the soil, which means that in the dry season these sources dry up and in the rainy season they overflow, thereby endangering the lives of the inhabitants living in close proximity as well as their material goods and the infrastructure; it also reduces the area of the best agricultural soil because of the widening of the watercourse in the plains and of sedimentation in the lower part of the water basin.
The communities are vulnerable to disasters. In the rainy season the rivers overflow, endangering the lives of the people who live nearby, and in the dry season there are droughts.
This thematic focus will be implemented directly by means of strengthening capacities for disaster prevention, mitigation and assistance, and the formation of COLOPRED (Local Committee for Disaster Prevention) that will be closely connected to the Municipal Committee for Disaster Prevention.
Participative Management
All political movements need participation by the general public, regulatory principles, hegemonic projects, organization and trustworthy, efficient leadership. There is no need to fear the leader, but he/she must be required to comply with clear, democratic, political criteria that can provide constructive criticism.
In many communities the associations have not been strengthened sufficiently to be able to precisely identify the problems that affect them, exactly because they do not know the appropriate methods to achieve the participation of all their members. Therefore, others decide for them.
This thematic focus also will be implemented in a direct manner, with possible alliances with FUNDESID, as well as by Agreements and support to other organizations that share the same focuses.
Public Policies
Local officials must be sensitized in order to provide services and design policies that contribute to overcoming problems and needs. A good scenario for this year is the electoral process because it brings with it favorable conditions for negotiating with the mayoral candidates and to be able to emphasize commitments that need to be fulfilled.
Working together with others in associations is very important for advocacy work by the different communities, using instruments of management, negotiation, advocacy and social control so that their proposals can be included in municipal public policies. Also, it is important to provide training in advocacy with local government, as well as formation in economic, social, cultural and environmental rights.
Accompaniment and facilitation of strengthening process for a citizenship culture will be done in such a way that the capacities of the most excluded population will be strengthened in the areas of proposals, organization, mobilization and negotiation in their struggles for justice, equity and participation in their territories.
This year, the direct implementation of LWF has been contemplated in the territory of Somotillo in alliance with the Association for Municipal Development (ADM), with whom economic systems of garden and/or small diversified plots will be promoted. Also, initiatives with an associative focus will be promoted as will associations for trade. In addition, at the national level, agreements and small contributions will be made with other organizations such as RENICC, FUNDESID, GPAE, CAS, INDIGENOUS MOVEMENT and CIVIL COORDINATOR.
