Last Chance to Win a Trip to Peru

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Kelly MacNeil

Today’s the day – the deadline to enter Garnet Hill’s Pass on the Gift in Peru Sweepstakes.

The grand prize winner will get an all-inclusive trip for two to the ancient Incan Empire capital of Cuzco. For seven days, they will work hand in hand with Heifer to foster sustainable development in the community while experiencing the country’s colorful culture through exclusive guided tours.

Heifer International - Alpacas in Peru

The trip includes an introduction to Heifer International’s alpaca projects in the Andean region near Cuzco. The winner will participate in and learn about all facets of alpaca care including feeding, tending to pasture and the business associated with the sale of their exceptionally soft wool to make blankets, ponchos, hats and carpets which ensures a sustainable way of life for struggling families.

For Heifer International, development is about creating a world free of hunger and poverty, where families in need thrive under their own energy and entrepreneurial spirit—on their own terms. Heifer International began activities in Peru in 1963 and its partnership with Garnet Hill began in 2009.

To learn more or to enter the Pass on the Gift® in Peru Sweepstakes, you can visit garnethill.com.

From the Field: Training and Education Empowers Women Worldwide

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.

Using available resources is not always simple. Training and education is needed for many people to effectively improve their lives. For women around the world, Heifer International and its partners are providing that knowledge. When South Africa’s government provided water tanks to Mabheleni Village, many residents lacked the skills to use the new resource. Participation in Heifer’s Sukuma Poultry Project helped village woman Ntombizethu gain knowledge to manage and improve her two and half acre garden. Ntombizethu said Heifer’s training has brought positive change to her family.

Cusco woman learns to spin alpaca fiber into thread.

Photo by Bryan Clifton, courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer Research Assistant Jessica Ford recently experienced firsthand the philosophy of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. Ford met with eight southern Peru women’s groups as they learned how to spin alpaca fiber into thread. After the workshop, Heifer presented each group with a new spinning machine. This training in the Cusco community empowers women and their families, moving them toward a more sustainable future.

In Cambodia’s Ampao Prey village, Ouk Sam On lives with her husband and two children. When their rice yield did not supply enough food for the year, she and her husband had to leave their village to labor for a small income in Phnom Penh City. After partnering with Heifer-funded Cambodia Farmer Economic Development (CFED), Sam On attended workshops and trainings for leadership and project management. Because of her education, Sam On was able to enhance her farm’s productivity and authorities selected her as a Community Facilitator in charge of children and women’s affairs.

520 Families in Peru Gather to Pass on the Gift of Guinea Pigs

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Erin Snow

: Courtesy of Heifer International

When the La Prosperidad cooperative Passed on the Gift of guinea pigs in Peru’s Chirinos District, 520 families gathered to be a part of the special day. The ceremony featured music, dancing and happy families who were excited to share gifts of food and income security. Watch now:

Win a Trip to Heifer Peru!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Brooke Edwards

Win a Trip of a Lifetime to Peru from Garnet Hill and Heifer International!

I’ve been there; trust me, you want to win this!

Trip for Two Includes Visit to Heifer’s Alpaca Projects Near Cuzco

Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International

Life Changing Chance to Live and Learn for Seven Days in Ancient Peru

Garnet Hill and Heifer International are proud to announce the Pass on the Gift® in Peru Sweepstakes, which will award one grand prize winner with an all-inclusive trip for two to the ancient Incan Empire capital of Cuzco. For seven days, they will work hand-in-hand with Heifer to foster sustainable development in the community while experiencing the country’s colorful culture through exclusive guided tours. To learn more or to enter the Pass on the Gift® in Peru Sweepstakes, please visit garnethill.com. Visit the site every Wednesday through March 12 for a chance to win a $500 Garnet Hill gift card, and earn up to five extra entries toward the grand prize.

Photo by Cindy Jones-Nyland, courtesy of Heifer International.

“We have designed a trip that will be inspirational and transformative, not only for the vibrant and historic culture of Cuzco, but also for the opportunity to work alongside and break bread with a Heifer International family. The winner will participate first hand in one of Heifer International’s projects in Peru that, like all of the organization’s global initiatives, aims to significantly improve the livelihoods of families and communities,” said Marleen New, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for Heifer International.

Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

The trip includes an introduction to Heifer International’s alpaca projects in the Andean region near Cuzco. The winner will participate in and learn about all facets of alpaca care including feeding; tending to pasture; and the business associated with the sale of their exceptionally soft wool to make blankets, ponchos, hats and carpets, which ensures a sustainable way of life for struggling families.

For Heifer International, development is about creating a world free of hunger and poverty, where families in need thrive under their own energy and entrepreneurial spirit—on their own terms.

Photo by Cindy Jones-Nyland, courtesy of Heifer International.

Wendy Thayer, public relations manager for Garnet Hill, added, “This really is the trip of a lifetime. It’s a remarkable opportunity for the winner to play a role in helping to end hunger and poverty for a Heifer family. Garnet Hill is thrilled to offer such an authentic way for our customers to engage with our partner in Cuzco.”

Heifer International began activities in Peru in 1963 and continues to support urban and rural communities and small-farmer organizations to improve their quality of life. Peru’s diverse cultural patterns are based on solidarity and reciprocity. Thus, Heifer’s approach to sharing resources is a key element to achieve just and sustainable development. Today, Heifer Peru works in Piura, Lambayeque, Cerro de Pasco, Lima, Junin, Huancavelica, Cuzco, Apurimac and Puno, and has assisted more than 40,000 families. Heifer’s partnership with Garnet Hill began in 2009.

Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

To learn more or to enter the Pass on the Gift® in Peru Sweepstakes, please visit garnethill.com.

Who would you take? Tell us in the comments section!

From the Field: Embracing New Opportunities for a Successful Future

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Erin Snow

This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.

When we are open to new opportunities, our future is often positively affected. Heifer International project families experience this all the time. Embracing the new and trying something different, regardless of what one’s history or neighbors say, has made a profound difference in the lives of many.

Heifer Armenia and Ashtarak Kat CJSC, the country’s leading milk producer, are working together to help families improve the breed of their animals and build successful dairy businesses through the Milk for Communities project. Valuable training and equipment for artificial insemination (AI) will enable families to make the most of their milk cooling unit. Soon these families will pass on the gift to new families, and an even greater impact will be made on hunger and poverty in Armenia.

Sulekha Devi, a CAHW in Bihar, India, with her goat

Coffee is the main economic activity for the residents of Cajamarca, Peru, but the crop is always vulnerable to an unpredictable climate and market fluctuations. When farmers here added guinea pigs and other inputs to their farming mix through Heifer’s Healthy Life and Sustainable Production for Coffee Producer Families in Lambayeque and Cajamarca project, they discovered that it pays to diversify. Now, with multiple crops, these families enjoy greater food and income security.

Sulekha Devi is a member of the Musahar community in Bihar, India. The Musahar are a Hindu scheduled caste, making them one of the country’s most vulnerable groups of people. They have no land of their own and must work as sharecroppers or agricultural laborers to support their families. Since Heifer India started the Mithila Women Empowerment and Sustainable Livestock Program, women like Sulekha are being trained as Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs). Sulekha has become an expert in diagnosing and treating animal conditions and has become a tremendous asset in her community.

Find out how you can give a new opportunity to a family today.

This Holiday Season, Give the Gift of Animal Care

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Casey Neese

When a family becomes a Heifer project participant, it almost always involves animals. We’re known around the globe for providing livestock and training to help smallholder farmers overcome hunger and poverty. These animals provide much-needed nutrition, but they also serve as catalysts that improve the family’s livelihood through the sale of wool, milk, honey, or the like, allowing a family to improve their living conditions and attain more education.

Mrs. Madeline Nole Quispe of Peru at her veterinary medicine cabinet. Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

But these small farmers cannot do it alone. To keep their livestock healthy and viable, families need access to veterinary services and expertise; but in many countries this animal care is limited or non-existent. This is where community animal health workers come in. These “para-vets” learn valuable skills like animal health, husbandry, breeding, nutrition and housing, and they can fill an important need when local professional veterinary care isn’t available.

Irene Pandosen is a community animal health worker who helps Heifer project participants in the Philippines. Right after her training concluded in 2010, she was put to the test when almost all of the swine in her community were inflicted with a viral disease that affects pregnant pigs and causes miscarriage, premature birth, or even death of the mother and piglets. Irene coordinated closely with the provincial veterinary office to control the outbreak, and as a result, only four pigs owned by the project participants died (compared to more than 50 owned by non-members).

Irene with her family and sow. Photo by Jun Dom-oguen, courtesy of Heifer International.

“The epidemic was the turning point. [Prior to the outbreak] most of the families doubted my knowledge. They would ask me things about animal diseases and how to control them, and then go to the veterinarian and ask the same question to see if my answers and explanations were the same,” Irene said. “I take every opportunity to learn so that I can give good service. I talk to veterinarians and research every time I find an opportunity. I take learning as my responsibility to my group and to the community as well.”

Irene has gone on to become a local expert in artificial insemination. This technology means safer and more efficient breeding of pigs — farmers no longer need to transport large boars over poor roads and rugged terrain. Farmers pay Irene directly for her artificial insemination services, and she has seen her income increase about 15 fold as this enterprise has grown to include other members of her family.

This year, you can donate a Community Animal Health Worker Kit to provide quality animal care through our gift catalog. For $200 (or $20 for a share of a kit), you can honor a loved one with a gift that helps people like Irene care for livestock in the communities where Heifer works.

This post is part of our What to Give series, where we’re helping you choose the best Heifer gift for your loved ones. Read previous What to Give posts here, and subscribe to the What to Give series here.

Still don’t know what to give? Check out our entire online Gift Catalog.

Information for this post was contributed by Jun Dom-oguen and Karla Narcise-Rodulfo, Heifer Philippines

A community animal health worker practices her trade at a Heifer project in Magupange Village, Philippines.

Community Animals Health Workers in the Philippines

Community animal health workers tend to a goat at a Heifer project in the Philippines.

A Healthy Home Is Key to Healthy Living

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Linda Meyers

A healthy home is a big step on the path to healthy living, and it is a key component of Heifer International projects. Not only does the increased income our families see allow for money to be spent on much-needed improvements to their homes, Heifer includes trainings to teach the needed skills and facilitates camaraderie that often results in participants helping each other complete tasks that would otherwise seem out of the question.

As I was writing this blog and looking through the project photos, I was struck by the differences in the homes around the world. I love that Heifer doesn’t go in and change this cultural uniqueness, but adapts. A healthier, happier home is the goal.

When you give a Heifer gift, it’s not just a cow, or a goat, or even a llama. It’s a new way of life filled with hope and promise. It leads to healthy living where there was once a struggle for basic survival. Food, water and shelter are all important to healthy living, and all are components of Heifer International projects.

A noticeable improvement in the Pacoricona's kitchen before and after.

Take the Pacoriconas, for example. They live in Peru near Puno and Lake Titicaca, and are part of a Healthy Homes initiative that trains and distributes supplies to improve the living conditions of participating families. The Pacoriconas first built a model of their home and went through trainings, then started construction. Today they have a new house with an improved kitchen, refrigerator, neatly organized bedrooms, a tool shed and an outhouse, as well as spaces inside the house to maintain their personal hygiene and study. An animal shelter and family garden were also added. Imagine this being accomplished in entire communities. This will undoubtedly allow those participating to enjoy more healthy living.

Donate to help families afford healthy living conditions. This gift will support projects that give families the opportunities to earn the income they need for healthy living by purchasing roofing materials, bricks, concrete for floors and so much more.

Still don’t know what to give? Check out our entire online Gift Catalog.

Sustainability at Heifer International: Part 3

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Pierre Ferrari

At Heifer International, “sustainability” is much more than a buzzword. It’s at the core of everything we do. If our work didn’t improve the environment, we wouldn’t be caring for the Earth, would we? As I mentioned in my blog post Thursday, Heifer’s work can be viewed through three lenses of sustainability. This post is the third in a three-part series to examine what genuine sustainability looks like at Heifer International. Read Part 1 here. Read Part 2 here.

Sustainability: Using natural resources to meet the needs of the current generation without depleting or compromising resources for future generations

Unplanted earth, like this garden in Cameroon, is vulnerable to soil erosion. Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

By 2050, the Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. If the percentage of hungry people remains at the current 13.1 percent, there will be 1.2 billion hungry people in 2050. Of course here at Heifer International, we’re not planning on letting that forecast become a reality. But the fact that there will be 9 billion people on the planet in 38 years is daunting to say the least. At 7 billion strong, we can already see the strain we humans put on the environment in many ways.

A common symptom – and cause – of global poverty is poor agriculture practices. Soil erosion and deforestation are but two examples. Climate changes, including drought and severe weather shifts already hurt the world’s most poor and vulnerable.

If we are to help millions of families feed themselves and the growing world population, we have to do everything with environmental sustainability in mind. Organic farming methods, zero-grazing pens, biogas units and water cisterns are all examples of how we achieve the “Caring for the Earth” part of our mission in every project we do, no matter the size.

Sustainability in Peru: Dolores Delgado's organic farm. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Dolores Delgado’s farm in Peru is a great example of how our project participants are improving their own lives while also improving their environment. Right from the start of her involvement in the project, Dolores began turning guinea pig waste into organic fertilizer for her vegetable and fodder crops. Her farm was an oasis in a tough part of the world.

At our headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, we do our best to “walk the sustainability talk.” Our building has a Platinum LEED rating, we have installed solar panels to help meet our energy needs, we have a giant water cistern to harvest rain.

Learn more about how Heifer International works to achieve environmental sustainability.

Tell me in the comments section below: What does genuine sustainability look like to you? What improvements do you think we could all make to help make our work have more lasting impact, our donations go farther, and our planet Earth last longer?

Do you want to help impoverished farmers in Peru learn new ways to thrive in the face of climate change? Give to our project now.

In Context: Peru in Pictures

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Falguni Vyas

Anastacio Manayay Calderon and Nicolasa Reyes Vilcabana and their family

“We have received and we have to continue giving to support other families. We want other children to improve like our children have.”

–Mr. Anastacio Manayay Calderón

“Due to the trainings now women get together and participate with the men, even women can work together to plan and organize activities. We didn’t know anything about gender equity, but now we realize we have value.”

– Mrs. Nicolasa Reyes Vilcabana

Students in a one room primary school

Heifer International Peru piglets

“Thanks to our trainings we are working as a whole and not individuals.”

–Mrs. Marcelina Huamán Quispe

The Huamán family

In Context: Peru

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Falguni Vyas

Population: 29 million

Native greeting: Kaméétsa? (How are you?)

Capital: Lima

Official language: Spanish and Quechua

Local currency: Nuevo Sol

Divided into three distinct regions, (the coast, the mountains and the forest, Peru is South America’s third largest country. The mountain region, marked by the massive peaks and steep canyons of the Andes, is home to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Machu Picchu. The Andes are one of the world’s most unstable mountain ranges with frequent earthquakes, landslides and flash floods.

Ancient Peru was home to the Incas, who were conquered by the Spanish in 1533. The Spanish stayed in Peru until 1824, three years after Peruvian independence was declared.

Of the estimated 29 million people living in Peru, about 48% of the population lives under the poverty line. While Peru is becoming a force in the global economy, there are crucial social development issues, like education and healthcare, that have been overlooked. In Peru, like most places, disparities in resource distribution have led to social and economic inequities that favor the wealthy.

Heifer in Peru

Year Heifer started: 1963

Number of Heifer projects: 18

Number of Families Assisted: More
than 40,000

Heifer Interventions: Apiaries; alpacas; llamas; hogs; cattle; rabbits; poultry; fish; sheep and guinea pigs

Technology used: Veterinary supplies; irrigation equipment and organic gardening

Issues addressed: Environment; health services and education access to rural families and income generation

Heifer began activities in Peru in 1963 and continues supporting urban and rural community and small-farmer organizations to improve their quality of life. Peru’s diverse cultural patterns are based on solidarity and reciprocity. Thus, Heifer’s approach to sharing resources becomes a key element to achieve just sustainable development. The program’s strategies include gender equity, recovery of traditional knowledge, agroecology and natural resource management. The Peru program strengthens local capacities, promotes the recovery of medicinal plants and organic gardening.

Heifer Peru works in Piura, Lambayeque, Cerro de Pasco, Lima, Junin, Huancavelica, Cuzco, Apurimac and Puno.

Heifer Blog

The official blog of Heifer International

Tag Archives: Heifer Peru