AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAM OPG - PVO

HJC will implement the project with technical assistance from the Peace Corps and Colombian agricultural institutions. Farms at participating hogares will be improved and activities designed to provide agricultural training for students and to generate income for the hogar. To be eligible for funding each hogar must have: (1) a demonstrable degree of self-help capability; (2) sound participant selection practices; (3) an active campesino agricultural planning committee composed of parents of hogar students; (4) an agricultural investment plan; and (5) a system of extension programs. HJC agronomists will assist the hogares to develop practical agricultural activities, prepare land for planting, and oversee community-provided labor. Purchases of animals, seed, tools, and other agricultural inputs will be eligible for funding under the project. Extension programs at the hogares will bring project benefits into the community. Participating students will return each weekend to their families, bringing with them information on new techniques they have learned. Campesino conferences will be held for parents" education; in some instances, parents will work on the hogar farm as part of the payment for their child"s boarding costs. Five campesinos will be trained as community organizers to promote community participation. A second focus of the project will be to make the hogares 50% self-sufficient. Each community will conduct a feasibility study of income-generation through agricultural and small industrial activities. Hogares directors will receive management training at HJC"s leadership training center. Finally, a newsletter will be created to inform non-project hogares of activities at participating homes. A series of conferences and interchange visits will further promote information dissemination. At least 1,000 young campesinos of both sexes will benefit from the new agricultural training opportunities.