María Isabel Coronado Chilcón lives with her family in the community of San Lorenzo, in the province of Cutervo (in the department of Cajamarca, Peru).
Her participation in the project that we from the Social Promotion Foundation implement in this area, together with the Farmer School of Education and Health (ESCAES) and with the support of the Regional Government of Valencia, has given her the opportunity to improve her living conditions and, therefore, that of her entire family.
María Isabel was already dedicated to raising guinea pigs and this was her means of living. However, she made it in the kitchen of her own house and, at most, she could have 20 especimenes.
Thanks to the training and material help that she has obtained within the framework of this Project, María Isabel has been able to build her own guinea pig farm, where “now I am raising 150, but my goal is to reach 500 or 800.” The training that she has received thanks to the program taught by ESCAES has allowed her to learn more about the care of guinea pigs and, thus, increase the productivity of the farm.
“Our goal is to expand the farm to be able to have more guinea pigs and improve the diet of my children, so that they can have better nutrition and a healthier life,” says María Isabel, who also says that they are currently selling between 12 and 15 guinea pigs per month. The income that she has obtained, for now, thanks to this new farm has allowed her, among other things, to finance the promotion of her son, buy him clothes and purchase food from the guinea pigs themselves.
One of the main objectives of this project is to promote equal access for women to productive resources and income generation opportunities, helping to eliminate the obstacles that currently prevent this. Thus, María Isabel, with her effort and work, has taken advantage of this great opportunity to improve her living conditions and those of her family.
