Blog Action Day: Hunger in El Salvador

I am no expert on world hunger, but I know that there is a problem in the world because there IS enough food to feed everyone. Yet, the poor distribution of this food means that millions of people are starving. I would say that the amount of food wasted and the level of starving people is quite a conundrum. Frankly, I think we have a problem that needs to be addressed in a sustainable way.

In the case of El Salvador, this problem is ever the more confusing to find a solution to. They have a tiny country but huge population. Their economy has been dollarized and is hugely based on family remittances, so they feel the impact of the current economic recession, just as much, if not more than we do in the United States. On top of that, the intense rainfalls and tropical storms regularly come and destroy the harvests. For example, right now the heavy rains caused by a tropical depression is expected to ruin 60% of the bean crops. For a country who has a population where there is nearly 50% under- or un-employment rate, the rise in food prices will only contribute to the hunger felt by the poorest people.

There are however, sustainable ways to fix this problem. One example is something that is becoming more and more popular here, which is the development of agricultural co-ops. Basically, they are families who have joined together to purchase and work land to support and feed their families. Here in El Salvador we have gotten to visit a number of agricultural co-ops that are working to become more sustainable. Many of them currently rely on financial support from outside the country to build the infrastructure needed to sustain themselves, but within the country they are put that money to use buying cattle, building community offices, purchasing land, and basic tools. They hope to eventually be able to completely sustain themselves and be weaned off outside support, and are working toward that goal. The children of these communities have better access to health care and education, as they are more organized to provide these services. Often, the families are focused on staying in the community, so there is more of a sense of community. The work is hard and has not always been successful. Imagine working in the fields in 90 degree humid weather and having large land owners or companies threaten to take your land.  But this is one ray of hope that I have seen to combat this problem here in El Salvador.

Here are some resources to learn more about this problem in the world:
 A great video to show the relationship between the global food market and hunger problems!
More information on world hunger
Discussion on how to stop world hunger
Ten Ways to End World Hunger
Blog Action Day 2011 Website

Lots of coconuts! (agricultural co-op)

One of the cooperatives we visited.

Inside their new building to be used for women's organizations.