The Hunger Project (Mexico)
The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organisation committed to sustainably ending world hunger. Its vision is a world where every woman, man and child lead a healthy, fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity. Its mission is to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centred strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world. The Hunger Project (THP) is active in 23 countries throughout the world, with its global headquarters in New York.
In 2020/2021, the Eurofins Foundation supported The Hunger Project in Mexico to implement a comprehensive, bottom-up, women-centred strategy for sustainable development in Oaxaca, the poorest state in Mexico, and thus reach indigenous and rural people who are often excluded from most development processes.
This programme focuses on training and empowering local volunteer leaders, particularly women, to advocate for themselves and the resources they need based on their own assessments and goals for their community. These leaders then oversee the development of their villages, including access to clean water and sanitation, launching community gardens and nutrition training programmes, rediscovering indigenous crops for healthy and diverse diets, creating income-generation activities, and upholding the rights of women and children.
The grant has helped THP create healthier communities equipped with the necessary tools, knowledge, and resources, directly impacting a total of 743 people.
THP also supported the installation of 101 new rainwater harvesting systems, which directly impacted 565 people, almost half of whom were women. An additional 11 new systems are scheduled to be installed in the near future.
Communities are taking the lead and building long-term plans. Committees, alongside water promoters (women and men with the necessary expertise), are coordinating to prioritise the installation of water systems in additional communities. Their work will include creating a process to share water with multiple households within the community.
Local people are leading this continued work. Ultimately, the project’s self-ownership is leading to a mindset change that goes far beyond the direct impact of the work carried out by the project.
In 2021/2022, Eurofins Foundation’ support offered THP-Mexico’s indigenous partners intensive in-person and e-training in leadership skills and digital literacy – assisting them in reaching key objectives toward their economic autonomy.
In Oaxaca, 112 indigenous women entrepreneurs gained skill in using their smartphones to photograph artisanal crafts and native food products, using social media channels for product sales, using email to leverage their social networks.
In Chiapas, 30 Tseltal women from the Aguacatenango community began creating their collective vision as artisans – a process that will eventually allow them to generate their own income. 149 women also started forming savings groups.
Also in Chiapas, 119 Tzotzil women from two cooperatives strengthened the commercialization of their products. They have started reflecting on participatory monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and its usefulness in relation to tracking their cooperatives’ operations and revenue.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation renews its support to this initiative.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
