FUMA employee Lazaro © Nick Sireau/ Progressio

FUMA in El Salvador is helping farmers find new ways to make a living, writes Nick Sireau

It's a long drive from San Salvador city to the plains surrounding the San Miguel volcano. But it's impressive. The volcano towers above the landscape and Lake Olomega, with a few fluffy clouds gathered around its peak. We bump up the dirt track in our 4x4 to a place called Playa Grande and stop by a field as a tall man strides towards us and waves. Carmen Medina, Progressio's Country Representative for El Salvador, opens the window and greets him: 'Buenos días, Hans.'

Hans Joel is a development worker for Progressio. He's Colombian and German and is an experienced agronomist. He works with the poor communities in the area, training them in organic farming techniques, agro-forestry and fish farming.

We climb out of the car and follow Hans down a path through another field. There we meet Felipe Zavala, a local farmer, who takes us to his fish pond. He explains to us how the project came about.

Fish farm

Felipe used to cultivate squash, beans and corn - but they didn't provide enough income or food to live off. One day he was approached by a staff member of Fundación Maquilishuatl (FUMA - Maquilishuatl is the indigenous name of the national tree), Progressio's partner organisation in the region, who asked him if he knew of a good place to dig a fish pond.

Felipe suggested they do it on his land, so Hans, along with his counterpart at FUMA, Lazaro Velásquez, and a member of the government fisheries body Cendapesca, came to measure the area. Men with machinery then came to dig a 600 square metre pond (20 by 30 metres).

Water seeped in naturally because of the high water table linked to the nearby lake. In December 2005, nearly three thousand Tilapia larvae were placed in the water, and the fish pond was born. Hans trained Felipe how to feed and farm fish and went with him to visit other similar projects in the area.

Felipe now sells several dozen fish a week and still has plenty left to feed himself, particularly in the period from December to May each year when the water level is low and the fish are easy to catch. He made US$300 (£162) from January to May by selling the fish for US$1 each.

Proving people wrong

Eduardo owns the pond next to Felipe's. He's an elderly man and farms the fish with the help of his son Eusebio. One day, he was walking to his field when he met a man from FUMA who asked him who was the owner of the land. 'I am,' Eduardo said.

When the man offered to build him a fish pond, Eduardo accepted, even though other farmers told him that he was making a mistake. 'All you'll have is a hole in the ground full of water,' they said. 'You'll no longer be able to cultivate your land and keep cattle.'

Eduardo proved them wrong. 'I'm happy with this fish pond,' he says. 'Thanks to FUMA, Hans and Progressio, I can now eat fish whenever I want and make money by selling it. Only rich people generally have fish ponds; usually the poor cannot. For us in rural areas, this is a great help.'

Success stories

Lazaro, who is employed by FUMA and works closely with Hans, looks at the fish ponds and smiles. He's on the management committee of six local communities and FUMA has trained him in administration, social auditing, environmental conservation, aquaculture, and gender development. Helping the local community develop is what his job is all about, so success stories such as Felipe's and Eduardo's are encouraging.

FUMA also helps local farmers carry out advocacy to defend the local environment. This led to more than 18,000 families in 14 communities around the lake participating in a management plan for the wetlands in the area, working with the Ministry of Environment. The aim is that the lake is managed so that it can contribute to people's livelihoods and become the main source of income for families in the region.

Hans is pleased with how things are developing. 'It's not always easy', he says, 'but - like with the experience of fishing - if you are patient, you will get your reward.'