Loren is a 24-year-old migrant who arrived in Colombia three years ago from Venezuela, where she was studying Social Communication and working in a chocolate shop. Along with her husband, she worked for a year to raise enough money for her family to make the trip out of Venezuela. Along with their six-year-old child, they left their home country with only what they could carry in their suitcases.
Tanager is committed to helping smallholder farmers access a nutritious and diverse diet. To that end, in India, Tanager is working with Self-Help Groups as part of the Shubh Mint project to encourage households to adopt the use of kitchen gardens to improve household nutrition, including advice on starting and managing their gardens and providing on-going support as the gardens are developed.. Currently, there are around 700 smallholder farmers who have raised kitchen gardens, growing 5 types of seasonal vegetables with the support of Tanager’s extension teams and Self-Help Group supervisors.
Covid-19 has significantly impacted the livelihoods of many smallholder farming communities in India. Disruptions in supply chains including logistics and transportation, limited access to agricultural inputs, and the inability to sell produce are been the biggest challenges that farmers face. Tanager, drawing upon its decades of experience in agricultural value chains is working on adapting strategies to support the small and marginal farmers across all its projects in India.
On May 20th, 120 students from the co-created Employment for Reconciliation project graduated from the Marketing and Sales and Administrative Assistance program, having fulfilled the training requirements and completed internships at more than 61 partner companies.
Lajjawati is a smallholder farmer from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, India who has overcome enormous personal and professional adversity on her journey to prosperity. When Lajjawati’s husband was killed in an accident, she was left caring for her small family farm – and her eight children – alone. Her economic situation was made worse by the pervasive problem of gender inequality in India.
Mr. Fikadu Belachew is a young smallholder dairy farmer in Wakene kebele, Debre Libanos District, Oromia region, in Ethiopia. His farm sits on one hectare of land on the main road from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar. Mr. Belachew has five zero–grazed cross-bred dairy cows, producing an average of about 70 liters of milk a day, along with three heifers and two growing males.
In India, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Groups (FPGs) are important mechanisms for smallholder farmers to organize their efforts, receive valuable training, connect to buyers of their produce, reduce the influence of pernicious middlemen, and increase income. Tanager’s expertise in the support and growth of FPOs has helped tens of thousands of farmers improve their social and economic outcomes. However, as valuable as engagement with FPOs is for smallholder farmers, many of these organizations still face a persistent problem of gender-inequality – especially at the leadership level.
Malory Ríos is one of the 750 participants taking part in DIAGEO’s Learning for Life Program Phase 3, implemented by Tanager in Colombia. Tanager works with corporations and foundations around the world to co-create projects to improve social and economic outcomes. In 2015, DIAGEO Colombia and Tanager joined forces to develop job skills training and employment projects for at-risk young people in the cities of Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín.
Rathalavath Vijalaxmi is a smallholder farmer from Dachakpally village in Telangana, India. She farms three acres of land along with her husband and three sons. As a young farmer cultivating vegetables like tomatoes, okra, beans, ridge gourds, and chili, Rathalavath often struggles to earn enough from selling her crops to make ends meet for her family. Prior to becoming involved in the Siddipet Horticulture Project, her farm produced an average yield of five to six metric tons.
Originally from Venezuela, Michelle migrated to Colombia in 2018 in search of better opportunities after being unable to continue with her studies in her home country. However, life in Bogotá came with challenges of its own. After more than 70 unsuccessful interviews, the only jobs she could find were of an informal nature.
