Success story: Salvadoran Woman's Urban Garden Helps Her Save Money for Her Family

For María Hayde Mejía from San Marcos, El Salvador, growing food at home is a survival strategy in the face of rising food prices and the difficulties caused by the pandemic. 

With the help of her husband, she grows staple grains, vegetables, medicinal plants, and flowers in her agroecological urban garden all year round. The flowers not only decorate her home, but also attract beneficial insects such as pollinators.

María has learned to compost plant waste and produce organic insecticides, fungicides, and foliar products to biologically control pest problems in the garden without using agrochemicals. "The garden has a permanent benefit to the family economy, as it saves me half of what I used to spend on food", she said. 

This is made possible thanks to the the IKI Small Grants project “Capacity building to reduce climate change impacts in urban areas near San Salvador”. This initiative supports projects and organizations worldwide that tackle climate change, address local adaptation, and conserve forests and biodiversity. In each call for proposals, these small regional, national, and local organizations based in a country eligible for official development assistance (ODA) can apply for funding for projects working on these issues.