Growing Plants for Health
In Ecuador, one in four children under the age of five are affected by malnourishment which leads to permanent stunting and chronic health problems. These rates change among different demographics with 40% of indigenous children being affected by malnourishment. Proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life has proven to show long-term benefits. Making a diverse selection of vegetables and fruits accessible for their nutrition and vitamins is vital to support children’s development of their immune system and growth. Interventions include a balanced diet of fruit and vegetables because 20% of children aged 6–23 months in the region are not fed any of either.
“Far too many children and young people are eating too little healthy food and too much unhealthy food.”
Children tend to consume foods high in sugar or trans fatty acids. Providing alternatives to these foods and showing how they can be incorporated into the diets are not only crucial for young children but people of all ages in Ecuador. Having home gardens or chacras where fresh fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens are grown is imperative to changing the trends of malnutrition in Ecuador. Chacras also host medicinal plants that are used for natural healing practices and the creation of herbal remedies for the community.
As of July 2022, Sasi Muskui Runa has reinforced growing chacras in the Pastaza region with the aim of adding new varieties of edible plants to their fields and organic gardens close to their homes. The goal is to increase access to nutritious food for the children in the indigenous community and their families, and to provide a more economically sustainable option for themselves. Thanks to a generous donation by High Mowing Organic Seeds, a USDA Organic-certified and non-GMO verified seeds provider based in Vermont, the foundation has received the budding resources to generate all the essential nutrition and sustenance that will give life to this project.
High Mowing Organic Seeds’ philosophy is to embrace and encourage “a deeper understanding of how re-built food systems can support health on all levels – healthy environments, healthy economies, healthy communities and healthy bodies.” We are grateful for their generosity and aligned efforts to bring about food equity and to protect the planet through the power of seeds.