About Tierra Nueva

 Tierra Nueva is an organization, which began working first in the municipality of Minas de Oro, Comayagua in 1982 and later in 1984 in San Luis, Comayagua. The primary objective of Tierra Nueva has been to combat hunger and poverty and improve the overall quality of life in these rural areas of Honduras through holistic development. Because Tierra Nueva works in agricultural areas, the overriding focus has been farm production improvement and diversification through sustainable methods. Tierra Nueva has also provided training in preventative health, nutrition, conflict resolution, literacy, sewing and human development. The program has also worked in community organization, problem solving and constructing community water projects.

History of Tierra Nueva

Two North American couples and their Honduran counterparts, who had already had some training by other organizations, began the work of Tierra Nueva. They each set up demonstration farms to model sustainable agricultural practices using erosion control and soil enrichment technologies for steep hillside farming. Impressed with the visible results, farmers came asking for assistance. Courses were then organized in their communities. New farms became established as models using resources available to the farmers. Eventually Tierra Nueva began training farmer trainers – farmers who had demonstrated their understanding of the technologies on their own farms and were motivated to learn more and share what they were learning with others. In 1987, these farmer trainers and health promoters organized themselves into an association and obtained legal status as The Association for the Development of Honduras, Tierra Nueva.

Tierra Nueva’s Mission

• Sustainable agriculture to rebuild eroded soil.
• Preventative health education in regions with 1 doctor per 20,000.
• Nutrition and hygiene classes in regions where hunger and parasites kill.
• Engaging in liberating Bible studies with people who think God is a punishing judge.
• Training semi-literate peasants as community and spiritual leaders.
• Organic-intensive vegetable gardening among under-nourished people.
• Reforestation and terracing on deforested, steep land.
• Education about immigration risks among people desperate enough to journey to North America with no money or papers.
• Scholarships for young people otherwise shut out from pursuing an education.
• Community gravity fed water projects to communities where clean, safe water is otherwise unavailable.

A note from a Tierra Nueva Founder

“For several years we have been working on getting a Tierra Nueva coffee brand off the ground – a Honduran coffee grown by farmers who have participated in the Tierra Nueva program. I think of it as a social justice coffee. Money from the sales will be channeled back into projects for the communities where Tierra Nueva works.

Coffee Masters, a specialty coffee roaster and distributor, has set up a direct marketing relationship with Tierra Nueva and is developing such a coffee. The company is providing their expertise and cupping (tasting) experience to be sure Tierra Nueva is a top-notch coffee. The idea is that Coffee Masters is able to give feedback to farmers about the quality of their coffee, and through our network of trainers, we can help farmers identify practices that contribute to the best quality. For a marketing strategy to be sustainable, this kind of quality control is absolutely necessary.

With this relationship with Coffee Masters, we expect the quality to get better every year. The next step is to move towards certification to give the farmers who are using sustainable and organic methods credit for what they are doing. The higher price Coffee Masters is paying for these coffees serves to motivate others to do the same. It’s a good thing for the environment. Tierra Nueva’s promoters visit farmers throughout the year. They assist with cultivation methods, diversification of shade systems, and visit farmers during the harvest to demonstrate with them how to select the best coffee berries and then how to process the coffee to optimize quality.

Coffee Masters will also donate back to the organization $1.00 per pound of all Tierra Nueva coffee sold. This money will be used to help with community projects. With funds from the coffee we can develop community potable water and purification systems, educational programs, and hopefully in the future medical assistance. Eventually we hope that there will be some money to fund projects in the non-coffee producing areas assisting some of the communities with the most poverty.

Thank you for your support to Tierra Nueva. With your help we have been able to fund the regular family visits to help farmers and their families produce more using sustainable practices. Through these visits we have also helped families learn better health practices and provided encouragement and counseling in difficult times.”

– Larry Sell, Project Coordinator

Tierra Nueva is funded entirely through individual contributions and free-will offerings. Please consider a gift. Any amount helps, as every dollar donated goes directly to the work in Honduras. Contributions are tax-deductible. Tierra Nueva is a not for profit organization. Make checks out to Tierra Nueva.

Please send contributions to:
Larry Sell, 23471 Petite Lake Rd, Lake Villa, IL 60046
www.northsuburban.org/activities/tierra_nueva.html
www.tierranuevahonduras.com