With limited ability to have in-person visitors this year, Mano a Mano staff at our Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) in Cochabamba have been experimenting with new demonstration projects. Their goal: to grow more food, in less space and at lower cost, using technology and materials that can be made available to remote rural communities. The CEA has built four on-site greenhouses to have enough space to raise hydroponic lettuce year-round. We continue to experiment with fodder, comparing fodder produced from corn, wheat, barley, and oats to determine how well each will produce through this method in contrast to planting in soil. Our agronomist is also comparing the growth of animals based on which crop they are fed; the average litter of guinea pigs has doubled since they have been fed fodder in contrast to soil-grown alfalfa.

Check out recent videos about each of these projects below. You can also learn about these CEA projects in more detail here.