Native Villagers in Honduras Bet on Food Security - and Win

[Judi Lynn]

Native Villagers in Honduras Bet on Food Security - and Win
Sunday, 07 December 2014 12:43
By Thelma Mejia, Inter Press Service | Report

Victoria, Honduras - The town’s dynamic mayor, Sandro Martínez, assumed the commitment of turning the Honduran municipality of Victoria into a model of food and nutritional security and environmental protection by means of municipal public policies based on broad social and community participation and international development aid.

The initiative began to be put into practice four months ago. It was inspired by what the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) achieved in the Tolupan indigenous community of Pueblo Nuevo, a village located 15 km from the centre of Victoria.

In that tribe – as the Tolupan refer to each one of their communities – whose official name is Las Vegas de Tepemechín de Pueblo Nuevo, population 750, 29 children overcame malnutrition thanks to a comprehensive food security plan implemented over the last two years.

“I’m proud of this village, of what they have managed to do in such a short time,” the mayor told Tierramérica. “I grew up near the Tolupan and now that I’m mayor, they are a priority for me. I want to extend this experience throughout the entire municipality of Victoria.

More:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27854-native-villagers-in-honduras-bet-on-food-security-and-win

[Peace Patriot]

1. A story that is very much worth following...but, oh my, do I feel trepidation...

...at certain points in the current article. For instance:

The programme is financed by the municipal governments and the FAO, which has support from Canada. --from the OP

Then,

Victoria is a municipality rich in minerals like gold, lead, iron, silver and zinc, and wood that can be logged as well. --from the OP

Canada and Canadian transglobal corporations have been very evil players in the ruinous exploitation of Latin America's natural wealth and environment. Perhaps Canada is trying to spiff up its image, and, if that's all that they're doing in this case, we can breathe a sigh of relief, but I fear that these remarkable villagers may be in for a nasty shock down the line, when the transglobal mining and logging corporations arrive.

I'd like to think that something good is happening in Honduras. There has been so much horror and so much black-hearted corruption since the U.S. and Canada-supported fascist coup in 2009! It's hard to imagine Canada doing anything good there now. As for our own country, the U.S. is busily building military bases to enforce the 'rights' of U.S. and Canadian corporate entities against the workers, peasant farmers and local communities, while imposing the extremely corrupt, bloody-minded, failed "war on drugs" on Honduras. The latter is clearly a weapon for "free trade for the rich."

Anyway, just saying. Let us try to keep track of this story and see what comes of it.