Bidones against Hunger in Angola: Angola is a country marked by a recent civil war of almost thirty years. A war that has affected above all to rural areas, people fled to cities in search of security, mainly to Luanda.
The recovery, after 30 years of war, is slow and complicated: an excess of population in the capital, Luanda, with great economic opportunities but that do not arrive for all, and a rural environment whose reconstruction is slower and more difficult due to damaged infrastructures , insufficient social services and support, little access to supplies, less developed rural markets, less job opportunities, etc. Its growth has had to support natural resources, leaving their agriculture and causing basic foods to have ‘impossible’ costs for the population.
One of the most devastating consequences of this war is that more than half of the population, 54.8%, is in extreme poverty. One of the main problems facing farmers is that they lose 50 % of their crops due to inadequate storage infrastructure. This causes that they cannot ensure their diet or sell the surpluses of the crops to obtain income that allow them to get out of the poverty situation in which they live.
Thus the Codespa Bidones project against hunger in Angola is born, supported by the prize Natura. 3,600 people, 900 families have been able to improve their income and living conditions through their “drums against hunger in Angola”. Peasant communities of limited resources that live in the rural area of the province of Huambo, have had access to storage systems that have allowed them to reduce harvest losses and their subsequent sale in times of grain shortage.
Bidones have established themselves as an adequate, and comparatively more effective and efficient technology, among which the peasants of the province of Huambo have access. Through the storage of crops in these drums, producers have been able to reduce the loss of grains and seeds. It also allows them to keep food reservations for a year and thus be able to eat in the so -called "months of hunger." Finally, with the surplus they can access the market in those months that there is less product and prices, therefore, are higher and more beneficial for the income of peasant families.
In addition, all this has generated a market around this new technology that also benefits communities. Sellers have formed so that they could count the advantages of its use, creating new points of sale and thus facilitating the access of peasants to the drums. On the other hand, for the peasants to be aware of the importance of the use of these drums, dissemination and exchange activities have been carried out, so that families could know, first hand, the benefits that drives had allowed in others in others municipalities during the last harvest.
Thanks to this new storage system that has been promoted through the Bidones Again conserve food throughout the year and, consequently, improve food security levels.
The "drums against hunger" are recycled barrels that have been used for the transport of food products. With just a small cleaning and review, they allow the storage of 175 kg of grain in optimal conditions. These drums are an effective tool in the fight against hunger. 3,600 peasants have already accessed them but the goal is to reach more vulnerable people. Here are more information about the project Drums against hunger in Angola.
Thus the Codespa Bidones project against hunger in Angola is born, supported by the prize Natura. 3,600 people, 900 families have been able to improve their income and living conditions through their “drums against hunger in Angola”. Peasant communities of limited resources that live in the rural area of the province of Huambo, have had access to storage systems that have allowed them to reduce harvest losses and their subsequent sale in times of grain shortage.
Bidones have established themselves as an adequate, and comparatively more effective and efficient technology, among which the peasants of the province of Huambo have access. Through the storage of crops in these drums, producers have been able to reduce the loss of grains and seeds. It also allows them to keep food reservations for a year and thus be able to eat in the so -called "months of hunger." Finally, with the surplus they can access the market in those months that there is less product and prices, therefore, are higher and more beneficial for the income of peasant families.
In addition, all this has generated a market around this new technology that also benefits communities. Sellers have formed so that they could count the advantages of its use, creating new points of sale and thus facilitating the access of peasants to the drums. On the other hand, for the peasants to be aware of the importance of the use of these drums, dissemination and exchange activities have been carried out, so that families could know, first hand, the benefits that drives had allowed in others in others municipalities during the last harvest.
Thanks to this new storage system that has been promoted through the Bidones Again conserve food throughout the year and, consequently, improve food security levels.
The "drums against hunger" are recycled barrels that have been used for the transport of food products. With just a small cleaning and review, they allow the storage of 175 kg of grain in optimal conditions. These drums are an effective tool in the fight against hunger. 3,600 peasants have already accessed them but the goal is to reach more vulnerable people. Here are more information about the project Drums against hunger in Angola.
