Its objective was to develop materials to improve the income of poor rural populations and promote their creativity. The training pack on organic farming was pre-tested by 200 illiterate farmers in Panama in 1998. Training consisted essentially of learning how to prepare and use natural fertilizer to grow vegetables and fruit. Encouraging these isolated farmers to work together in co-operatives rather than relying on government subsidies is an important aspect of the project, he adds. Each pack contains a video, a picture handbook, an audio cassette and a teaching manual.
Regular radio broadcasts back up the training sessions.
It is a good example of what can be done to train illiterates. Other training packs in the series focus on how to make bamboo houses, bricks, pottery, cement roofs and latrines. Proof, if it were needed, that the skills are useful. Once sufficient funding has been raised, the project will be extended to Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.