Orbelindo: Pastoral Leader and Farmer
Orbelindo Ramos in his milpa with Roy Lara, SVH coordinator.
Orbelindo Ramos has been active for years as a church leader and recently as a leader in the local association of farmers. Like most others, he lives with his family in the La Majada village and farms land in the surrounding area.
Orbelindo joined the local agriculture committee and has become a real missionary for organic agriculture practices. He learned to make liquid foliar fertilizers and insect repellants from plants common in his community. He chose to grow corn and beans from native seeds (which avoid the introduction of toxics and outside chemicals). He carefully spread and worked compost into his soil and made three applications of his home-made fertilizer to his corn and two to his beans. The result was great crop growth and production. He has recommended these practices to over 20 nearby farmers.
He no longer follows the traditional practice of burning off his fields after harvesting the crops. Instead he composts the left-over waste and “hills” the corn with a hoe. Avoiding the large cost of commercial seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals, he spent only a small amount on the purchase of calcium to increase the health of the soil. As he says proudly, the sustainable agriculture practices “put money in his pocket.”
Recently Orbelindo organized an exchange of farmers of 15 farmers and young people between 3 villages. He is a paragon of the farmer-to-farmer methodology of the Vecinos Honduras program.