Participants work with SHI Field Trainers to find alternatives to harmful and expensive chemical pesticides. Farmers have found that by mixing such natural ingredients as hot peppers, cow urine, garlic and soap - they are able to create powerful, yet nontoxic, homemade pest-control concoctions. By using these inexpensive homemade alternatives, farmers are saving money. More importantly, they are not exposing their families to dangerous chemicals.

Teaching natural alternatives to potentially harmful and expensive chemical fertilizers is just one of the ways that SHI is helping families in Central America reduce costs while increasing yields. By making use of readily available materials like manure, hot peppers, garlic and common household products like soap, farmers are reducing costs and eliminating the hazards that accompany chemical agriculture. Not having chemicals around the home also helps to eliminate the risk of accidental ingestion, skin burns and possible contamination of water sources.

Many of the farmers where SHI works lack adequate storage facilities for the chemicals they use. SHI staff members have witnessed plastic soda bottles filled with liquid chemical fertilizers haphazardly laying around the home, accessible to children who may think they’re getting a sweet treat.

Controlling unwanted and destructive pests is vital to healthy, productive crops. Some of the natural pest-control techniques taught by SHI’s field staff include cover cropping, mulching, crop rotation and natural insect barriers. Cover cropping, mulching and the utilization of compost helps to build the soil from the ground up, resulting in healthier, stronger and more resilient crops. Rotating where crops are planted helps to prevent nutrient depletion and makes plants less susceptible to diseases in the soil.

One of the more creative approaches to pest control involves the use of natural borders. The technique is cleverly simple: A farmer plants a border of a prolific, less valuable crop around a planting of the crop intended for protection. While the pest is merrily making its way to do some serious damage, it is distracted by the strategically planted border crop. Border crops are chosen based on the preferences of the problem pest, and in many cases can also be harvested for consumption, depending on the extent of the damage.

One example that an SHI participant has used was planting a border of mustard around highly vulnerable lettuce. While the mustard got munched, the lettuce was spared! By using a variety of integrated pest management techniques, SHI participants are increasing their yields, improving the health of the soil and saving money and time that would otherwise be spent procuring less effective, potentially harmful chemicals. With materials that are readily available, SHI families are increasing their independence and increasing the sustainability of their farms.

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