Project Name: Mexican Orphans/Children’s Home; Casa Hogar – “Workshop for Sustainability”
Project Location:
Nuevo Laredo is one of the most depressed and violent cites in all of Mexico. In the midst of such darkness shines a bright light, Casa Hogar Children’s Home. Casa Hogar houses over 100 children including orphans. Many of these children have experienced great turbulence and abuse from living a period of their lives on the streets. They witnessed their parents’ deaths caught in crossfire of drug shootouts. Their poor and frightened families attempted to cross the border for a better way of life, but never made it. Many of the surviving children live in “Pallet City” where they make homes out of pallets. Others arrive at Casa Hogar, starving and malnourished, left by desperate parents who have no money, no homes to return to, and no work.
An angel in this nightmare, Mama Lupita, founded and now directs Casa Hogar. Her dream was to start a self-sustaining farm for these children to learn and work at and that would also provide them with healthy food to eat. This is where Aquaponics and Earth Sustainable Living, Inc., and a team of amazing volunteers stepped in and helped build a larger, more sustainable “Cycle of Life Micro Farm.” Phases I and II of the farm have already been completed. We have trained almost all of the boys! We gave them 47 fish last year to start them out and now they have thousands! They now know how to seed grow beds, make compost tea and use it as fertilizer for their garden crops, as well as, up keep their entire Cycle of Life Micro Farm! This year alone they have raised chickens, bred thousands of healthy Tilapia and grew and propagated wonderful crops of fruit and vegetables. The most amazing part of all this, it was all accomplished by the children themselves! Due to their hard work and amazing success, Casa Hogar has gained National recognition.
Objective:
Now, Aquaponics and Earth would like to take them to the next level! Our objective is to truly make them self-sustaining! Our vision is to build them an educational workshop and provide appropriate tools for the building, assembling, and selling of the Aquaponic systems they are already familiar and successful with. This workshop/training center will serve as a fundraiser for the boys’ unit at Casa Hogar. The boys will continue in their education to learn various skills in cutting, shaping, gluing and assembling these systems. Aquaponics and Earth has more than 5 contractors that have committed to transfer their skills and “know how” to these boys! During our last visit, my wife and I had over 15 boys help us make the parts to finish Phase II of the project. We were so impressed and moved by not only their desire to learn, but how carefully and safely they handled the tools. These children at Casa Hogar have the potential to not only help themselves, but also hundreds of their own people! They are creating their future! Partner with us in making this happen!
Time Frame:
We would like to start immediately!
Costs: 100% of your donation goes to this project!
| Item Description | Cost per Item | # of Items Needed | Total Item Cost |
| Tools, tables & training equipment for students | $6,400.00 | 1 | $6,400.00 |
| Parts & Inventory for Tilapia Breeding Unit | $256.00 | 50 | $12,800.00 |
| Project Total | $19,200.00 |
