Agroamérica trains rural Guatemalan women in pastry arts

Guatemala, July 2011. Agroamérica trained forty women from the community of San Francisco Madre Vieja, Escuintla, in the skills of pastry production in order to teach them a new skill that could be used to start their own home-based businesses.

The group met for five consecutive days in the local public school to receive classes in pastry-making techniques using basic recipes provided by Agroamérica. They were also taught how to construct their own artisanal ovens. These classes were also aimed at raising the women?s self-esteem and to empower them to recognize the economic benefits of using these newly acquired skills to augment their families? incomes through a home-based business.

This program was undertaken in partnership with the Medfly program and the support of community leaders, mothers from the Best Families Program, and the director of the local public school. During the closing ceremony, the participants received diplomas and shared their ?creations? with those in attendance.

The president of the committee of ?monitor mothers? of the San Francisco Madre Vieja chapter of the Best Families Program, Sandra Herrera, thanked Agroamérica for the training course. She also said that she and her classmates were extremely motivated to continue their training and become businesswomen in the community.

Agroamérica organized and contributed to the funding of this training program in the pastry arts as part of its corporate responsibilty program and Better Families Program.