General diagnosis and services developed in the Corral de Piedra village, San Juan Ermita, Chiquimula

• Main Author: Flores Galdámez, Servin Ardany
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 1999
• Subjects: Nutrition counseling; health counseling; Guatemala; Life Sciences; Medicine and Health; Sociology
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5363; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6362&context=etd

The Corral de Piedra community is located in Chiquimula, Guatemala. The main agricultural activities are corn and bean production, small-scale gardens, and small animal production, such as poultry and pigs. The crop areas are predominantly located on lands with slopes between 12 and 55%, presenting low fertility conditions and poor moisture retention capabilities. In addition, local crop varieties have low productivity potentials and the winter season is characterized by poorly distributed and erratic periods of rain. The Benson Institute introduced a technology transfer model to increase and diversify agricultural production, while preserving current natural resources. An integral part of this model included educating the community on nutrition and health topics. The school was considered to be the most appropriate place to introduce training and education in agriculture among students and community leaders, thus contributing to community development.