DEXY RODríguez
Partnering farmer
Dexy in her home garden in El Escobal, Panama. March 2022.
Dexy has been living in the community of El Escobal, Panama for the past 14 years. Like many families in the area, Dexy’s family grew coffee and raised cattle on their land. And like most other families, they were farming conventionally.
But three years ago, Dexy saw a neighbor implementing new techniques she’d never seen before. Her neighbor’s new vegetable garden, in particular, really caught her attention. “As a housewife, this was something I could learn, this was something that would make things easier for me,” Dexy recalls. “Close to home, I could grow things I would use in my kitchen.”
Dexy has now been working with SHI-Panama field trainer Diomedes Arrocha for the past three years. She’s established a thriving home garden that provides her family with an abundance of chemical-free, nutritious, and delectable food. And that’s just the beginning.
Creating Opportunities
Dexy is now in Phase 3 of SHI’s program. She’s diversifying her crops and learning more about opportunities for income generation. She used to spend a lot of time and money acquiring vegetables which she believed only grew in other parts of the country. Now, they grow in her backyard, free of charge. She’s proud, and frankly surprised, by all the crops in her home garden today.
Dexy looks over fibers from the bellota plant which she will weave into the iconic sombrero pintao, which serves as another source of income for her family.
They’re still growing coffee on land her husband Rubén Ibarra inherited from his father, but now it’s intermixed with hardwood trees, Guabo trees, and fruit trees like orange and soursop in an integrated agroforestry system.
What’s more? She’s selling the surplus as a new source of income for her family. With more income from agriculture, she hopes she’ll be able to improve her family’s home.
“What I have learned from SHI is how to harvest healthy food. I’ve learned how to grow crops that don’t have those chemicals. I can sell them and that also helps me have access to things that I need.”
stability and security
Partnering with SHI has brought a new sense of stability and security for Dexy’s family. They now have easy access to healthy food and an extra source of income. Other SHI-sponsored projects have brought additional relief.
SHI helped Dexy construct an irrigation system that includes two water tanks for storage, helping ensure stable access to water throughout the year.
An improved chicken coop provides new peace of mind for Dexy. She used to frequently lose her chickens to wild animals, but now she knows they’re safely protected at night. Where once she’d wake every morning wondering how many chickens remained, now she looks forward to feeding her healthy squad and letting them out to roam the yard.
Most importantly, Dexy now has stable access to water. With the support of SHI, Dexy built a small aqueduct that, using the force of gravity, brings water from a small spring to two tanks located close to her garden. Even during the dry season from December through April, Dexy knows she has reliable access to water.
““I would like to thank you for the support you’ve given to me and to the communities of El Limón and El Escobal because we have learned so much about how to work the land, knowledge that we can share with our children and other families.””
