ERAs Produce Their Own Fish Feed
With the agreement between PASO Colombia and the Universidad de los Llanos, participants from the Alternative Rural Schools of Mutatá, Dabeiba (Antioquia) and San José (Guaviare), learn to prepare food for their fish production projects.
Lilia Tabera, a participant in the Mutatá ERA, recounted how in the workshops “They taught us how to feed and manage the fish, how to make the concentrate and manage some plants to process them and feed the animals. So we are going to give our fish a healthy diet, without any kind of chemicals, and people are going to get their attention because they know that it is processed by ourselves in the region.”
On the other hand, Amado Monsalve, a participant in the Dabeiba ERA, reported that “We were very confused since the sale prices do not compensate for what we spend, because it is too expensive to transport both the care and what we produce. So now, with these workshops, we see a great advantage because we have many resources in the area”.
Fish concentrates are produced with raw materials grown in each territory. Therefore, this initiative contributes to the food self-sufficiency of the communities and the sustainability of their projects.
Finally, Monsalve insists that "We have to go back to look for the basket, the machete and the sack, because on our own farms we have everything we need."