Close to half of Tsimane’ children below 18 years of age are growth stunted, or at least two standard deviations below peers of their same sex and age in industrial nations. 85% of Tsimane’ have parasitic worm or protozoa infection. Garden products such as manioc and plantains contribute upwards of 65-70% of dietary energy. The staples are sufficiently dense in nutrients to meet adult requirements, but inadequate to meet the high nutritional needs of young children, particularly their protein requirements. The Tsimane’ also face forest degradation from internal population pressure, encroachment by outsiders (e.g., loggers, cattle ranchers), expansion of cash cropping, and low household income. Low household income reflects low agricultural productivity and a shortage of sustainable income-generating activities. The project is designed to address the problems. The goal of this project is to improve farming productivity and, through improved farming productivity, improve the nutrition, health, and assets of Tsimane’. Specific goals include the introduction of pigeon pea cultivation and domestic production of chickens to: (a) increase agricultural yields, (b) decrease deforestation, (c) improve nutrition, and (d) increase household income. To successfully introduce pigeon pea cultivation to participating households and communities, we conduct workshops to educate Tsimane’ on techniques to cultivate, process, and store pigeon pea. Following the initial pigeon pea harvest, we hold workshops to instruct participants in proper techniques for processing pigeon peas for human consumption and for chicken fodder. To lower chicken mortality and increase household production, we hold workshops on the proper care of domesticated chickens, such as how to cope with pests and prevent disease. Farmers with the most success in cultivating pigeon pea and breeding chickens will play a central role in training households outside of the project interested in our intervention. Through a study of the regional market planned for 2008 we will assess the market potential of pigeon peas. The market study will address two topics. First we will investigate the potential of a local or regional market for pigeon pea. In previous work we discouraged the sale of pigeon pea but saw that some people sold pigeon peas in local markets. Second, since households will produce many chickens, we need to assess the potential of the local market to absorb the increase in chicken output. While the project lasts we will conduct surveys among participating households. In the surveys we will collect information to assess the effects of the project on our chief goals, including health, nutrition, agriculture, deforestation, income, and consumption. We will also elicit suggestions from participants in the project about how to improve the functioning of the project. The project will benefit about 5000 Tsimane’ adults.
• Social returns
• Experimental study
• Nutrition project
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