The Success of Michaela Sales Hernandez from Guatemala
Latin America grows some of the best tasting potatoes in the world. Micaela Sales Hernández is a potato farmer from Huehuetenango, Guatemala. In the spring Micaela applied for a farming loan from Mentors Guatemala. She used this money to invest in seed potatoes and organic fertilizers to help ensure her potatoes plants would grow and thrive.
Micaela has been working steadily getting her land ready for planting. This season she was able to hire two additional workers to help with the process. She sows the seeds and her employees follow along after her spraying the organic fertilizer on the seed potatoes. Micaela has been able to plant seven strings of potatoes this season. Her largest crop to date.
Micaela is a dedicated farmer and she checks on her plants daily. She is always cultivating the ground and making sure that her crops have enough water. About a month after planting her potatoes are growing well and there are bright green leaves above the ground. Micaela is then able to use more of the fertilizer to help protect her plants from the various bugs in her area. You can see from the picture above how well her plants are doing this season.
Micaela is very excited to see the fruits of her labor. Farming is very difficult work, but for Micaela it is very rewarding to experience every stage of the farming process. “My farm is producing much more now because I am able to purchase fertilizer with my loan from Mentors Guatemala. I love meeting with the mentors and showing them my progress and how my farm is improving. I am very grateful that Mentors Guatemala is there to support and help farmers like me. I am now able to afford to feed my family more nutritious meals and we are very happy.”
