People living in rural communities of the Dominican Republic depend directly on the land for their food.  Many people work long hours to grow produce that is destined for international markets, but the money they make is not enough to meet their needs.  As a result, people leave their communities in order to find other work and children are taken out of school to work for other farmers; parents are unable to give their children nutritious food to keep them healthy and ease their hunger.

HOPE International Development Agency has the privilege of working alongside community groups in San José de Ocoa Province to create sustainable incomes and healthy diets for their families.  By constructing environmentally friendly fish ponds, 330 families have been able to cultivate fish and shrimp providing the protein rich food that has been lacking in their diet.  Extra fish from the ponds are sold at a local market, diversifying and increasing family income as well as contributing to the local food supply.

After observing the success of these ponds, many groups of villagers from neighbouring towns and provinces have requested HOPE’s help in establishing this initiative in their own home towns. 

The cost of this work is minimal – each pond costs a total of $3,000.  That means for 1 person to benefit from the pond harvest, it only costs $1.50.  Along with the construction of the pond, communities received equipment and training for fish cultivation and pond maintenance.

Help build fish ponds for rural families in the Dominican Republic.