Doña Matea is an extensionist with Seeds for a Future. Join her in this video as she describes how she lives and teaches The First 1,000 Days Program.
Nutrition And Health Education Training
Poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Guatemala are so closely entwined it scarcely makes sense to ask which is the cause and which are the effects. These challenges are transgenerational – men and women affected by malnutrition and poverty during their early years carry physical and mental impacts that extend to their own children.
Learn more about how the Seeds Program provides critical education and training for families to lead healthy and flourishing lives.
Our Nutrition and Health Education Training Element Involves Three Main Components:
• Nutrition Training Basics - Nutrition Training includes the importance of Minerals and Vitamins and the integration of healthy foods into traditional recipes to avoid chronic diet insufficiencies.
• The First 1,000 Days Training - Nutrition training for mothers during pregnancy and the critical first two years of their infant's life to avoid the pattern of chronic, generational stunting of infants and children.
• WASH Program Training - Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene training for safer kitchens and households. Improving health and quality of life by ensuring access to clean water, proper sanitation facilities, and effective hygiene practices.
Nutrition Training and Coaching
Our family coaching program begins with a review of the unique needs and resources of each family entering the Program.
Based on what the predominant diet needs are for the family at the time, a customized outline of which greens and vegetables would most benefit their health and wellness is created.
The Seeds training includes the family's garden design, creation, and production methods for producing nutritious plant and animal foods at home, affordably and sustainably.
As food production methods are established, our team’s weekly visits begin to include information on nutrition -- what it is, how various nutrients benefit the body, what foods supply which types of nutrition, and how better nutrition will help their children and other family members have better lives.
We also help families use their home-grown nutrition in daily meals.
Staff and families have jointly created recipe books to share among participating families.
Most of the recipes are for familiar local dishes, enhanced with the addition of nutrition-packed foods.
The First 1,000 Days Training
While good nutrition is always important, it is absolutely vital during the First 1,000 Days of life -- from the start of pregnancy to the baby’s second birthday. The right nutrition during this period influences not only whether the child will survive but also his or her ability to grow, learn and rise out of poverty.
Because this time period is such a critical time, it’s a priority of Seeds for a Future.
It has adapted the internationally recognized “First 1,000 Days” practices into the culture, agriculture, and practical realities of rural Guatemala.
The First 1,000 Days Program teaches women of child-bearing age how to achieve good nutrition for both mother and baby, and how this will impact the lives and futures of their children. In addition, mothers learn how good nutrition will help their own health during their pregnancy and breastfeeding so they will remain strong and capable for themselves and their families.
When families have stable access to sufficient food, and when that food is nutritious and healthful, all family members can contribute their share to the creation of a better, more successful future for their family, their community, and for Guatemala.
The First 1,000 Days Program PDF
Learn more about the Seeds for a Future First 1,000 Days Program, which has been helping to reverse malnutrition among mothers, babies, infants, and children across Rural Guatemala since 2009.
WASH Program Training
The Seeds WASH training equips families with the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain safer kitchens and households. By prioritizing the availability of clean water, we aim to significantly reduce the risk of waterborne diseases and enhance overall community health. Families learn how to safeguard their water sources and implement effective purification techniques, ensuring that every family member has access to safe and potable water.
Improving sanitation facilities is central to the WASH Program, which plays a crucial role in preventing disease transmission. Seeds for a Future collaborates with families to design and implement sustainable sanitation solutions tailored to their specific needs and resources.
Through practical training sessions, families gain awareness of personal and food hygiene, which in turn has a positive ripple effect on their quality of life. From proper handwashing techniques to handling and preparing food safely, these practices help safeguard families against common illnesses and improve their overall well-being.
The INCAP Research Study
Because of the unique approach of the Seeds for a Future Program, from 2014 to 2017, an internationally-funded, randomized controlled trial study by the Institute for Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) scientifically documented the success of the Seeds for a Future program.
“In conclusion, this study provides evidence that an integrated approach involving health, nutrition, and agriculture with a duration of at least twelve months of follow up may have a significant positive impact in nutrition outcomes, especially in hemoglobin and iron status biomarkers, of mothers and children under five years of age in rural populations.”
Follow-up interviews showed an extraordinary level of sustainability—more than 80% of study participants reported continuing one or more actions they had learned from the Seeds for a Future program.
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