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Marta Gutierrez lives in the community of La Vainilla, Caraza, Nicaragua. She has taken part in a CIEETS program on diversification and food security supported by CWS. “We have had the idea of improving our living standards for a long time, but it isn’t easy. The honey production has helped us. Some people questioned it, they said it was no good waiting a whole year to see the production. But we have patience, and it’s been good. We have three hives, in logs, and we spent a year before we could divide up the hives into box hives. Now we have three different types of Melipona bees. I’ve already harvested three litres of honey, but it’s not the same as honey you’d find in a shop, the color and smell is different, and it is medicinal, specially for the eyes and for coughs, but also for women, for period pains. Chipiza is really tiny, jicote chipiza is another. I go to all the farmer markets, fairs, I sell mangos, jocotes, vegetables, a bit of everything, even soft cheese, eggs. With this project I’ve been growing new things, citrus fruits, squash, onions”.

