With the aim of deepening the commitment to the communities that guard the land, the Livelihood and Food Security team (MVSA), of Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean, launches a methodological proposal for the mapping and sustainability analysis of the Agricultural Productive Units (UPA). This tool, which is already being applied by National and Diocesan Caritas, seeks to transform the way in which rural life in the region is understood and accompanied.

A shared learning process

The initiative is born from the need to go beyond numbers and understand the stories of resistance and hope in the countryside. Bibiana Rodríguez, from Cáritas Colombiana, explains that this analysis is, above all, a listening tool:

We think of this analysis as a tool to better understand the processes that rural families and communities have been building in their territories. We look with them at how they are walking, what their strengths are, what challenges they face and where they want to go.

For Rodríguez, the launch of this guide is not an end in itself, but a means for families to recognize their capabilities and for Cáritas to review its own role. "The methodology seeks to generate a space for reflection both for the productive units themselves and for Cáritas. On the one hand, it allows families to recognize their progress, their capabilities and their vision for the future. And on the other, it helps Cáritas to review and improve the support processes it carries out in the territories," he adds.

What is a Productive Unit for Cáritas?

The methodology defines the UPA not only as a technical space, but as a space where a person, a family or a group organizes their work to produce food. Laura Rodríguez, from Cáritas Dominican Republic, points out that a productive unit is "a life process."

"It can be a family farm, a small farm or a collective experience. But for us it is not just a place where production takes place. There people make decisions about their production, their economy and their relationship with the land and with their community," says Rodríguez.

About the decision to create this guide and carry out the mapping, Laura details that in general terms, the final objective is to have a clear and strategic to strengthen food security, income and resilience of rural communities.

With the implementation of this mapping, the MVSA team plans to achieve strategic results that will transform the impact of Cáritas in the field. According to the methodology, this exercise will allow a deeper understanding of the lives of rural families to identify their vulnerabilities and opportunities, thus facilitating the design of more effective programs that strengthen resilience in the face of crises.

Likewise, Laura Rodríguez highlighted that the tool will be key to improving coordination between dioceses and external allies such as NGOs, States and international organizations, functioning as an engine to generate solid evidence that allows directly influencing the creation of fairer rural and agricultural public policies.

Transformation in the territory

For the teams that walk daily alongside the communities, this methodology promises a qualitative change in their work. Gerardo Torres, from Cáritas Honduras, emphasizes that systematic mapping allows us to recognize knowledge and potential that sometimes go unnoticed.

When implemented in a participatory way, mapping becomes a space for listening, dialogue and joint construction. Communities are not only recipients of support, but protagonists of their own development.

In addition, it highlights that this tool "enriches pastoral and territorial accompaniment, reaffirming Cáritas' commitment to dignity, integral human development and care of the common home."

The four dimensions of sustainability

The proposed analysis is divided into three fundamental areas and one transversal, seeking a holistic vision of production. Juan Ferro, from Cáritas del Perú, details that the objective is not only to see how much it produces, but to understand if this process really helps to sustain the lives of people and the territory:

• Ecological: The care of the soil, water and biodiversity.
• Economic: The ability to generate income and sustain the activity over time.
• Social: Community organization, links and solidarity.
• Transversal: The future vision of families and their perception of Cáritas' support.

A concrete example is SOLYDAR, a social company linked to Cáritas del Perú. Ferro details how this analysis occurs. "The ecological dimension to demonstrate the commitment to caring for the environment in productive activities. The economic dimension allows us to observe how these processes contribute to the increase in income through the articulation of products to the market. For its part, the social dimension seeks to identify the growth of people, both individually and collectively, promoting values ​​such as solidarity. This entire process also has a transversal component of comprehensive support, which allows knowing the impact of the work that is carried out together with the productive units."

Towards a future of resilience

By concluding the application of this methodology throughout the region, Cáritas hopes to have consolidated a clear map of the dreams and challenges of those who live off the land, with a deeper look. As Bibiana Rodríguez concludes, the final horizon is the autonomy of the people:

Mapping will allow the identification of processes that are already moving towards more sustainable forms of production... it seeks to contribute to the productive units themselves being able to continue consolidating themselves as protagonists of their development, with a clear vision of where they want to go.

To learn about the methodological proposal developed by the team and is being implemented in the National Cáritas, click on Download file (button below).