Legislators seek to ban the practice, after rural community leadership calls for a more responsible sector. If you’ve travelled to the Lower Lempa between the months of December and April, you’ve probably seen it. Large, billowing clouds of thick black smoke rise across the horizon, sometimes blotting out the sun. Long, slim pieces of […]
Communities Planting Sugar Cane Responsibly
¡Defendamos la vida…Sembremos caña responsablemente! Let’s defend life…. Let’s plant sugar cane responsibly! On Friday September 7th, a group of roughly 40 people gathered in Ciudad Romero for a workshop on sugarcane. The participants were community leaders from the Bajo Lempa, including representatives from the communities San Hilario, Amando López, El Marillo, Ciudad Romero, and […]
Mystery Kidney Disease in Central America
Originally posted on PRI’s The World. By Kate Sheehy December 12, 2011 Play in New Window | Download A mysterious epidemic is sweeping Central America – it’s the second biggest cause of death among men in El Salvador, and in Nicaragua it’s a bigger killer of men than HIV and diabetes combined. It’s unexplained but […]
The Link between Sugar Cane Growers and Flooding in El Salvador
By Yael Falicov El Salvador’s growing sugar cane industry, dominated by a small network of giant sugar cane mill companies, is one of the clearest threats to environmental health and well-being faced by our partners in the Bajo Lempa region. And it isn’t just thanks to the incredibly toxic chemicals they use and the severe […]