Agros

Agros Communities

El Salvador

El Salvador is a Pacific-coastal Central American country residing between Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador is the smallest country inMap highlighting El Salvador, also showing the surrounding countries Central America geographically, but has the fourth largest economy in the region. According to World Bank indicators, 34.5% of the population lives below the national poverty line. More than 43% of the rural population lives below the national poverty line. Terrain in El Salvador consists of mostly mountains with a narrow coastal belt and central plateau, and has a tropical climate—varying between a rainy season (May-October) and dry season (November-April).

  • Total Population: 6,125,512
  • Size: 21,041 sq km
  • Average Annual Income: $3,720
  • Child mortality per 1,000 live births: 18.44
  • Maternal mortality per 100,000 live births: 81
  • Main exports: Offshore assembly exports, coffee, sugar, textiles & apparel, gold, ethanol, chemicals, electricity, iron & steel manufactures

Agros in El Salvador

Agros’ first village in El Salvador, El Milagro, was started in February 1999. There are now a total of four Agros communities in El Salvador, which collectively are home to 525 people working hard to provide a future and a legacy for their children. Each community has a Community Board, which is responsible for governance, organizing the community and informing them of important community events, and maintaining infrastructure. Women are active members of the board and other committees, including health, youth, and the women’s community banks.

Land ownership laws in El Salvador are complex and provide unique challenges to the Agros model requiring heavy legal support.

Sustained Communities

El Milagro: Est. 1999, 23 families

San Diego de Tenango: Est. 2000, 26 families

La Esperanza: Est. 2003, 14 families

Nuevo Renacer: Est. 2005, 23 families

Resources for Further Study

World Bank

CIA World Factbook

U.S. Department of State