About Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_bR7MI9_ZY
English subtitles can be enabled in the YouTube video by clicking CC and the Settings icon, then selecting Subtitles and then Auto-translate.
English subtitles can be enabled in the YouTube video by clicking CC and the Settings icon, then selecting Subtitles and then Auto-translate.
Silvia and Jake, 2019
Comizahual was a Lenca goddess in the culture of the native peoples of the northern region of Morazán, El Salvador. She brought knowledge of how to care for and cultivate the land. We are a family committed to conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and the environment, in harmony with ancestral practices.
Our family has been working for several years in agroecology at a small scale, and currently we are expanding these practices on Comizahual Regenerative Farm. We are reforesting a degraded hillside, with a focus on fruit trees and other native, edible and perennial plants. The soil has been severely depleted of moisture, biology, and organic matter due to previous landscape (mis)management practices. We have begun to dig terraces, make swales, and plant trees, specifically pines, mangoes and avocados, as well as izotes and cassava, among other plants. However, without water and soil management through human intervention, this steep hillside would continue to erode and become a desertified landscape. We hope to use our available water resources, primarily rain and runoff, to regenerate the soil and, in doing so, to provide ourselves and our community with nourishing foods. Our aim is to restore this ecosystem to help create a biodiverse oasis of life, one that can serve as a model for other people in the region.
We work on private land, but our activities benefit the public through ecosystem services, such as clean water and air. In addition to growing fresh foods, we love to cook and share it with our friends, neighbors and guests.
Our family has been working for several years in agroecology at a small scale, and currently we are expanding these practices on Comizahual Regenerative Farm. We are reforesting a degraded hillside, with a focus on fruit trees and other native, edible and perennial plants. The soil has been severely depleted of moisture, biology, and organic matter due to previous landscape (mis)management practices. We have begun to dig terraces, make swales, and plant trees, specifically pines, mangoes and avocados, as well as izotes and cassava, among other plants. However, without water and soil management through human intervention, this steep hillside would continue to erode and become a desertified landscape. We hope to use our available water resources, primarily rain and runoff, to regenerate the soil and, in doing so, to provide ourselves and our community with nourishing foods. Our aim is to restore this ecosystem to help create a biodiverse oasis of life, one that can serve as a model for other people in the region.
We work on private land, but our activities benefit the public through ecosystem services, such as clean water and air. In addition to growing fresh foods, we love to cook and share it with our friends, neighbors and guests.
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Who We Are
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Silvia Argueta - Executive Director
Silvia is a young indigenous Lenca woman with a degree in business administration and experience in project development and execution. She has worked in non-profit organizations implementing at the local level various social projects about agroecology and care of water resources. She also has experience advocating for women's rights, collaborative work, youth leadership, vulnerable populations and preservation of Lenca culture. Silvia is highly dedicated to the protection of Mother Nature. For her, Comizahual Regenerative Farm is both an expression of her love for Mother Earth and a response to the current climate crisis. Through her work, she is carrying out actions that strengthen food sovereignty and sustainable gastronomy. Additionally, this farm embodies the union of efforts and values shared within her family to protect the land, water, and biodiversity. |
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Isaac Argueta - Assistant Director
Isaac, who is Silvia’s brother, is passionate about agricultural sciences and sustainable development. He studied organic agriculture and has a degree in agronomy. For more than eight years, Isaac has been learning and putting into practice a variety of agroecological techniques to produce organic gardens. He also has experience in soil remediation, using strategies and techniques of sustainable agriculture. Isaac sees the Comizahual Regenerative Farm project as the result of “learning by doing” and a clear example that food sovereignty is possible with dedication, work and awareness. |
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Jake Kostick - Bio-Construction Designer and Builder
Jake, the husband of Silvia Argueta, is dedicating himself to building Comizahual's infrastructure, primarily using volcanic stones, lime mortar, and locally-grown timber, among other materials. He is passionate about natural building and ecological landscaping. In college he studied anthropology, with a focus on the relationships between humans and plants, both biologically and culturally, which is what led him in 2019 to Central America, where he met Silvia in El Salvador, fell in love and decided to stay. He has several years of experience working on different organic and regenerative farms in Central America, Spain, and the United States, and he continues working seasonally in the US building gardens. |
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Enma Ramos - Agricultural Coordinator
Enma, an agricultural engineer with Lencan roots, has extensive experience in the development and implementation of environmental and agricultural projects, both in non-profit and private organizations. She has experience in wetland conservation, environmental education, small-scale agriculture and livestock, organic garden establishment, and beekeeping. Her passion for sustainable development and the well-being of rural communities has motivated her to work on varied projects. She brings that passion to Comizahual Regenerative Farm where she is carrying out actions for the care and protection of the environment, food security and local economic development. Enma's environmental commitment has led to her becoming a leader in her community and in her line of work. |
