One of the women involved in the Greenhouse Project speaks to the gathering for the blessing of the greenhouses explaining how this project will affect her family and her community. Looking on are the German Consul, Norbert Eichler, and the Prior Provincial, Fr. William J. Harry, O. Carm. The German Government through its Projects of Direct Aid to Communities funded 5 greenhouses each of which is the responsibility of 5 families. The Carmelites are the assessors of the project.

The Prior Provincial, Fr. William J. Harry, O. Carm., blesses the plants in one of the five greenhouses paid for by the German government and each being maintained by five families.

At the blessing of the greenhouses, the German Consul, Norbert Eichler, joins the Prior Provincial in addressing the many people from the Canton of Valle Nazareth en Huizucar, La Liberatad. During his talk, Mr. Eichler said “Germany has large projects of cooperation with El Salvador and the Central America region, but our hearts are in the community projects because we can see the benefits in a very short span of time and with small investments that are arriving directly to the communities.

German Consul, Norbert Eichler, joins the Prior Provincial, Fr. William J. Harry, O. Carm., and Br. Benjamin Costante, O. Carm., inspecting the plants inside one of the greenhouses. Br. Benjamin is coordinating programs at the Finca San Elias, and works with the families involved in the greenhouse project. The Finca San Eliás is a project of the Carmelites in El Salvador to fund the ministries of the Order. The principle product is coffee which is sold locally as well as in the United States and Canada.

Some members of the 25 families who will be responsible for the production in the 5 greenhouses benefiting directly from the Projects of Direct Aid to Communities in the German Embassy in El Salvador.

Healthy plants benefiting from the protected environment of the greenhouse. Each green house has 400 tomato plants and 400 chili plants. Some of the food will be used by the families; the remainder will be sold in local markets. A portion of the money will be saved to be reinvested in new greenhouses in approximately 5 years.