AEDRA INTERNATIONAL

Let’s take care of our environment by supporting rural areas

It’s no surprise that the largest cities in the world contribute towards air and water pollution in an exponential scale. According to the eco experts, among some of the largest cities ranked as the most populated are Delhi (with 29 million people), Moscow (20 million people), Buenos Aires (12.8 million people) and Mexico City (21.8 million people). We have seen migration from rural areas to large cities in the past decades due to the lack of opportunity in jobs, education and health services.

How do we contribute towards a better environment for our planet? What if we support rural areas to lower pollution?

One of the premises would be that, by having more people moving out from urban areas into rural communities, we would be lowering the rate of population on these large cities, which are causing major environmental impact through transportation services. Now, due to COVID, a lot of people are working remotely from home, not using the car has been a great relief to the environment! But how about considering working remotely from a rural area or a small town?

According to a study made by the US Postal Services, 110,000 people moved from NY to other small cities in 2020 (compared to 19,000 the previous year). Large cities such as Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles saw big exodus of people moving out due to many reasons, mainly to be able to work from home but live in a more affordable place.

For most of them, it has been a great decision. Some of them may move back once their workplaces start to reopen, but some may stay there permanently. If you moved to a small town, we encourage you to interact with local communities and see how you can contribute towards their betterment. We strongly believe that by supporting rural areas by creating opportunities for people who live there, we are helping the environment. There is a huge need to assist small business owners, farmers, artisans and agricultural communities with new creative ways to become more sustainable in producing and growing their own resources to avoid migration to larger cities, and that has become our mission!

Share your opinions and ideas on how we can support rural communities and restore balance!

#strongruralcommunities #helpingruralcommunities #assistingruraleconomicdevelopment #supportruralcommunities #supportruralareas #supportrural #supportwomeninruralareas #womeninspiringwomen #sustainablebusiness #socialresponsibility #workremotely

Giving Hope for Mother’s Day

This past Mother’s Day, we were able to assist 2 different exceptional women, who became widows and they are not only supporting their own children, but their aging mothers too!! When we were brought up their cases, we thought it was imperative to give them some sort of assistance.

Mrs. Macaria Chavez lost her husband and she takes care of her mother (shown below); she sells produce in her local market: different types of vegetables, seeds and fruit. Her mom recently fell and because of her age, they really need to take care of her to avoid any complications. Her teenage children are assisting her selling their produce while she’s taking care of her mother but because of medical expenses she hasn’t been able to buy more merchandise to sell. With the little assistance we provided, she will be able to buy more produce to keep growing her business and sustain her family.

Mrs. Miriam Morales also lost her husband, she and her brother take care of her mother. Their medical treatments have been very expensive and they also have to take their mom to a nearby city where they can access medical care. She was so happy to receive this unexpected gift! that way she will be able to cover some of the medical bills that have been worrying her, she was truly thankful!

We are really proud for helping these remarkable women! How they pull all their strength and energy to give their families all they got! We strongly believe that we should be able to assist more women like them, and not only for Mother’s Day!

To learn more about us, visit: http://www.aedrainternational.org

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#aedra2020 #aedrainternational #womeninspiringwomen #strongruralcommunities #givehope #community #inspiration #mothersday #bestgift #mexico #economicdevelopment #microbusiness

How some few farm animals make a difference!

We recently came across a family in rural Huejutla, Hidalgo where literally, it is in such a remote area, that only few vehicles are able to access their community.

The family we assisted is composed by a grandfather, a mother and a young daughter. No steady income, they depend on the few produce they can sell. With the assistance of our field agent, we were able to assess their needs and they decided and committed to grow some farm animals. We bought them a pig and some chickens and they are familiar with the care they need to start growing their own animal farm. We are confident this small gift brought them hope and they are excited on having a family project that eventually will create a source of income for them in the near future!

#aedrainternational #aedra2020 #sustainable #supportrural #mexico #womeninspiringwomen #givehope #farming #community #strongruralcommunities

http://www.aedrainternational.org

How these stories inspire us!

With $200 a woman started her beauty salon at home

We may have seen our economies going back to “normal”, but not in 3rd world countries! They are still struggling the effects of the pandemic. According to the World Economic Forum, 1 on 4 women lost their jobs to take care of their families. We also have to consider that in other countries, unemployment benefits are not available, and there was no government “stimulus package” to assist them directly with short term needs.

One of our participants submitted her application to start a beauty salon at home. She lives in a rural area in the “Valle del Mezquital” in Mexico, where her home town was not only impacted by COVID, but also with floods that affected the agricultural production. Our organization, AEDRA assisted her with some financial support and mentorship, and with only $200 USD she was able to buy all the tools necessary to start offering her services as beautician at home and at the same time take care of her family.

What we have seen, is that, what we consider to be a small amount may cause a great impact not only to a single individual, but to her family and community. We love the ripple effect of gratitude and hope and how it moves others to keep helping one another.

Learn more about how you can contribute to our dream, supporting more people in rural areas!

How to Contribute

Our participant sending us few pictures of what she got for her beauty salon at home

#supportruralareas #womeninspiringwomen #business #entrepreneurship #motivation #hope #supportwomen #sustainablebusiness #mentoring #microbusiness #ruralareas

With $300 USD a woman in rural Hidalgo, Mexico started her bakery

Back in 2021, on the brink of starting massive vaccinations in the US., Mexico was still struggling with the economic impact of the pandemic, especially in rural areas. Most people who had a job, had now to create new ways to generate income and provide for their families. It’s important to know that in most Latin American countries, governments did not come up with a stimulus package, where every individual received an incentive. Nor did they get any unemployment income. Most citizens who lost a job need to rely on their little savings they may have or be victims of shark loans to survive.

We came across Laura, a single mother who lives in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo in México. She has a 2 year old and she was studying at the Universidad del Valle del Mezquital. She lost her primary income and she had literally no savings. The only way out was to become self sufficient, since there were no job opportunities.

She came to us asking for support to start her own bakery. She had experience with some baking training that she had in the past, and also some business skills learned from her education program at the University.

She was coached on how much she needed to invest to start her own bakery and how to run it successfully. With all the right planning tools and mentorship she put down $2,000 pesos and we did the rest to buy her an oven, tools and ingredients to get her started. Last time she checked in with us, she sent us pictures of her products and she’s providing for her 2 year old son and thinking of maybe hiring someone to help her.

Stories like this fill our hearts, knowing that some people just need a little push, a little support and by giving them not only the financial assistance but also HOPE, will make a great impact in their lives.

Laura is already selling different desserts to provide for herself and her family.

#supportruralareas #womeninspiringwomen #business #entrepreneurship #motivation #hope #supportwomen #sustainablebusiness #mentoring #microbusiness #ruralareas

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Auction in Florida benefitted AEDRA International

An amazing event raised funds for Aedra!

Entrepreneur women from the area of Coconut Creek, Fl, donated goods and services in benefit of our organization.

We visited each stand with beautiful products, some of them handmade, and also delicious food. Visit our Video section on Facebook, to see all the entrepreneurs that participated.

We thank these successful women for sharing their profits with AEDRA International! In this way we can continue supporting women in rural areas of Mexico, who also have business ideas for thriving in their own localities.

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“Unidas hacemos más por ayudar a los demás”

Many thanks to the participants: @cutiesbazaar_bypattyo @lizinthemix @mitienditabygaby @soft_chica @loscocoterosfl @mia.bohemia @alfajoresbyroci @sandyo.nice @mariafernandezmk @delyziasweet @belly_heaven @deliciaslaguelaguetza @woodinspiration.crafts @viva.ramona @listopersonallabels @florlevenmann @clausdelarose @superking_usa @flordeagua1111 @mexiscience and the organizer Gaby Bustillo 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼