00:00Venezuela on the move continues its work in Tachira State to learn about the experience
00:06of agricultural productive communes that, with a spirit of struggle, are strengthening
00:11food sovereignty.
00:11Our colleague, Michelle Ramirez, with the details.
00:16On our journey through western Venezuela, we enter Cardenas Municipality in Tachira State,
00:21which stands out as a major agricultural and livestock center in the country, excelling
00:25in livestock and poultry production, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of its domestic
00:30economic activity.
00:35In these regions, agricultural communes play a key role.
00:39Men and women working in poultry farming contribute to the 560 metric tons of chicken the state
00:43produces each week.
00:44It is the collective effort and love for one another that have driven this initiative,
00:48which also aims to supply the local population.
00:56I've also worked for the community in many ways, and thank God we are able to produce
00:59something with the small scale farm we have here.
01:02We have chicks, hens, dairy cows, and we also grow sugar cane, and we are moving forward
01:07little by little, thanks to God, blessed by the Lord and by the government we have.
01:11We have a government that has also given us a hand.
01:14We work here too, and we sell at the community at a very affordable price, and we sell the rest
01:19of the market.
01:20Things have gone very well for us.
01:22Blessed be God.
01:22And the rest of the world we sell to the market.
01:25It has helped us very well.
01:25Praise God.
01:26This community is currently being a producer, where we have had 88 credits.
01:32This community is currently noted for its agricultural production, where we have issued
01:3688 loans to producers, including 62 poultry farms, six big farms, two bakeries, two pastry shops,
01:42one chocolate shop, and a pepper farm, and so on.
01:45In other words, we have been working with agricultural sectors and enterprises within our territory.
01:51Every day, we look forward to the future of our commune, hoping it will become a self-sufficient
01:56commune in the state of Tachira.
02:01This community has a young face.
02:05Lives like that of Angelo, a young engineer who, though passionate about his profession,
02:09decided to pursue poultry and pig farming, making the commune a place of productive diversification.
02:14He started with very little, and through resilience, he tripled his herd.
02:18Thanks to the commune, we started the project where they provided a loan, and with that loan,
02:26we started with 30 chickens.
02:27We raised them over the months and days, and so on, until we made the sacrifice to benefit
02:32the entire community.
02:33And that's how we grew.
02:35We started with 30, then 60, and so on, until we reached 80 chickens.
02:40It's also nice because it helps to unwind, see how the animals are doing, and things like
02:45that.
02:46That's the beauty of it here.
02:48That's what makes it special.
02:51I'm a computing scientist, but not everyone can rely on technology.
02:55This is an important resource.
02:57It benefits us, and through it, I'm paying for my education.
03:02So that's what I like about it.
03:04I like it because I'm with my family.
03:08We are raising them together, keeping the business going, because it benefits us all.
03:13It's important.
03:20Productivity starts at the grassroots level, with community leaders who come together to
03:24create, design, and plan collective solutions.
03:26For them, the main goal is social well-being and economic growth.
03:31For us, it is important that our collective work also be reflected in meeting the needs
03:36of the people, and that, as a community, we can benefit all those spokesperson and the
03:40producers who live there.
03:42For me, the community has been like a school.
03:44It is the place where I live.
03:45It is the place where my family is, where my family isn't just the people in my immediate
03:50household.
03:51It's understanding that everyone around me is part of my family, and it has been my school.
03:55My education goes back a long time.
03:57I trained as a community activist, and I continue to work.
04:00I have been active since I was very young.
04:02I believe that youth participation is also important.
04:05The next generation that is in the communities and with whom we continue to work on communal
04:11issues.
04:14This is how they are building the future of the nation, where living in a society of equals
04:18is the cornerstone of collective happiness.
04:20This is how they are building the nation.
04:20I believe that youth participation is the time of the nation.
04:20This is how they are building the nation.
04:20I believe that youth participation is the time of the nation.
