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Earthquake
Disaster Relief for
Armenia,
Colombia
On the 25th of January, 1999, a earthquake destroyed the town of Armenia in Colombia, South America.
On February 4, 1999 a earthquake research team reported the earthquake impacted the coffee region in the western part of Colombia, with the most severe impact in the cities of Armenia and Pereira and surrounding villages. Armenia has a population of approximately 270,000. Pereira has a population of approximately 380,000.
The International Institute of Simplified Hydroponics provided the first seed money to get the Armenia project started.
After the initial money, UNDP United Nations Development Project, accepted the project for funding, which continued for five years.
The outcome of the project was about 5000 gardens started, perhaps half the number of families displaced by the earthquake.
Since the project started several home gardens have grown to be commercial ventures, supporting entire families.
The project ended with UN funding in 2004, and individual gardens continue on their own.
There are several small businesses associated with the gardens. Four separate businesses make and sell a hydroponic nutrient for the gardens.
The area of Armenia is now mostly recovered from the 1999 earthquake but the region still has terrible poverty associated with the coffee prices being depressed on the global market.