Grant Statement
Our grants sponsor causes and projects that support the environment and the communities around the San Miguel campo in which we hike.
Our grants sponsor causes and projects that support the environment and the communities around the San Miguel campo in which we hike.
Mujeres en Cambio Scholarship Grant
San Miguel Hiking group awards its 6th grant to Mujeres in Cambio.
Mujeres en Cambio changes the lives of young girls by awarding education scholarships. These grants help break the cycle of poverty in eight low-income communities around San Miguel de Allende. Educated girls make better life choices regarding marriage and family and tend to have fewer children. Educated girls have a positive impact on the environment. They tend to earn more and give back more to their families and their communities.
Girls are selected in consultation with the schoolteachers and directors in their second year in secundaria – grade 8 equivalent. The criteria for selection include support from the family to keep the girl in school, academic record, and economic need. We support them all the way through university graduation if they maintain their grades.
During the academic year September 2021 to July 2022, we had 18 university graduates, 22 graduated from secundaria and 22 graduated from prepa. Additionally, we provide seminars on family planning, sex education, and personal finance.
Mujeres en Cambio currently has 174 active students. We have helped almost 1000 girls and young women. The scholarships we offer range from $300 USD a year for junior and senior high school and to $1,325 USD for university students.
San Miguel Hiking grant of $60,000 MXN will be used to fund scholarships to 10 newly selected girls in the 2022/23 school year program. This is our 6th grant awarded thanks to the generosity of hikers and donors.
For two decades San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment, people and communities around San Miguel.
Click on this link to donate any amount: https://www.sanmiguelhiking.com/donate.html
You can also learn about our previous projects and grants at www.SanMiguelHiking.com
You can find out more about Mujeres en Cambio at: www.mujeresencambio.org
Mujeres en Cambio changes the lives of young girls by awarding education scholarships. These grants help break the cycle of poverty in eight low-income communities around San Miguel de Allende. Educated girls make better life choices regarding marriage and family and tend to have fewer children. Educated girls have a positive impact on the environment. They tend to earn more and give back more to their families and their communities.
Girls are selected in consultation with the schoolteachers and directors in their second year in secundaria – grade 8 equivalent. The criteria for selection include support from the family to keep the girl in school, academic record, and economic need. We support them all the way through university graduation if they maintain their grades.
During the academic year September 2021 to July 2022, we had 18 university graduates, 22 graduated from secundaria and 22 graduated from prepa. Additionally, we provide seminars on family planning, sex education, and personal finance.
Mujeres en Cambio currently has 174 active students. We have helped almost 1000 girls and young women. The scholarships we offer range from $300 USD a year for junior and senior high school and to $1,325 USD for university students.
San Miguel Hiking grant of $60,000 MXN will be used to fund scholarships to 10 newly selected girls in the 2022/23 school year program. This is our 6th grant awarded thanks to the generosity of hikers and donors.
For two decades San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment, people and communities around San Miguel.
Click on this link to donate any amount: https://www.sanmiguelhiking.com/donate.html
You can also learn about our previous projects and grants at www.SanMiguelHiking.com
You can find out more about Mujeres en Cambio at: www.mujeresencambio.org
CEDESA Eco Ovens Grant
The Agricultural Development Center A.C., CEDESA, is a non-profit civil association, dedicated to the education and training of agricultural and indigenous communities of the Cuenca (Basin) Independencia where San Miguel is located. For over 50 years CEDESA has worked to promote integral development of communities, addressing problems of poverty, pollution, disintegration of the social fabric and water scarcity.
Together with the Rotary Club they constructed hundreds of cisterns for rainwater harvesting, and dry ecological toilets. They introduced beekeeping to support pollinators, supplying healthy foods such as honey, pollen, propolis, and selling natural shampoo and other cosmetics at local markets. They offer a very successful education program of backyard plot optimization producing vegetables, fruit, medicinal plants, grain, and fodder for animals.
The new project that San Miguel Hiking is supporting is building outdoor eco ovens in the seven communities of Presa Allende, Boca de la Cañada, Alonso Yáñez, Ciénega de Juana Ruíz, Vivienda de Abajo, Juan González and Corralejo de Abajo. These ovens will allow families and communities to bake their own artisan bread, cookies, cakes and granola, also rescuing forgotten traditional recipes such as such as "gordas de horno". They will reduce the dependance of these families on low quality commercial baked good, and the chimneys will improve their health affected by breathing fumes when cooking inside on open fires. The construction is done communally, and the ovens efficiently uses less firewood than other methods of cooking.
Together with the Rotary Club they constructed hundreds of cisterns for rainwater harvesting, and dry ecological toilets. They introduced beekeeping to support pollinators, supplying healthy foods such as honey, pollen, propolis, and selling natural shampoo and other cosmetics at local markets. They offer a very successful education program of backyard plot optimization producing vegetables, fruit, medicinal plants, grain, and fodder for animals.
The new project that San Miguel Hiking is supporting is building outdoor eco ovens in the seven communities of Presa Allende, Boca de la Cañada, Alonso Yáñez, Ciénega de Juana Ruíz, Vivienda de Abajo, Juan González and Corralejo de Abajo. These ovens will allow families and communities to bake their own artisan bread, cookies, cakes and granola, also rescuing forgotten traditional recipes such as such as "gordas de horno". They will reduce the dependance of these families on low quality commercial baked good, and the chimneys will improve their health affected by breathing fumes when cooking inside on open fires. The construction is done communally, and the ovens efficiently uses less firewood than other methods of cooking.
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San Miguel Hiking grant will be used for purchasing necessary manufactured parts such as barrels and chimneys, while the families will procure other materials such as mud, bricks, recycled glass, and labor. CEDESA will procure organization, training and follow up. The expected long-term impact is to progress towards better sustainable housing, community organization and cooperation, better nutrition, preserve cultural traditions, promote caring for native vegetation by cleaning and pruning of trees for conserving fuel, and improving health care by avoiding breathing smoke.
We are expecting inauguration and construction of the first oven in July. Donors are warmly invited to participate. Please let us know of your interest and we’ll invite you when a date is set.
San Miguel Hiking Group periodically awards grants to organizations with projects supporting the environment and the communities in the campo around San Miguel.
This is our 5th grant awarded thanks to the generosity of hikers and donors.
For two decades San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors.
Click on this link to donate any amount: https://www.sanmiguelhiking.com/donate.html
You can also learn about our previous projects and grants at www.SanMiguelHiking.com
You can find out more about CEDESA at:
https://www.facebook.com/cedesa.ac or www.cedesa.org.mx
We are expecting inauguration and construction of the first oven in July. Donors are warmly invited to participate. Please let us know of your interest and we’ll invite you when a date is set.
San Miguel Hiking Group periodically awards grants to organizations with projects supporting the environment and the communities in the campo around San Miguel.
This is our 5th grant awarded thanks to the generosity of hikers and donors.
For two decades San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors.
Click on this link to donate any amount: https://www.sanmiguelhiking.com/donate.html
You can also learn about our previous projects and grants at www.SanMiguelHiking.com
You can find out more about CEDESA at:
https://www.facebook.com/cedesa.ac or www.cedesa.org.mx
Tierra Blanca de Abajo Soil Regeneration Grant
San Miguel Hiking group awards $40 000 MXN to Cuerpos de Conservación Guanajuato, A.C. (CCG) for its Project: “Recuperación de Suelos en el Ejido Tierra Blanca de Abajo” (Soil regeneration)
The Ejido of Tierra Blanca de Abajo is a community of about 500 people located 25km Northwest of San Miguel de Allende. The mineral called Erionita Potásica (Potassium Erionite) present in its soil, water and air has caused many cases of pulmonary cancer.
This happens when dust gets exposed by overgrazing cattle and the natural erosion of the river in the rainy season.
Since 2014, the Institute of Ecology and The Guanajuato Conservation Corps, A.C have helped remedy the situation by constructing 16,800 meters of trenches with the participation of 114 local families. The goal is to slow erosion, capture rainfall and facilitate the re-establishment of native species.They also planted 11,200 magueys on 20 hectares, fenced to protect plantings from animals. This creates a vegetation cover and produces animal feed, aguamiel and pulque, also generating income for the community.
In 2015, rainwater harvesting systems were built to provide clean water to 15 homes. Since then, maguey and nopal plantations have been maintained and artisanal production has increased.
CCG requested the grant for the acquisition of a motorized crushing mill. It will be used by members of the Ejido de Tierra Blanca de Abajo and other communities to mill pruned maguey leaves for compost and sustainable, low-cost livestock feed during the dry season. This process will complete the cycle of maguey from planting for soil conservation to income producing.
It will hopefully become an example of self-management for other similar projects in the region.
This is the 4th grant awarded by San Miguel Hiking group thanks to the generosity of hikers and donors.
For two decades the San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors.
Click on this link to donate any amount: https://donorbox.org/reforestation-regeneration
You can also learn about our previous projects and grants on the same website
Caminos de Agua Education Materials Donation
The San Miguel Hiking group is proud to announce that it has awarded its second grant. 15,000MXN is going to Caminos de Agua A.C. Caminos de Agua works in partnership with local communities and grassroots organizations to create long-term sustainable water solutions through projects and capacity trainings in rural villages (communities) as well as urban locations. This grant made during their March Match Campaign, was matched by generous donors, and will help pay for educational material used in their water collection and purification workshops.
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You can see more about their work at https://caminosdeagua.org/news/2021/3/19/how-you-can-do-twice-the-good
Click here to see one of their very complete education manuals (en Español)
San Miguel Hiking group support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors. Thank you to all who participated.
We collect voluntary donations after our hikes and online at https://www.sanmiguelhiking.com/donate.html
Lomas Dimas Fencing Project
The San Miguel Hiking Group has selected our first conservation project.
Two NGOs, Cuerpos de Conservación ( ww.ccgac.wordpress.com/quienes-somos/ ) and Salvamos al Rio Laja ( www.agua.org.mx/biblioteca/salvemos-al-rio-laja-ac/ ) have been working on various sites around San Miguel (Doña Juana, Cañada de la Virgen, Puerto de Nieto) on land regeneration and reforestation projects. Their goals are to restore areas that have been severely damaged by overgrazing and deforestation, working with local communities on sustainable ways of farming and ranching, using the surface water wisely and restoring the natural vegetation.
On one site we visited, Lomas Dimas, located in Puerto de Nieto on the road to Queretaro, they planted more than 15 000 native plants such as maguey, mesquite and ocotillos, built trenches and stone terraces to stop water erosion, and hired locals (mainly women) to trim and clean paixtle (parasites) from trees. They are also starting to use maguey leaves to feed animals and lessen overgrazing that leads to land deterioration.
This fragile beginning needs reinforcement, and we can help with fencing. A small grant of 15,000 pesos will provide for adding posts and barbed wire to the original structure and keep the new plantings from grazing animals. So far 9400 pesos was donated by hiking group guides and participants.
In the future, everyone participating in our re-opened public hikes will have a chance to visit and contribute to these projects and show our gratitude and support to the people of the ejidos and lands we walk on.
Right now, you can support these very well- run NGOs working transparently and successfully on this necessary and valuable project. Click on this link to donate any amount link to a fundraising platform
For two decades the San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors.
Video on YouTube Restauración en Las Tinajas, Guanajuato, México - Restoration at Las Tinajas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Two NGOs, Cuerpos de Conservación ( ww.ccgac.wordpress.com/quienes-somos/ ) and Salvamos al Rio Laja ( www.agua.org.mx/biblioteca/salvemos-al-rio-laja-ac/ ) have been working on various sites around San Miguel (Doña Juana, Cañada de la Virgen, Puerto de Nieto) on land regeneration and reforestation projects. Their goals are to restore areas that have been severely damaged by overgrazing and deforestation, working with local communities on sustainable ways of farming and ranching, using the surface water wisely and restoring the natural vegetation.
On one site we visited, Lomas Dimas, located in Puerto de Nieto on the road to Queretaro, they planted more than 15 000 native plants such as maguey, mesquite and ocotillos, built trenches and stone terraces to stop water erosion, and hired locals (mainly women) to trim and clean paixtle (parasites) from trees. They are also starting to use maguey leaves to feed animals and lessen overgrazing that leads to land deterioration.
This fragile beginning needs reinforcement, and we can help with fencing. A small grant of 15,000 pesos will provide for adding posts and barbed wire to the original structure and keep the new plantings from grazing animals. So far 9400 pesos was donated by hiking group guides and participants.
In the future, everyone participating in our re-opened public hikes will have a chance to visit and contribute to these projects and show our gratitude and support to the people of the ejidos and lands we walk on.
Right now, you can support these very well- run NGOs working transparently and successfully on this necessary and valuable project. Click on this link to donate any amount link to a fundraising platform
For two decades the San Miguel Hiking Group has provided locals and visitors the opportunity to experience nature, outdoor fun, exercise, and form friendships. We support projects preserving the environment and fostering appreciation for local culture and understanding between rural communities and visitors.
Video on YouTube Restauración en Las Tinajas, Guanajuato, México - Restoration at Las Tinajas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Help our Cause
By donating to the San Miguel Hiking Group, you help enable us to support the communities we touch through our hiking, and allow us to fund our land steward projects such as reforestation, erosion control and overgrazing.