Something Is Growing in Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador
When Eliceth stepped up to pitch her business idea at the first-ever Pan de Vida Shark Tank — an entrepreneur pitch competition — she was stepping into something she hadn't fully seen in herself yet: the capacity to build something, to provide for her family on her own terms. Today, she sells traditional smoked cheese in her community. One idea, one opportunity, one family changed.
Hope Ventures has partnered with Pan de Vida, a Christian nonprofit based in Quito, Ecuador, since 2019. The relationship began with entrepreneur training — equipping mentors in business methodology and coaching families through the early stages of launching their own ventures. Over the years, the program evolved into what it is today: a Life Farm model that pairs household-scale gardens and small animal systems with ongoing training and entrepreneurial support. Families don't receive handouts; they receive tools, skills, and a community invested in their growth.
A Life Farm in Quito, Ecuador.
The latest annual report from Pan de Vida tells a story that's hard to contain in numbers — though the numbers do matter. Over the past year:
322 Life Farms now active across communities in and around Quito
1,669 people reached, including 687 women and 214 girls
157 families no longer depend on local markets — they're growing their own vegetables
55% drop in illness frequency among surveyed families
72% increase in consumption of their own homegrown produce
What makes this model different is what happens next. Champion families — trained leaders who receive animals and inputs — raise them, then pass offspring on to new families, who do the same. This year, 17 champions passed on animals to 24 additional families — 50% beyond goal. Seven champions are now independently facilitating agricultural training in their own communities. Leaders raising up leaders.
Eliceth's story is one thread in a much larger fabric.
“Working to earn a living with my own hands made me feel useful and capable.”
A new training cohort is also coming soon — more details to follow. If you've been watching what's happening in Ecuador, you already know: the soil here is ready.
Want to be part of what's growing?