The project DeMano, Spanish acronym for Mothers and Children Development in Ocotepec, focuses on improving the nutrition, health and livelihoods of communities in area of Cofre de Perote National Park (Veracruz, Mexico), through the enrichment of agricultural production and implementation of strategies based on cientific research on soils, health and mother-child relationship.

The project aims at breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, malnutrition and environmental deterioration, with the support of a multidisciplinary team formed ecologists, psychologists and health experts working alongside the mothers and children in the community.

Through the use of agroecological approaches, DeMano is succeeding in recovering soil fertility and conserving traditional crop varieties and associated recipies. Mothers report a beneficial impact in childern's health and development: those growing under the project's influence start speaking earlier and are more attentive. Additionally, the project has also benefited household economies thanks to the the sales of vegetables and preserves that the women's cooperative comertializes.