The project sets out to redeem the children from homelessness and hopelessness, and the horses from a lifetime of brutalized labour. Together, the animals at last experience some gentle rest while the children can express tenderness, often for the first time in their lives.

The ponies graze on land belonging to CIPRES, Centre for the Investigation and Promotion of Social Economies. They are cared for fulltime by trained staff. Coming from established ‘homes’, three children ‘adopt’ three horses (to prevent too great a trauma when one dies), and care for them regularly. While at CIPRES, they also receive information and instruction about permaculture, the natural environment, the cooperative movement and Fair Trade, participate in practical workshops and learn about social movements for justice. They receive their meals from CIPRES’s Café Sandino.

Thus, besides the direct equino-therapy, they also experience a wider vision, see fresh possibilities and learn new skills, all to assist them in finding a new life path.

The project is funded by individual donations and from grants. It also generates some income for CIPRES itself, to support its vital work in the national Zero Hunger programme. Thus there is no charge to the children or to the organizations that care for them. Rather their work with the horses is valued in itself, in an equal exchange with all they learn and receive at the centre, thus helping develop their self-esteem.