Sustainable Family Farms Reducing Poverty and Deforestation

in Central America

Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua & Panama

Cape Elizabeth H.S., 2009

SHI currently works in four countries:

Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua & Panama.

We work in southern Belize, Toledo district.

SHI works in two districts of northern Honduras.

We work on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.

We work in two districts of Panama.

Tropical forests

Mitigate global warming by absorption of CO2

Prevent siltation of reefs and other aquatic ecosystems

Allow rainfall to reach underground aquifers to maintain potable water supply

The local people of Central America rely very directly on the forest for food, shelter, medicine and water.

However, it also leads to more soil washing away and more contamination of soil and water, especially if pesticides are involved.

Cattle grazing can add to the problem because of soil compaction and the need for more open pasture.

Many farmers still practice slash and burn, because ash acts as a fertilizer and fire clears the land.

Slash-and-burn agriculture destroys forests and forces farming families off their land.

Farmers are hungry for information on alternatives to slash-and-burn farming that provide a decent quality of life for their families and communities.

Sustainable Harvest International was incorporated as a nonprofit in May 1997 to help farmers adopt those alternatives.

An important part of how SHI works is to hire local field trainers who work with individual families on the farms where these families live, helping them learn new techniques and market their crops, as well as helping to reforest in areas that are environmentally sensitive.

Below are two of our Nicaragua field trainers visiting farmers and discussing the crops being grown. It is this direct, hands-on and long-term commitment that makes SHI different.

• Beans

• Rice

• Corn

• Banana

• Plantain

• Cassava

Sustainable techniques for growing traditional staple crops

Healthy Soils Produce Healthy Crops

Composting and bocashi Worm composting

Rice paddies produce four times as much rice as slash-and-burn rice, so families have more to eat and more to sell.

Other techniques taught by SHI include:

• Cover Crops

• Crop Rotation

• Integrated Pest Management

• Composting

• Mulch

SHI families live in small remote villages, and have had little or no access to education about alternative growing methods.

That is one of the greatest needs that SHI field trainers meet.

Alley-Cropping

Nitrogen fixing trees are mixed in with agricultural crops.

Trees are cut back when they start to shade out the agricultural crops.

Trunk and branches become firewood or fence posts, leaves and stems become mulch.

An important part of SHI’s work is to help families plant organic gardens thereby improving their diet and income.

SHI works to provide seed and instruction for gardens, and helps families to market excess produce.

Family Gardens

SHI helps families and community groups to grow trees from seeds in nurseries for later

transplant onto farms and public land.

SHI participants plant a variety of hardwood, fruit, spice and other

types of trees.

Reforestation and Agroforestry

Biodiversity

Growing a diversity of crops together provides ecological

AND financial stability on participants’ farms.

Vanilla vine on hardwood tree

Hardwood tree shading cacao.

Cover crops & erosion barriers build up soils.

Shade coffee forest farm beyond ag. plots.

Erosion barriers and natural pest control

The income on this farm increased from $80 to $1,000 by

switching to sustainable practices & more valuable crops.

Don Cheyo made over $4,000 from sustainably grown new cash crops such as Tabasco peppers.

Value Added Products

Medicinal herbs

Eggs for local market

Non-traditional crops

Chicken coops keep chickens and eggs safe from predators

Small Fish Pondsalso improve nutrition

and income.

Wood-conserving stoves protect the health of women, children and forests.

Biogas digesters produce methane from organic waste.

Methane gas from the biogas digester replaces firewood for cooking.

Special Projects

SHI works both with the communities and in cooperative projects with organizations such as Engineers Without Borders or Rotary International on special projects, such as small potable water & reforestation projects, or sugar and molasses production projects

School Programs &

Environmental Education

Smaller World Trips

Join us on a Smaller World Trip

and see SHI’s work first hand

Growth is guaranteed…

mud wrestling is optional

SHI’s Accomplishments to Date

More than 12,000 acres of degraded land converted

to sustainable uses

More than 60,000 acres of tropical forest saved from slash and burn farming

More than 2.6 million trees planted

23 community loan funds started with $10,000 seed capital, now manage $40,000 capital

Technical assistance provided to over 1,800 families in 120 communities in four countries

SHI’s Accomplishments to Date

$18,000 supports the work of one field trainer for an entire year. $6,000 sponsors an entire village program for a whole year.

$500 provides a family with technical support and materials for one year.

$200 covers the costs of establishing a five acre agro-forestry plot.

$50 buys the materials for a wood-conserving stove.

Sustainable Harvest International

Planting Hope

Restoring Forests

Nourishing Communities