Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

During her Peace Corps service in Panama, founder Florence Reed saw the challenges faced by smallholder farmers practicing slash-and-burn farming, which requires annual burning of forests after previously burned land becomes too degraded to support crops. Ms. Reed finished her Peace Corps service with the vision of a multi-year extension program provided by local trainers focused on transformational partnerships with smallholder farmers in order to preserve tropical forests and improve the lives of the rural poor in Central America and beyond. With time, she has come to see the tremendous potential for many other impacts including mitigation of global warming, protection of water sources and increased biodiversity. 

This vision drove Ms Reed to found Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) in 1997 to confront the devastating effects of short rotation slash-and-burn agriculture on people and the planet.. SHI‚ experience shows farmers will change their agricultural practices when provided with adequate technical assistance to transition to nature-positive practices that also raise their standard of living. These families' transformational journeys are integral to SHI's larger vision of a global paradigm shift in the way the world grows its food and cares for the environment.

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SHI‚ approach is rooted in supporting both economic and gender diversity, both in terms of the methodology‚ outcomes and the operational philosophies that govern activity implementation. The five phases of their approach to regenerative agriculture extension are steeped in increasing economic opportunity for farming families in sustainable ways to ensure economic impacts for not only this generation but future generations. All families in SHI‚ programs transition from subsistence farmers reliant on few crops to farmers growing a diverse array of nutritious foods and other crops. Surplus production is sold for income, and money is saved through the production of almost all of their own food. Participating families improve both nutrition and family incomes. Increased farm production also opens opportunities for investments in value-add products, further increasing farm income. 

Additionally, SHI works with the family unit, ensuring all family members understand the approaches and practices, while providing all family members opportunities to have hands-on training. While there are challenges in some communities and families with the prevailing machista culture, SHI‚ approach is deliberate in getting buy-in and action from all members of the family to ensure sustainable success in improving land, using the new diversity of crops produced, and diversifying economic opportunities. A third of SHI‚ primary program participants are women.

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