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Agroecology Pays Off in Burkina Faso: New Study Shows 77% Yield Gains and Strong Financial Returns Despite Extremely Dry Conditions
A new study from Groundswell International, Altus Impact, and the Burkinabè NGO Association Nourrir Sans Détruire (ANSD) offers compelling evidence that agroecology works and is ready to scale. The study analyzes data from more than 400 farming households in Burkina Faso’s eastern region, collected between June 2023 and June 2024. The results show a clear progression: as farmers adopt more agroecological practices, their incomes, yields and wellbeing improve. Indeed, farmers using several agroecological practices such as zai pits, stone barriers, and Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration of tree …
Youth Storytellers of Latin America & the Caribbean Gather for Their First In-Person Meeting
This article was originally published in Spanish. Read it here. Eleven young people, leaders and representatives from Groundswell International’s partner organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean recently gathered on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, to participate in the first in-person regional meeting of the Youth Storytellers program. The goal: to build a solid network among diverse youth, learn how others are developing the program in their regions, gain new skills and explore different approaches in areas such as photography, video, and creative writing to tell the storie …
Jóvenes Contadores de Historias de América Latina y el Caribe viven su primer encuentro presencial
Once jóvenes, líderes y representantes de diferentes organizaciones socias de Groundswell International en Latinoamérica y el Caribe, se reunieron a orillas del lago Atitlán, en Guatemala para participar del primer encuentro regional presencial de Jóvenes Contadores de Historias de la región, con el objetivo de consolidar una red sólida entre juventudes diversas, conocer contextos de cómo están desarrollando el programa en otras latitudes, y adquirir conocimientos y tener aproximaciones iniciales en diferentes áreas como fotografía, video y escrituras creativas para narrar sus territorios y co …
Ajil Tz’aqat: A Mayan Way of Life for a World in Crisis
“You are me, and I am you; we are us, and what happens to you happens to me.” What would our world look like if this sentence guided our laws, economies, and daily lives? This relational principle is the foundation of Ajil Tz’aqat: a way of life anchored in care, balance, harmony, and reciprocity, shaped by the Mayan cosmovision. It guides the daily life and values of the Maya people in Guatemala, but also the work of local organizations like AGRIDIVI (Asociación de Agricultores Las Ilusiones del Divisadero). Based in the Western highlands, AGRIDIVI works with Maya, Kic …
Scaling Agroecology in West Africa with Community-Led Agroecology Committees: Lessons for Facilitators
Partnerships that leave communities strong, self-reliant, and resilient have been at the core of the work of Groundswell International and its partners in West Africa. A key part of this work is training field teams to facilitate community-led approaches and strategies to scale agroecology, combining learnings from different countries. Earlier this year, member organizations from Burkina Faso and Ghana participated in a series of trainings and pilot programs aimed at helping communities organize themselves to promote agroecology through agroecology committees. These committees, first developed …
Planning Climate-Resilient Farms with Hand-Drawn Maps and Satellite Images
High in the Ecuadorian Andes, two farming communities, Cuellaloma in Chimborazo and Atocha in Cotopaxi, are redrawing the future of their land, quite literally. Farmers gather to sketch their chakras—traditional biodiverse Andean plots—as they want them to be. These hand-drawn maps help farmers plan strategically for food security, income, and resilience in the face of a changing climate. The chakra is the heart of daily life for Kichwa families in the Andes. These ancestral systems enable communities to ensure food security, generate an income, pass down traditional knowledge, and preserve fa …