In 2024, our partner Sahel Eco helped drive a farmer-led transition to agroecology in Mali across the Ségou region. Working closely with local communities, they supported efforts to restore degraded land, strengthen food security, create spaces for women to lead collective decision-making and market gardening initiatives, and offer young people tangible, hopeful alternatives for a more secure future. The Sahelian context The Sahel is one of the poorest regions of the world. Stretching … [Read more...] about Partner Impact: Sahel Eco Empowering Farmers and Driving Agroecology in Mali
Agroecology
Saving Andean Potatoes: How Farmers Are Fighting Crop Disease like Punta Morada with Agroecology
By Rebecca Wolff On our recent field visit to the provinces of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, with our partner EkoRural, potatoes were everywhere — in a steaming bowl of soup at lunch, and flowering across the rolling hillsides in Mulallilo. This was very different to my life back home in Vermont. Potatoes are always a side dish, never the star of a meal, and they are often labeled as just a starchy food. Yet, potatoes are nutritious, high in vitamin C, and the more colorful and pigmented the … [Read more...] about Saving Andean Potatoes: How Farmers Are Fighting Crop Disease like Punta Morada with Agroecology
Returning to our Grandmothers’ Kitchens: Eating with an Agroecological Mindset
The smell always got there first. Upstairs, while I played with my cousins, the scent of my French grandmother's cooking filled the house; roasted potatoes, bubbling butter, something meaty and rich we couldn't quite place yet. Everything came from nearby: mushrooms from our morning walk in the woods, herbs from the garden, butter churned by a neighbor, and meat from healthy grass-fed cows, locally known as "La Charolaise." Each meal was a long sensory feast. We ate while listening to my … [Read more...] about Returning to our Grandmothers’ Kitchens: Eating with an Agroecological Mindset
What Grows on Concrete? Lessons from the Urkuwayku Regenerative Farm in Ecuador
Perched atop a breezy hillside in the Ecuadorian Andes, a 5-hectare farm shows what the future of food can look like. At first glance, Urkuwayku ('Windy Mountain' in Kichwa) looks wild—in the best way. Trees stretch skyward. Flowers bloom in chaotic harmony. Fruits, herbs, grains, and vegetables spring from the ground at every turn. Birds chirp. Insects buzz. Life hums in every corner. This is no accident. Urkuwayku is a living, breathing system—auto-regenerating, as its founder Stephen … [Read more...] about What Grows on Concrete? Lessons from the Urkuwayku Regenerative Farm in Ecuador
Imagining an Agroecological Future: Pathways & Blockers
Vast fields of uniform crops have long defined our agricultural landscapes—a familiar promise of endless abundance. This is the image many of us have known for decades, so ingrained in our way of life that shifting to a different model seems inconceivable. Today, the cracks in this system are undeniable: drought and extreme heat burning hectares of land. Unforeseen frosts and storms disturbing seasons' rhythm and wreaking havoc on plants' growing cycles. Fruits and vegetables that once … [Read more...] about Imagining an Agroecological Future: Pathways & Blockers
Comunidades de Guatemala y Honduras fortalecen la soberanía alimentaria con reservas estratégicas de granos y bancos de semillas
Durante una semana, representantes de comunidades de Guatemala y Honduras se congregaron en las oficinas de la Asociación de Comités Ecológicos del Sur de Honduras (ACESH) con la intención de compartir saberes sobre almacenamiento de granos, conservación de semillas y estrategias para la soberanía alimentaria. Agricultores, coordinadores comunitarios y técnicos de Qachuu Aloom, Vecinos Honduras, Asociación de Agricultores las Ilusiones del Divisadero (AGRIDIVI) y ACESH intercambiaron … [Read more...] about Comunidades de Guatemala y Honduras fortalecen la soberanía alimentaria con reservas estratégicas de granos y bancos de semillas