[Scpg] Sustainable Harvest International Sunday, Feb. 6 at12:15 Unitarian Church of Ventura

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

  Sustainable Harvest International Sunday, Feb. 6 at12:15  Unitarian 
Church of Ventura
Please read article below on Sustainable Harvest International that was 
submitted to Hopedance Magazine last year, but was not printed
                 wes

Here is an event at the Unitarian Church of Ventura some readers may be 
interested in attending. I found this program inspiring and enormously 
informative when she came last time. Moreover it's a kind of psychological 
antidote to Monsanto moving in next door (in Oxnard.) The UU Church is at 
4949 Foothill. Off the 101 at Victoria, North (away from the ocean) to 
Foothill, left just past Day Road and up the hill to the parking lot.

For those unfamiliar with the UUs, we don't evangelize and people of all 
beliefs or none are welcome. This event occurs after the service and is 
separate from it.


Margaret

This Sunday we have a program that has been scheduled on short notice with 
little publicity.

  Sunday, Feb. 6 at12:15 Sarah Kennedy from the outstanding organization 
Sustainable Harvest International will speak about their successful work in 
Central

America teaching farmers alternative methods to slash-and-burn agriculture.

Among many benefits are preserving the rain forest, improving nutrition, and

raising living standards so families can afford to educate their children. Last

year our congregation donated $650 from a first Sunday collection to

Sustainable Harvest, and we will hear how we have been able to help in 
their work.

Lunch is potluck.

Julie

Much with Little: A Central American Journey with Sustainable Harvest 
International By Scott Vlaun
http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_34/shi.asp?UID=2004031020075993

I'm standing on a hillside so steep that I feel if I stumble in the loose 
soil, I'll tumble down to the bottom. The heat is oppressive. We're all 
soaked with sweat after an hour and a half drive on a rutted dirt track and 
another couple of hours of hiking through the hills to visit these remote 
farms tucked away on steep, marginal land in north central Honduras. The 
scene before me is familiar. A farmer stands proudly in his field, showing 
us the progress he has made since he started working with Sustainable 
Harvest International (SHI). The crop diversity, soil erosion barriers, 
seedling nursery, and hand-dug aquaculture ponds full of fish and rice 
plants (or "ricipicicultura" as they call it here) are signatures of SHI's 
low-tech approach to small-scale sustainable development. Florence Reed, 
the founder and president of SHI, listens intently and surveys the scene 
proudly, while Bruce Manuum, SHI's field coordinator, assesses the 
situation, taking notes and making suggestions. Along with us is Jorge 
Rodriguez, an SHI extensionist, who has guided and assisted Ignacio "Nacho" 
Castro to develop his farm for the last three years.

As I have seen repeatedly, the conversation evolves from the successes of 
the project to the dreams of the farmer. "If only we had a well, an 
irrigation pump, or a way to get our produce to market...then we might 
actually be able to make some money, send our kids to school, put a metal 
roof on the house, or buy medicines for the old ones." The list goes on. 
The needs are so great here; the poverty wrenching. As the conversation 
shifts, so does the expression on Ms. Reed's face. Pride turns to 
frustration as she is compelled to tell yet another poor farmer that there 
are no funds available. "Things are 'tough' in the U.S. right now," she 
says, "contributions are down, SHI might need to cut back its programs." I 
hear her say "lo siento" (I'm sorry) for what seems like the thousandth time.

Florence Reed started Sustainable Harvest International in 1997 after a 
stint in the Peace Corps in Panama and four years of working with other 
non-profit organizations that were doing development work in Central 
America. In both of these cases, while there was an emphasis on restoring 
or preserving the environment, she could perceive a greater need. What was 
missing from many approaches to aiding the people in these impoverished 
countries was a long-term approach to creating sustainability, especially 
in agriculture. Creating sustainable systems is at the core of SHI's work.

By most standards, Central America is an ecological and social disaster. 
The great rainforests were logged for their exotic hardwoods. Much of what 
was left has been cut for firewood for cooking or simply burned in place. 
For decades "slash and burn" agriculture has been the norm here as the 
rural poor have struggled to support a growing population. As the prime 
agricultural lands in the valleys are mostly taken up by multi-national 
agribusiness, growing for export to the north, the poor are either forced 
into the already overwhelmed and often dangerous cities or retreat further 
into the countryside, clearing more land to eke out a few crops on the poor 
rainforest soils before moving on. The result has been massive 
deforestation and desertification as more people try to survive off a 
dwindling resource. In Honduras and Nicaragua, the tragedy of this 
environmental devastation was made painfully clear by Hurricane Mitch in 
1997 when thousands died and hundreds of thousands more were left homeless 
in the wake of massive landslides and flooding, greatly exacerbated by the 
lack of trees to absorb water and root systems to bind the soil.

Traveling to some of the most remote areas in Central America with Florence 
and Bruce, and meeting some of the more than 600 families that receive 
technical assistance from SHI, it becomes clear that the work they are 
doing here is confronting the ecological disaster head-on. By their own 
estimates their extension agents have facilitated the planting of close to 
a million trees and the conversion of several thousand acres to sustainable 
agricultural practices, saving an estimated 40,000 acres from the onslaught 
of slash and burn agriculture. By providing help to restore the ecology and 
institute sustainable agricultural practices in rural areas, SHI is also 
helping to relieve the poverty driven, social crisis as well.

Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, we journey by "panga" (a small open boat with outboard motor) 
for five hours up the swollen and muddy Rio Kukra, starting out in 
Bluefields, a bustling outpost on the Caribbean coast. While Bruce and Flo' 
catch up on the most recent news with Marvin Gonzales and Dinis Morales, 
the two SHI extensionists who are our guides, I marvel at the surrounding 
landscape (and the numerous logs that we narrowly miss). The lush, verdant 
wetlands along the banks are filled with colorful flowers and numerous 
birds but soon give way to patches of cleared land with grazing cattle and 
small settlements of a handful of crude but beautiful, thatched roof, 
pole-built dwellings. Wherever we see the clear-cuts and cows, we also see 
precious soil flowing into the river in the form of "cafe con leche" 
colored mud. Bruce is quick to point out that SHI discourages cattle 
production as much as possible in these tropical areas, but given the dire 
circumstances, it's easy to see how these settlers, mostly relocated 
refugees from the "Contra" war of the eighties, might opt for the easiest 
way to generate cash, even if they know it will destroy the land in the 
long run.

Once we reach our destination, a riverside settlement of maybe 500 people 
called La Aurora, we set up camp a mile or so from the river in a vacant 
building where the local government houses the occasional visitor, 
including the SHI extensionists when they come to do their field work. It 
is a crude affair with no electricity or running water, the norm for this 
and the surrounding settlements where the occasional light at night is 
always accompanied by the drone of a generator. Having no such luxury, we 
are happy for the candles, flashlights and bedding that we brought along.

In the following days we visit over a dozen farms, once spending the better 
part of the day on horseback in the driving rain as our borrowed "steeds" 
(Bruce got a mule) slogged through the belly-deep mud. What we see on the 
participants' farms was a sharp contrast to the trampled grazing lands and 
mono-crops that we saw along the river and trail. Although the Kukra River 
is a relatively new work area for SHI, the results of Denis and Marvin's 
work is remarkable.

At the farm of Juan Moody we find relief from the sweltering heat under a 
canopy of young mahogany and cedar trees as we mingle among his coffee 
bushes and young cacao trees. (Chocolate comes from cacao.) Out in the 
sunny area, young banana and plantain trees intermingle with a broad range 
of organic annual vegetables mixed with "fertilizer beans," which are fast 
growing , nitrogen fixing legumes. His carefully protected nursery is full 
of foot-tall seedlings of various hardwoods.

Mr. Moody is one of the first farmers to work with SHI in this area and the 
relative maturity of his plantings reflects that. But at the other farms we 
visit, there is also much to appreciate. Everywhere we go we see clusters 
of seedling bags provided by SHI with various tree species in different 
stages of development, awaiting transplanting. We also see compost piles, 
thickly mulched fields complete with living erosion-control barriers of 
Pineapple and Madre de Cacao to conserve soil, simple compost tea makers 
and ingenious vermicomposters carved from a single log and placed on stilts 
to keep critters out. Everywhere we see a diversity of crops including 
corn, rice, citrus, cassava, plantain, gandul (a staple legume) and various 
annual vegetables. While all these farmers receive technical assistance 
from SHI extensionists, each has clearly developed his or her own 
strategies to fit their particular situation . Both Dinis and Marvin say 
that for every family or community they are working with there are numerous 
others requesting assistance who they have to turn away.

Fortunately, Nicaraguans are generally an industrious people, and are 
initiating many independent projects as news about these sustainable 
practices spreads. One community we visit is developing an organic 
demonstration garden to grow vegetables for themselves and to show others 
how to grow organic produce to supplement their vitamin deficient, staple 
diet of rice, corn, and beans. Like most groups working on agricultural 
issues in the communities we visited, they request a meeting with SHI. 
Bruce and Flo are glad to oblige. After proudly showing us their newly 
constructed chicken coops and garden plots and explaining their plans as 
they tour us around the land, we move inside where the conversation, as 
usual, turned to funding (or lack thereof). Their nascent operation is 
impressive, and although they achieved a lot on their own, they have 
projects that need modest funding. One that strikes a cord for me is for a 
seed-storage bin. The group has started a seed bank for the soil-building 
"fertilizer beans." They give a supply of the seed to anyone who wants 
them, as long as the recipients agree to return twice as much at the end of 
the season, thus quickly building the group's stocks. The problem is that 
they have no way to safely store the seed. Again, I can see the anguish on 
Ms. Reed's face as she has to refuse funding for yet another deserving 
project.

Belize

In Belize, the situation is somewhat different than in Honduras and 
Nicaragua. The fact that English is the common language and the country 
hosts a bustling tourist industry means that some growers were able to 
access resources such as Organic Gardening Magazine and the teachings of 
Robert Rodale, long before they penetrated the region's Spanish speaking 
countries. So while the need for technical assistance in the countryside is 
still great, especially within the indigenous communities descended from 
the ancient Maya, there is a base of knowledge about organic methods and an 
economy to build markets for organic produce.

One of our first stops in Belize is to the home of Burton Callis who calls 
himself the "Organic Preacher." He serves us an amazing lunch of chicken, 
vegetable and root crops, followed by fresh fruit and a special cake made 
with dates, all organically produced right there at his home and on his 
small farm which is a short bike ride down the road. Along with the food 
comes a "sermon" about the benefits of the organic way and the problems of 
marketing his citrus in the face of giant export-driven, chemical-intensive 
monocultures that occupy much of the open land in this small country. It is 
obvious that this man is a valuable and willing resource for the work that 
SHI is undertaking.

After lunch, on the way to his farm we stop by the local elementary school, 
one of the dozens that SHI extensionists support. Burton teaches the 
students here how to grow fresh food for themselves and their families. We 
see a lot of "callaloo," a popular leafy green for cooking that looked to 
me like Amaranth, as well as beans, tomatoes, other vegetables, and papaya 
trees loaded with ripening fruit. The headmaster tells us about the 
enthusiasm of the children and how many have started gardens at home. The 
biggest problem, he informs us, is harvesting the food before someone else 
"helps themselves" to it. Given the fact that many here go to bed hungry, 
he is not surprised.

Burton's ten acre farm is an oasis of diversity with mixed orchards of 
citrus, papaya and banana as well dozens of other crops including squash, 
melons, beans, cabbage, corn and leafy greens. His soil is rich, dark, and 
deep. It seems like whatever will grow here, Burton grows. He is fortunate 
to have a reliable water source running through his land. Irrigation is a 
problem for many of the small farms and gardens we visit in Belize, where 
monsoon rains can be followed by prolonged drought. There is much talk 
about ponds, wells and solar pumps. While SHI has no money for such 
projects, they hope to work with a group from Colorado called Engineers 
Without Borders which takes on this type of work in developing countries.

Unfortunately, even highly skilled growers like Burton still struggle in 
Belize. There is no premium paid for organic food here and no way to 
cost-effectively get his quality produce to "enlightened" markets.

In the small Mayan communities near the Guatemalan border, they haven't 
developed as refined a polyculture as Burton Callis, but we see many 
productive gardens with cabbages, tomatoes, carrots and other vegetables as 
well as the beginnings of some more permanent plantings. While these 
vegetable plots are important supplements to an often vitamin deficient 
diet, most impressive to me are some of community based projects.

One group of nine families in the village of San Jose has banded together 
to grow a crop of Habanero peppers for Marie Sharp, the famous Belizian 
hot-sauce bottler. We are lucky enough to be there just as the six-acre 
crop is ripe and ready for harvest. The families are out early to beat the 
heat and harvest about twenty large sacks of the spicy red fruits. In the 
afternoon, after lugging the hefty loads for close to a mile to one 
member's home in the village, all the tops are removed and the damaged and 
unripe fruit culled out. The excitement is palpable as a borrowed truck 
comes to pick up the over 700 pounds of fruit. Their first cash crop is on 
its way to market! This is cause for serious celebration. We later 
calculate that each family would receive about thirty dollars for their toil.

A group of ambitious students at a nearby high school, we learn, had fared 
much better. Under the guidance of an SHI extensionist, they converted 
their modest school garden into a burgeoning market farm, raising the 
almost unimaginable sum of close to 10,000 dollars for the school by 
tapping into the lucrative resort market in the north of the country. 
Impressive work, even by U.S. standards.

Everywhere I visit with Sustainable Harvest International, the story is 
essentially the same. Families and communities are vastly improving their 
lives with a small amount of technical assistance and a lot of ambition. 
Once degraded land is again becoming productive and sustainable. Forests 
are regenerating and streams are again running clear. What this tiny 
organization accomplishes each year is truly remarkable, and they do it on 
a budget of less than it costs to build a luxury vacation home or drop a 
"smart bomb" in the desert.

I ask Florence if she had hopes to expand the work of SHI. "In every 
country where we work we get tons of requests from surrounding 
communities," she says. "They see what we're doing, and they present 
letters or petitions. Then word spreads to other parts of the country and 
we get requests from there. Through the internet, we get a lot of requests 
from local organizations in other countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, 
India, Mozambique, Thailand, Nigeria...all over...several a month I'd say. 
The hardest part of the job for me is seeing the real need and the desire 
of people to work and make things better for themselves and for the 
environment, then having to tell them 'sorry the money's not there'. And 
the money comes a lot slower than the requests."

"But would this model still work at larger scale?" I ask. "Wouldn't you run 
the risk of becoming top heavy and less efficient?"

By spinning off successful programs to become self sufficient, Florence 
explains, the organization can preserve the advantage of being very lean 
and efficient while taking the work to a global scale. They are currently 
doing just that with their Honduras program, which is essentially all 
Honduran run at this point. They are starting to do their own fundraising 
and hope to become an independent affiliate within two years.

"Ultimately, the long term goal that I'd like to see before I die," 
Florence says as she laughs heartily (she's only 34), "is to have SHI still 
be a relatively small organization, but basically function as a hub to 
facilitate the flow of information and resources amongst a global network 
of local affiliates."

As I part ways with Florence and Bruce in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, I'm at 
once filled with hope that somehow her vision for a sustainable planet 
might one day become a reality. At the same time, I'm painfully aware that 
the tide is flowing fast the other way. It's time to get back to work.

Scott Vlaun is a photographer, writer, and the editor of the Seed of Change 
eNewsletter. He can be contacted at editor at seedsofchange.com

To learn more about the work of Sustainable Harvest International, or help 
support their work, visit their website at 
http://www.sustainableharvest.org. or contact them at:

Sustainable Harvest International
104 Congress Street, Suite 401
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603.427.0735 (phone) 603.422.8762 (fax)