WHY IT MATTERS
In Central America, forests are being destroyed and soil is being depleted by slash-and-burn agriculture. As a result, precious ecosystems are lost and many farmers can no longer provide enough food to feed their families. Sustainable Harvest International provides rural farming families with an alternative: forest gardens.
With assistance from local Sustainable Harvest International field trainers, families learn to plant multi-story forest gardens, incorporating hardwood trees which provide shade for crops on lower levels, including cacao, coffee, ginger, and vanilla. Below the upper canopy, farmers plant vitamin-rich fruit trees and nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees that improve the soil. The transition from destructive slash and burn cultivation to sustainable farming allows families to improve their health, increase their income, restore tropical forests, and preserve wildlife habitat. The opportunities created through our programs allow families to stay together rather than having to seek livelihood elsewhere.
Since 1997, Sustainable Harvest International has worked with over 2,500 families in Central America and planted almost 4 million trees. Your redemption provides the training and materials needed to plant five fruit or hardwood trees on a family farm.