Agros Blog

On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we recognize that every day is Earth Day in the developing world. For millions of people around the world, their very survival today depends on access to land as a source of food, shelter, and income. But for the majority, their access to land remains tenuous and means there will always be vulnerability to hunger and poverty, and by extension, little capacity to worry about conserving resources when survival is at stake.

Recognizing that, land access is a key tenet of Agros’ development model.  Further, to safeguard the longevity of this valuable asset, we ensure that both environmental and economic sustainability measures are employed to work in concert, and the benefit of doing so is seen and well-understood by all Agros villagers. It takes time and practice to realize and appreciate those gains, but is most assuredly worth it. Agros staff provide ongoing workshops on everything from sustainable agricultural practices that promote crop diversification and soil conservation, organic composting, the benefits of using improved wood burning stoves, and more.

Take the example of Mario in the village of Brisas del Volcán.  He used to work as a day laborer, leaving home at 3am only to return at 8pm each night, making very little money for time spent. Work could only be found during the peak-growing season from November to January, so he remembers months on end when he and his family were only able to eat just once a day. When working for the interests of a large landowner, he recounts he had little capacity or incentive to be concerned with sound agricultural practices. Today, by contrast, he is an active advocate for sustainability in his village. A natural leader, Mario served as Brisas del Volcán’s first President of Production and was responsible for managing all agricultural initiatives and marketing of those goods.  The village has enjoyed amazing benefits, both in dividends from the land and economic returns, from his leadership and direction in marrying crop diversification with environmental stewardship to protect their precious resources.

“Now we have chilies and banana plants… we have the luxury of working every day if need be, providing a better life for our families, and increasing our savings to do other things,” Mario shares. Today, his family works on all the shared communal crops as well as a project raising 60 chickens at home.

People are inclined to take better care of a resource that is their own. To that end, the Agros development model builds long-term assets ensuring access to land, affordable credit, and technical training proven to support sustainable land stewardship.

Do your part — celebrate Earth Day by investing in rural families who employ sustainable agricultural practices today and reap the rewards for many tomorrows to come!

• Plant a dozen trees
• Buy an acre of land
• Enrich soil with organic worm composting
• Provide business and agricultural sustainability training
• Reduce stove emissions and build composting latrines

Learn how else you can help at the Agros One Seed Gift Catalog!