In January 2022, SHI launched Promoter 4 Change, a farmer-to-farmer training program creating rural climate resilience, biodiversity, and new economic opportunities through sustainable farming practices.
Sustainable Harvest International’s (SHI) new pilot project in Honduras offers an important and innovative solution to the region’s persistent issues of food insecurity and economic instability, two of the most critical reasons why hundreds of thousands of Central Americans abandon their rural communities every year.
25 Years of Experience
Since 1997, SHI has been providing direct technical assistance to smallholder farmers in Honduras, one of the region’s most at-risk countries for climate change. Farmers routinely face the perils of extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts. Crop failure and low yields, in turn, have exacerbated political instability, poverty, and migration.
Partnering with nearly 1,000 farming families in Honduras, SHI has helped restore over 8,000 acres of land by promoting agroecological practices, including the planting of over 2.2 million trees. SHI’s direct technical assistance program has catalyzed thousands of families across the region to increase the health and productivity of their land so it can provide for generations to come.
Milton Martínez is one of 22 Community Agroecology Promoters being trained through SHI’s farmer field schools using an accredited curriculum.
Creating New Economic Opportunity Through Job Training
Leveraging SHI’s 25 years of experience, the Promoter 4 Change pilot project is a critical step towards creating positive change at the scale we need.
Since January, SHI has established farmer field schools in five communities in the department of Comayagua to train an initial cohort of 22 Community Agroecology Promoters (CAPs). In an exciting new partnership, CAPs are trained through a curriculum accredited by Honduras’ National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP).
SHI-Honduras Country Director Zoila Reyes and Franklin Girón formalized SHI’s relationship with Honduras’ National Institute of Professional Training in April 2022 with the signing of memorandum of agreement.
INFOP accreditation, according to SHI Promoter 4 Change Coordinator Frank Portillo, has driven significant interest on the part of participants who recognize the project as a valuable opportunity for their own professional development in the fields of agriculture and community development.
At the heart of Promoter 4 Change is the belief that, given the right support and training, these local leaders will become the most effective catalysts for change.
According to Jenniffer Zapata, SHI’s Manager of International Programs, job training certification appeals to young people who, without better educational or economic prospects, are most likely to migrate.
At the end of July, Promoter 4 Change celebrated the successful graduation of all 22 project participants who have now earned their title as Community Agroecology Promoters. 45% of these graduates are youth.
Multiplying Their Impact
With the intensive training behind them, CAPs now embark on an exciting new journey.
SHI Promoter 4 Change Coordinator Frank Portillo will provide ongoing training to CAPs over the next three years as they promote agroecological practices in their communities.
Over the next three years, they will share and implement knowledge with members of their own communities. Each CAP will mentor and support at least 5 other families, as well as establish and maintain a demonstration plot on their own land where community members can visit and learn. They’ll be able to see agroecology and all its bounteous rewards in practice.
CAPs are already respected community members and established farmers. With knowledge gained during the training program and ongoing support from SHI Promoter 4 Change Coordinator, Frank Portillo, they are ready to spark change for good.
“Promoter 4 Change is developing the capacity of CAPs to acquire experience and knowledge, giving them the confidence to multiply their impact by training other families and encouraging farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing,” says SHI-Honduras Country Director Zoila Reyes. “They will be key actors in community development.”
Community Agroecology Promoters (CAPs) in the community of El Astillero participated an intensive series of group workshops on a range of agroecological practices including the creation of biofertilizers.
The Promoter 4 Change pilot project is well on its way to strengthening the climate resilience of 90 smallholder farmers and their families. All told, the pilot project will directly benefit 450 people and indirectly benefit 720 across five communities. We anticipate that this project will reduce the cost of extension services by up to 50%, thus radically expanding our ability to promote sustainable farming, climate resilience, and environmentally-friendly jobs across the region.
This is how we foster hope and multiply our impact.
Are you ready to multiply yours?
Learn more about this project by downloading the fact sheet.
