In what was a challenging year, we are grateful for the continued health of SHI staff and partners. In response to the difficulties presented by the global pandemic, our programs developed and established remote work alternatives that simultaneously maintained continuity in field work during lockdowns, while strengthening program outreach and publicity. By adapting SHI programming, staff continued to provide support and training to partnering farmers throughout 2020. SHI’s commitment to food sovereignty projects that bolster self-sufficiency, in particular, meant that SHI partners had the tools and resources to weather the many ripple effects of a global health pandemic and economic recession. 

We are forever grateful to our supporters who continue to make SHI’s work possible. Here are a few notable highlights of our work in 2020:

SHI-Belize has focused on reforesting parcels of significantly degraded land in order to diminish environmental impact, increase biodiversity, and add new sources of income for partnering families. SHI-Belize has partnered with schools to implement a new set of activities that promote environmentalism through recycling and waste management. SHI-Belize continues to explore and forge new partnerships with government and non-profit agencies. In 2020, SHI-Belize began partnership conversations with a variety of groups, including Pro-Organic Belize and the Ministry of Agriculture. 

SHI-Belize is actively partnering with 65 families (or 325 direct beneficiaries) in 3 communities in northern Belize.

In 2020, Honduras was hit by two back-to-back hurricanes. For the most part, SHI’s partnering communities remained largely unscathed, and some participant farmers noted how SHI’s work in reforestation and erosion prevention had minimized the very serious threat posed by landslides in these mountainous regions. SHI’s Board of Directors raised money to provide immediate disaster relief to an elderly couple who had lost their home in one SHI partner community.

SHI-Honduras continued to support a region-wide campaign to build back forests and protect key water sources in the Siguatepeque region. SHI-Honduras worked in partnership with community members of El Junco to secure safe access to a reliable water source with the construction of a new well. SHI-Honduras was also a lead organizer for a seed exchange fair in Concepción del Sur, Santa Bárbara, promoting seed banking and the exchange of local seed varieties.

SHI-Honduras is actively partnering with 194 families (or 970 direct beneficiaries) in 10 communities in central Honduras.

SHI-Panama added two new communities to the program and continued to develop and expand partnerships in support of SHI’s mission, including with entities like Global Brigades, Engineers without Borders, Bridges to Prosperity, and the United States Peace Corps. Partnership project areas included WASH, community water systems, medical brigades, community banking, and improved community road access.

SHI-Panama is actively partnering with 118 families (or 590 direct beneficiaries) in 8 communities in central Panama.

BUILDING STAFF + LEADERSHIP CAPACITY

In 2020, SHI has actively worked toward building up the capacity and depth of its staff and leadership. SHI welcomed two new board members that add expertise in finance and law. In addition to moving development and communications responsibilities from contract to staff positions, SHI hired a full-time Manager of Donor Engagement and added a Communications Post Internship for a former EARTH University intern who previously worked with SHI-Honduras.

BOARD TRIP TO PANAMA

In February 2020, the SHI Board of Directors visited the SHI-Panama program. Board members partook in SHI projects, and attended the graduation ceremony of SHI partners in La Candelaria who had completed SHI’s rigorous 5-year training program in regenerative agriculture.

NEW MISSION STATEMENT

In June 2020, SHI’s Board of Directors determined it was time to rewrite the organization’s mission statement, initiating a long process of facilitated discussions and many iterations of possible mission statements. In December, SHI’s Board of Directors officially approved the organization’s new mission statement.

VISIONS FOR SCALE

In 2020, the board and staff of SHI continued to lay the necessary groundwork for SHI’s plan to scale up the impact of its current work. In December, the board of directors approved a plan for scale that clearly delineates the roadmap to expand SHI’s reach to one million farms by 2030. 

One critical facet of SHI’s plan is to reach scale through replicating partners. SHI joined forces with Jungle Project as a pilot replicating partnership. Together, SHI and Jungle have launched the T.R.E.E. (Tropical Regenerative Eco-Agriculture Extension) Program that combines SHI’s expertise in agroecology training with Jungle’s capacity to research and develop fair markets for underutilized agroforestry crops like breadfruit. 

SHI also partnered with Harvard Business School (HBS) Online to challenge the HBS Online Community to develop and pitch business ventures that could help SHI offset the financial costs associated with scale while ensuring increased benefits to farmers.

SHI SPOTLIGHTS

• May 2020 - SHI Founder + Director of Strategic Growth Florence Reed presented with renowned regenerative agriculture expert Roland Bunch at Blessed Unrest, the annual conference hosted by Biodiversity for a Liveable Planet. 

• June 2020 - SHI was highlighted by the Mustardseed Trust as an influential and innovative actor in regenerative agriculture in Latin America.

• July 2020 - SHI Executive Director Elliott Powell was interviewed by Rick Steves’ Europe. 

• August 2020 - SHI was named a finalist for the JK Visionaries Award, presented by the Inter-American Development Bank.

• November 2020 - SHI Founder + Director of Strategic Growth Florence Reed was a featured guest on Episode 81 of the Bird Banter podcast. 

• November 2020 - Great Nonprofits featured SHI on their list, “Top Organizations Working Hard on Energy Resources.

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