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Lessons from Our Global Conference in Berlin: Farmer-Led Innovation at the Center of Agroecology
In September, over 30 people from West Africa, South Asia, the Americas, and Europe gathered in Berlin, Germany for Groundswell International’s Global Conference, hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung foundation. Among them were leaders from our 14 NGO partners spanning 11 countries—from Burkina Faso to Haiti and Ecuador to India—along with our staff, board members, and global allies. Together, we shared lessons from the field, learned from local farmers and activists, and strengthened plans to transform global farming and food systems from the ground up through agroecology. We tackled pressing …
Community-Led Responses to Conflict in the Sahel: Displaced Families Finding Refuge through Agroecology
Dakuyo Izoun, a 55-year-old butcher from Doumbala, Burkina Faso, was forced to rebuild his life from scratch when armed groups attacked his village. As the country grapples with one of the world’s most neglected polycrisis, thousands are fleeing their homes in search of safety in neighboring countries. But even in the Sahel, one of the harshest environments on Earth, communities are finding ways to care for each other, building powerful models of solidarity and resilience while providing refuge for displaced families. Bankouma in Mali is one of them. The Context of Displacement and …
A Taste of India in the Amaranth Fields of Guatemala
In May 2024, I visited Guatemala for the very first time. As part of my work with Groundswell International, I always relish the chance to visit our partners and communities in the field. We spent the week with our long-term partner in Rabinal, Qachuu Aloom, and our new partner in Jalapa, ACESH. They both were wonderful hosts who packed the week with a lot of learning, brainstorming, and bonding. Gaining insight into agroecological techniques and their implementation is always eye-opening, but what I cherish most on these trips is connecting with the farmers themselves, who work ti …
A Poem in Honor of Environmental Health Day, Written by Youth in Rural Honduras 🌿
“No more fires… Would you incinerate your own lungs?” This moving poem, written by youth from smallholder farming families in rural Honduras, reminds us that nature speaks—her groans echo the destruction we cause, but also the hope that we can protect her, and ourselves, by choosing a different path. “Care for the air we breathe as you would for yourself, every drop of water, every crop, every fruit, every medicinal plant.” Our well-being is tied to the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the earth that sustains us. Rural youth urge: don’t do to nature what you wouldn’t do to yourself—be …
La Semana Mundial del Agua 2024 Vista a Través de los Jóvenes de América Latina
Cada agosto, la Semana Mundial del Agua reúne voces de todo el mundo para reflexionar y actuar en torno a la gestión del recurso más vital para la vida: el agua. En un planeta donde más de dos mil millones de personas carecen de acceso a agua potable segura y se proyecta que, para 2050, más de la mitad de la población mundial enfrentará escasez de agua, América Latina y el Caribe se encuentran en una posición crítica. A pesar de concentrar un tercio de los recursos hídricos del mundo, esta es una región marcada por contrastes. Aunque en muchos lugares el agua es abundante, su distribución es p …
World Water Week 2024 as Seen by Youth from Latin America
You can read the Spanish version of this article here. Every August, World Water Week brings together voices from around the globe to reflect on and act upon how we manage life’s most vital resource: water. Two billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and it’s projected that by 2050, more than half of the world’s population will face water scarcity. Latin America and the Caribbean in particular, find themselves in a critical position. Despite hosting a third of the world’s water resources, stark contrasts mark this region. While water is abundant in many places, its distribution is d …