Report from the Field: Senegal & Mexico
By: Ethan Scully If you’d asked me a few months ago – “What do Oaxaca, Mexico, and Thiès, Senegal, have in common?” – I might have assumed it was a trick question. What could these North American and West African regions, which speak different languages and are located on opposite sides of the globe, possibly share with each other? Now, thanks to the generosity of our in-country partners and the small farmers they support, I can begin to tell you. I joined Groundswell in October 2020, and ever since then, I’d been waiting for a chance to see just one of our programs in action. Now, in the span …
Youth Storytellers In Honduras: Part 1
Intro The first round of videos in our Youth Storytellers series come to us from some young change-makers in Honduras. Our Youth Storytellers have filmed and edited these videos to demonstrate the successes in their communities. Merlin Aguirre In Honduras, we are working alongside our partners at Vecinos Honduras to foster enterprises at the local level in order to regenerate local livelihoods and build the economies of rural communities. Vecinos Honduras provides education for members of the community, particularly young people, to learn skills and trades that allow them to gain financial in …
Youth Storytellers: Empowering the Next Generation
Agroecological farming and resilient local food systems are more effective and beneficial for people and our planet than industrialized agriculture. The need for a just transition from fossil fuel-based agriculture and dependence on food imports is even more evident with the high inflation of food and chemical fertilizers that are impacting millions. Scaling agroecological and local market alternatives are essential for nourishing people and reversing climate change. Yet, the false narrative that continues to dominate globally is that industrialized agriculture must ‘feed the world.’ This is a …
Groundswell’s 2021 Annual Report: Highlights
Each year, we release our annual report to illustrate the impact our organization and our partner organizations have had on sparking change in rural communities around the world. In 2021, the world continued to be plagued by crises, but we witnessed and were inspired by the resiliency of people who have committed to improving the lives of their neighbors and communities. A few highlights from the 2021 Annual Report In Honduras, Groundswell is collaborating with Vecinos Honduras to promote and scale ground-up alternatives that can reverse decades of extractive agricultural practices; political …
Report From The Field: Honduras
By: Chandi Guntupalli As Groundswell International’s newest staff member, I had the privilege of doing my first field visit to our partners in March 2022, along with our Executive Director and co-founder Steve Brescia. Steve and I traveled to Honduras at the end of March 2022 for five days to meet with our partner, Vecinos Honduras, to discuss our plans for the Central American Dry Corridor. The Central American Dry Corridor is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world, one that’s been highly affected by climate change. This region extends throughout El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, …
Voices From the Field: Interviews with Steve Brescia
At Groundswell International, collaboration is at the heart of what we do. We have always worked closely with local farmers in West Africa, the Americas, and South Asia and partner organizations in those areas because we know that the needs of every community are unique, and no one understands those unique needs better than the locals experiencing them. While our focus has always been on enabling local farmers to support their communities by creating healthy farming and food systems, we believe we can do even more. Currently, the world, including the US and the international commun …