Thanks to a generous anonymous donation, Sustainable Harvest Nicaragua will soon be able to start construction of the Center for Families and the Environment. The Center will be located in Bluefields, the capital of the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS), and will be a hands-on school for farmers and families who have never before had the opportunity to learn safe, productive and sustainable farming techniques.

The RAAS is home to a diverse mixture of indigenous people, including Creoles, Garifunas and Mestizos, who prize stewardship of their environmental resources. Nonetheless, most food in the region comes from slash-and-burn farming. Population pressures similar to those throughout Central America have created a shortage of arable land. Continued use of slash-and-burn farming in the region is turning much of Nicaragua into a desert.

The Center's 12 acre farm will be a center piece for the Sustainable Harvest Nicaragua program and offer hands-on workshops for participant families and staff in the various techniques employed by the organization such as: alley cropping, integrated rice paddies, seed conservation, agroforestry, erosion control and more. The integrated and entrepreneurial features of the farm will contribute to the sustainable longevity of the program including seed banks that enhance the independence and self-sufficiency of participant farmers, and marketing of produce grown on the grounds. In addition to serving SHI participants, the farm will serve as a critical component to enhancing training for staff of SHI and other organizations.

The seed bank at the Center will ensure that local families always have access to a diversity of seeds appropriate to their region. These seeds will be available at a reasonable price, as barter for other seeds, as in-kind repayment of seeds at harvest time or in cases of natural disaster. The seed bank will be an insurance policy for the survival of rural families in the RAAS.

The Center for Families and the Environment will be yet another step towards supplying families with practical hands-on solutions to the growing economic, environmental and food crises that face the impoverished communities of Central America.

Please support new programs at the Center for Families and the Environment and SHI's ongoing projects in Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua and Panama by making a tax-deductible donation today.

SHI would like to take this opportunity to thank our growing list of business sponsors and tell you about two new ways to support SHI through them. Check out Wicks n' More's new lines of Elite Essentials and Reserve Collections Naturals candles. Wicks n' More donates a portion of sales directly to our program. SHI is also taking part in Macy's Shop for a Cause event. This is a one day event taking place on September 20, 2008. You can purchase $5 tickets from SHI and receive 20% off items throughout the store and at Macys.com. SHI keeps 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales. Purchase your ticket online and we'll put it in the mail to you right away. Please note "Macy's Ticket" in the comments section. Contact the SHI office for more information. Please visit our website to see a full list of SHI business sponsors.

You may recall from our Spring Newsletter, La Cosecha (page 4), that SHI staff and families took part in a biochar training workshop in Honduras. We checked in with the families who took part in the workshop to see how biochar is working in their fields. The results have been very impressive. One farmer, Don Betillo in Capules, Honduras had this to say, "This is a plot where we have done trainings for the community in biochar. We used biochar on one side of the field and left the other plain and you can see how much better the side with the biochar is growing! We also have learned how to make organic fertilizer from worm castings. Before, nothing grew in this field. I didn't know how to farm it and only grew a little corn and beans on my land. It was very hard to get by and have enough for my family. I have learned so much from Jacobo [local SHI field trainer]. With the seeds he has provided and, most importantly, the training I am growing all that you see here, onions, carrots, melons, cabbage and radishes."

Top Environmental NGO

"Best Bets for Your Environmental Donations"

We are very proud to announce that SHI has been selected as a top environmental NGO (non-governmental organization) by Charity Navigator and About.com. SHI has received Charity Navigator's highest rating of 4 stars for three years in a row! We are committed to using our funds to directly support ongoing projects in the field and have seen real success, including planting more than 2 million trees and working with families to convert thousands of acres of land to sustainable uses.

Sustainable Harvest International  •  779 North Bend Rd. Surry, ME 04684  •  207.669.8254 (phone)  •  866.683.6594 (toll free) •  207.669.8255 (fax)  • shi@sustainableharvest.org  •  www.sustainableharvest.org

Smaller World: Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off