isabel rodríguez
shi-panama partnering farmer

Isabel Rodríguez and his family began partnering with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) in 2003, almost twenty years ago. After all these years, they’re still practicing the many regenerative techniques they learned while working with SHI field trainers. And for Isabel and his family, those techniques have meant achieving their wildest dreams.

Secure access to food, let alone healthy food, was not always a guarantee for Isabel, his wife Nelly, and their two daughters. But now, Isabel rests easy knowing there will always be a next meal, and one that is nutritious and chemical-free.

Before working with SHI, they could only eke out a few, meager crops from their tired, nutrient-poor soil. Now, they grow an abundance of diverse crops on a thriving farm. 

They no longer practice slash-and-burn farming, nor use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, Isabel learned how to make organic fertilizers that enrich his soil, among other conservation techniques like terracing and erosion barriers. He even sells the organic fertilizers he makes to other farmers in the area.

Their thriving farm has created new opportunities for the family. From the sale of crops and organic fertilizers, the family has been able to save money and invest in the things that matter most to them.

For example, their house, once a small, mud-walled structure, is now a larger, cement home. 

In so many ways, Isabel and Nelly have been working to build stability and security for themselves and their daughters.

And nothing makes them more proud than watching their daughters succeed. When Isabel joined SHI’s program, his dream was to ensure that his daughters could finish high school. In their community of Bella Florida, most people will only complete the sixth grade. “And even that [would be] an accomplishment for a humble family like ours,” Isabel notes. 

His daughters completed sixth grade and then they finished high school and continued on to college where they studied English in Panama City. Their success has far outstripped what Isabel could imagine twenty years ago.

“I never imagined that I would have a house of durable materials or that my daughters would be where they are now,” Isabel says. “This is more than I ever hoped.”

Today, Isabel and Nelly continue practicing the regenerative techniques that have given so much back to his family over the past twenty years. They’re continuing to reforest their land, and enjoy seeing wildlife return to the area.

SHI Founder + Director of Strategic Growth Florence Reed often thinks of Isabel’s family and their success. “Nothing makes me happier, more hopeful for our world or more motivated to keep working hard, than seeing how SHI’s partnership with a family like Isabel’s can restore the environment while also making life better in many other ways for multiple generations,” Flo says. Flo has visited Isabel’s farm many times since he graduated from SHI’s program. In fact, she was so inspired after a visit six years ago that she wrote this blog post.

After all these years, Isabel is more convinced than ever of the important role that farmers can play in improving the health of people and the planet. “Grow healthy crops,” he says. “It’ll take care of the environment.”

Support long-lasting, sustainable solutions that help people and the planet