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‘Light for everyone': Indigenous youth mount a solar-powered resistance

Ethan Bien

December 10, 2018 |

Mongabay |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Cuetzalán, Puebla

Tosepan Titataniske, an indigenous cooperative in Mexico's Sierra Norte mountains, emphasizes local control at the heart of solar programs. Over the last four decades, the organization has incorporated 410 community-level cooperatives that serve some 60,000 members, training people to install solar and establishing agricultural cooperatives. With organization, indigenous communities have been able to fight inequitable development projects and make significant gains.

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Agroforestry ‘home gardens' build community resilience in southern Ethiopia

Tesfa-Alem Tekle

December 04, 2018 |

Mongabay |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ethiopia, Bule

Farmers in Bule, Ethiopia, are practicing agroforestry, a diverse cropping method that mimics natural ecosystems. A survey found a stunning average of 16 crop species, including 21 species of tree, on farms. The benefits of the practice are myriad: food security, improved soil health, carbon sequestration, diversified revenue streams, and new wildlife habitat, to name several. While the incentive to grow valuable monocultures can be high, many growers stick with agroforestry regardless.

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Can Wild Foods Save the Amazon?

Virginia Gewin

October 23, 2018 |

bioGraphic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Peru, Lima

At Expo Amazonica in Lima, chefs are working to build a taste for traditional Amazonian foods, in an effort to promote biodiversity conservation and slow deforestation. But against a huge global demand for palm oil, growing wild food crops can be difficult for communities struggling to make ends meet. One big question is whether small farmers can create demand for Amazonian cuisine beyond the Amazon?

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The Co-op Farming Model Might Help Save America's Small Farms

Annelise Jolley

October 03, 2018 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Throughout the United States, farmer co-ops are gaining popularity as a means to share work and resources with fellow small farms with the goal of keeping rural communities alive. Although this model can look slightly different depending on the region and can create limitations, overall, many believe this approach may create a more resilient farming practice.

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Moving Meat

Nina Sparling

September 12, 2018 |

Urban Omnibus |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Eagle Bridge, a small-scale Hudson Valley slaughterhouse, works to bring non-feedlot, regional meats to New York City. While demand for sustainable meat products is growing, competition with national feedlot operations has made setting up distribution systems a challenge.

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Berry Farmers Break Free From Big Agriculture

Lynsi Burton

August 29, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lynden, Washington

Many farmers in the United States toil under exploitative working conditions, enduring long hours, low pay, and exposure to dangerous chemicals; after taking their battle for better conditions to the legislature, a group of farmers have created a co-op so that they can own the land they work on. The co-op has generated a lot of interest and now produces around 200 boxes of organic produce every week.

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How Church-Owned Property Can Help Communities 'Grow'

Joseph Darius Jaafari

August 29, 2018 |

NationSwell |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Rockford, Michigan

Across the United States, communities and local churches are coming together to create farming projects that utilize unused, church-owned land. The farming ventures typically benefit students and families throughout the respective regions.

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Solar-Powered Pineapples: A Lifeline for Women Thrown Off Their Land

Robert Kibet

August 10, 2018 |

News Deeply |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Chamari

When a national park was created in Kenya, the local Waata hunter-gatherer community was displaced and forced to take refuge elsewhere while also adapting to a farming lifestyle. Choosing to cultivate pineapples because of their rapid growth rate, the women leading the farming practices initially struggled to be meaningfully compensated for their produce. After learning how about solar drying, however, the women saw a quick and lasting increase in their profits.

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The story of a recovery: how hurricane Maria boosted small farms

Amanda Holpuch

August 08, 2018 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Puerto Rico

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, not only were the local communities devastated, but so were 80 percent of the country's crops. With the farmlands wiped cleaned, farmers seized the opportunity to start from scratch which not only resulted in increased crop production, but has helped create an economy less reliant on imports.

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Struggling Farmers Turn Excess Milk Into Cheese And Yogurt For The Hungry

Catalina Jaramillo

July 02, 2018 |

NPR |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania

Cows will produce the same amount of milk no matter the demand for the product, and with supply staying steady and demand decreasing, a surplus of milk is thrown out routinely. Through a collaborative effort by farmers and a local non-profit in Pennsylvania, however, a solution has emerged that not only turns the extra milk into cheese and yogurt, but supplies the products to those in need.

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