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Amid biting drought, sisters in Zambia fend off hunger with organic farming

Doreen Ajiambo

July 16, 2020 |

Global Sisters Report |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Zambia, Chilanga

In Zambia, where severe drought due to climate change has negatively affected agriculture, the Daughters of the Redeemer are practicing organic farming to feed hundreds of children and families whose basic needs are not being met. This group of religious sisters do not rely on rainfall to farm; they installed a drip irrigation system that has allowed them to grow crops like cabbage, maize, tomatoes, and beans. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sisters provided training to local villages about organic farming, and this has allowed families to support themselves during the crisis.

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Trenton's Urban Gardens Foster Food Sovereignty and Civic Engagement

Brianna Baker

July 01, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Trenton, New Jersey

Isles, Inc. provides plants, seeds, and support to over 70 community gardens in Trenton, 20 of which belong to schools. In a city where many residents experience food insecurity, Isles also maps food-assets and food deserts, runs a training garden to teach new growers the basics of at-home gardening, and hosts a free summer camp to get young people interested in agriculture and nature. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Isles has distributed over 100 pounds of seeds, 1,000 pounds of fertilizer, and thousands of seedlings to its garden network members and shifted many instructional workshops online.

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Ecosystems-based adaptation keeps water running in Bhojdari even in dry months

Vinaya Kurtkoti

June 29, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Bhojdari, Maharashtra

Bhojdari, a town in India, faced a severe drought in the early 2000s. The town doesn't have a river or canal nearby. However, after implementing an ecosystems-based approach, the town has reliable access to water, even in the dry months. Some of the methods that were incorporated in this approach included the creation of irrigation models, planting bamboo trees, and creating fish ladders so that fish can move up the stream. Ultimately, the model led to an increase in cultivation for local farmers and sufficient water for the town.

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Youth Are Flipping an Abandoned North Carolina Prison into a Sustainable Farm

Christina Cooke

June 15, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wagram, North Carolina

A former North Carolina prison has been reclaimed by the nonprofit Growing Change to teach sustainable farming to youth who otherwise might be doomed to their own prison terms without an effective intervention. The 9-year-old program, while small, is meant to serve as a model for reusing many other shuttered prisons as the nation’s incarceration numbers fall. Boasting positive effects on recidivism, the program’s focus is the racially diverse youth of the rural, impoverished eastern part of the state – the same people who disproportionately get imprisoned.

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Getting to 10% forest cover: Kenya's road to recovering its lost ecosystem

David Owino

June 05, 2020 |

DIRAJ |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Kenya

In Kenya, initiatives are being devised to help the country reach a minimum tree cover target of 10% of the total landmass by 2022. One of the more successful efforts has been an uptick of public awareness campaigns such as the "adopt a tree campaign," which educates youth about the importance of planting trees in the correct areas.

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As the coronavirus pandemic strains supplies, Native Americans fight food insecurity

Erik Ortiz

May 24, 2020 |

NBC News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Monument Valley, Utah

As a response to the way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food supply chains, especially in remote parts of the Navajo Nation, the new “Seeds and Sheep” program is mailing seeds to families so they can grow food for themselves and their community. The nonprofit running the program, Utah Diné Bikéyah, has connected with over 300 families so far. It is part of a larger trend of Native efforts to provide agricultural education, teach people to grow culturally relevant food, and reduce food insecurity.

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Lifelines: Farming Program Helps N.H. Refugees Move Forward From Past Trauma

Peter Biello Alex McOwen

May 06, 2020 |

New Hampshire Public Radio |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Manchester, New Hampshire

Fresh Start Farms is a program by the New Hampshire Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success that invites refugees in the state to apply their farming skills here in America to earn an income. Many of the refugees in New Hampshire are from Somalia and witnesses to the Civil War there—and they carry that trauma with them. Having this outlet, where you can do what you know how to do alongside people who have similar experiences as you, is therapeutic. The program is now moving forward with opening up a storefront despite the COVID-19 restrictions.

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The Business of Burps: Scientists Smell Profit in Cow Emissions

Adam Satariano

May 01, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Lancaster, England

A company called Mootral is studying whether changing a cattle’s diet could make the animals belch and flatulate less methane. They created a food supplement out of compounds from garlic, citrus, and other additives, that in early tests, has shown a decrease in a cow’s emission of the greenhouse gas. If they can get investors on board and scale it to different breeds of cows and in different climates, it could help the agricultural and farming industries to combat climate change.

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The farmers moving their fields indoors

Dina Newman

April 21, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: France, Paris

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated challenges in food supply at an international scale, and one way to make food more accessible is to grow it locally. From hydroponics and aeroponics, where plants are grown in the water and air respectively, to rooftop gardens, farmers have been building up the technology to bring farming closer to home.

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Agrobiodiversity initiatives open women's horizons in Kerala

Mahima Jain

April 15, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Palakkad, Kerala

The Kudumbashree Mission aims to encourage agrobiodiversity projects in India and empower women farmers. These projects revive traditional and sustainable farming practices called “panchakrishi.” So far, there are 192 hamlets and over 840 hectares under this type of farming, producing pulses, tubers, paddy, millets, and vegetables. While climate change has caused a lower crop yield for some farmers, pancharkrishi has helped women diversify their crops and maintain nutritional security.

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