About Us |
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Vision
An equitable and environmentally responsible society where people live in peace with dignity.
Mission
To help communities gain economic independence and rejuvenate their land through hands-on education and collaborative sustainable agriculture projects.
Background
With climate change as our generation’s great task, food and water as society’s foundation, and the vast majority of the world’s poor employed by agriculture—environmental stewardship via sustainable growing is urgent. Agriculture is humanity’s most environmentally destructive activity. It is the greatest polluter of lakes and rivers, the number-one driver of deforestation, and is responsible for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. In developing countries such as Guatemala, the consequences severely impact the rural poor.
Over 75 percent of Guatemala’s cropland is seriously degraded and five to ten tons of soil are eroded per acre per year. Guatemala has lost 50 percent of its forests and continues to lose another three percent annually. Virgin lands are being colonized and current farms are losing their fertility. Currently, Guatemala is listed by UNICEF as the 6th most malnourished country in the world. The need for change was clearly stated in September 2009 as Guatemala’s President, Alvaro Colóm, declared a “state of public calamity” due to severe droughts, soil degradation, and an attendant famine affecting 500,000 people.
Semilla Nueva was founded to help rural farmers, those most affected by these crises, find solutions through organization and innovative growing techniques.
