Agroecology

Creating Sustainable Environments

Poverty plays a major role in the environmental problems of many countries.

That’s why Heifer teaches our project partners environmentally sound farming methods through agroecology.

And just what is agroecology?

It's the sustainable use and management of natural resources, accomplished by using social, cultural, economic, political and ecological methods that work together to achieve sustainable agriculture production.

That means everything is working together to help save the environment – a healing touch for our planet that helps reduce our environmental footprint, the impact each one of us makes.

Heifer has learned that impoverished people often make short-term choices based solely on their desperate need for food. Many farmers have no alternative to cutting trees for firewood or putting animals on overgrazed land — practices that harm the earth.

So we’re working with an integrated system of plant and animal production practices to satisfy human food needs, enhance environmental quality and natural resources, and make the most of on-farm and renewable resources.

In fact, Heifer has been a pioneer in combining hunger and environmental concerns. Animals that provide food and income can also be catalysts for many changes that benefit the earth.

Every Heifer project includes an environmental component that helps families raise their animals in harmony with nature and take steps to restore a balanced ecology.

About 10,000 families worldwide have benefited from Heifer’s Agroecology Initiative, established in 2000, to place more emphasis on environmental protection as part of our work.

• Families learn how to keep their small plots of land healthy and renew the soil for future generations by planting trees and using natural fertilizer.
• They learn to practice zero– or managed–grazing techniques, which means keeping livestock in an enclosed, shaded area and carrying fodder and water to them, instead of letting them wander in the open where they are more likely to catch diseases or damage the environment.
• They learn contour planting and terracing, techniques that resist erosion.
• And they discover how to use biogas units for cooking and heating their homes.