Man and woman holding bananas

The End of Hunger and Poverty Starts Here.

Nearly 1 billion people around the world live in poverty. We’re on a mission to change that.

Heifer International is a global nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. Through gifts of livestock and education, Heifer ensures that families have the resources and opportunity needed to not just survive, but thrive.  

Here’s how we do it.

  1. A family living in poverty receives animals and training from Heifer. The animals give products like milk and eggs, which can be eaten or sold.
  2. The family learns how to create a business with their new source of income. As their business grows, so does their income. 
  3. With a secure source of income, parents can provide for their families in ways they’ve never been able to before.

Stories

Read inspiring stories of people who have transformed their lives after receiving gifts from Heifer.

Learn more about Emmy Rising.
Two girls smile while holding their goat

Emmy Rising

Hunger held 13-year-old Emmy back in school, but she shot to the top of her class when she started getting a few square meals a day.

Read More About Emmy Rising
Learn more about Migrant No More: How Chickens Are Keeping Families Together in Cambodia.
Migrant No More: How Chickens Are Keeping Families Together in Cambodia

Migrant No More: How Chickens Are Keeping Families Together in Cambodia

More than a million Cambodians have migrated to find work abroad, most often in Thailand. Around 53 percent are undocumented migrant workers. As a result, they face many challenges, including staying in low-quality shelters, enduring poor working conditions and receiving lower pay than other workers. Many live in fear of being arrested and deported back to Cambodia and losing all of their savings.

Read More About Migrant No More: How Chickens Are Keeping Families Together in Cambodia
Learn more about Ecuadorian Farmers Spin Alpaca Wool Into Gold .
A photo of hand-spun alpaca yarn on a neon pink tablecloth

Ecuadorian Farmers Spin Alpaca Wool Into Gold

Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Andes are reviving ancestral fiber arts with alpaca wool to escape the cycle of poverty and protect the unique highland ecosystem in which they live.

Read More About Ecuadorian Farmers Spin Alpaca Wool Into Gold

Help Families Create Sustainable Futures

About Us

  • OUR MISSION: To end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth
  • OUR WORK: We currently work in 21 countries, including the U.S
  • OUR HISTORY: We’ve been helping communities for more than 75 years
  • OUR IMPACT: We’ve helped more than 36 million families escape poverty
  • OUR FUTURE: Bringing an additional 10 million farmers out of poverty by 2030

Where We Work

We currently work in 21 countries around the world.

Map legend: Light blue represents current program countries, and dark blue represents past program countries

map legend
Cambodian farmers feed flock of chicks from Heifer International

Cambodia

Heifer International has had a presence in Cambodia since 1999, working alongside women farmers to enhance their ability to raise more, sell more, and earn more from chicken, swine, and vegetable value chains.  Our programs advance women leaders, reduce domestic violence, and give women more prominent voices building successful farming enterprises.

Learn More Cambodia
Ecuador women with alpaca in background at her farm.

Ecuador

From training rural farmers in agroecology to building alliances with government and private entities, Heifer's work in Ecuador has spanned all levels of this biologically diverse country since 1954.

Learn More Ecuador

Guatemalan farmers.

Guatemala

Heifer works with local farmers in protected areas to develop sustainable green businesses that allow local people to generate incomes and care for the forests.

Learn More Guatemala
Man and woman holding a goat in Haiti.

Haiti

Heifer provides Haitian farmers with livestock, seeds, animal management training, as well as finance and technical support to overcome adversity.

Learn More Haiti
Smiling Honduran woman farmer with cow.

Honduras

With Heifer's support, family farmers are diversifying their businesses and incomes through agroecology.

Learn More Honduras
Heifer helps establish living incomes in India.

India

Heifer's programs create valuable opportunities for women to become Community Agro-Veterinarian Entrepreneurs who provide paid services within their communities.

Learn More India
Three Children holding chickens and smiling in Kenya.

Kenya

We work in partnership with producer groups, financial institutions, county governments, processors, and input and service providers across the dairy, poultry and beef value chains.

Learn More Kenya
Map of malawi projects, highlighting regions of Thyolo and Lilongwe as active project regions, and Mchinji, Dowa and Kasungu as past project locations.

Malawi

Farmers are diversifying crop yields, incomes and diets with sustainable farming  methods and are increasing resilience to climate change.

Learn More Malawi
Man and Woman trading goods at a market in Mexico.

Mexico

Since 1977, Heifer International has worked in Mexico, supporting local farmers through livestock projects and agricultural training that enables them to diversify their families’ diets and increase incomes.

Learn More Mexico
Nepalese women tending to goats in a field.

Nepal

With modern training and access to markets, Heifer Nepal helps farmers raise quality livestock, improving nutrition and increasing incomes.

Learn More Nepal

Rwanda pineapple farm

Rwanda

We support farmers to set up their own cooperatives, where they share knowledge, pool resources, as well as access financing to invest and grow their farms. 

Learn More Rwanda
Senegal children with a donkey helping with dairy farming in arid conditions.

Senegal

We equip farmers with the tools and expertise they need to increase productivity and close the living income gap.

Learn More Senegal
Woman in Tanzania at a Water Well.

Tanzania

Heifer's work in Tanzania involves strengthening access to local markets through business planning, marketing and establishing collection centers.

Learn More Tanzania
Ugandan woman carrying a harvest through a field.

Uganda

Heifer mobilizes farmers and works with partners to help them connect into cooperatives to share knowledge and access financial services.

Learn More Uganda
Smiling American woman farmer with herd of cows in the background.

United States

Heifer USA provides training to farmers in cultivation techniques, and helps them organize cooperatives that share marketing, packaging, distribution, and credit and loan services.

Learn More United States
Zambian women indoors listening to a presentation.

Zambia

Heifer works with partners in Zambia to build sustainable livelihoods through agriculture, enterprise development, gender equity, and livestock while mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS and climate change.

Learn More Zambia

Bangladesh women sell crops at market

Bangladesh

Heifer International began work in Bangladesh in 2006, focusing on three main value chains: dairy, goat and beef. We work with women farmers in northern Bangladesh to improve sustainability and build their farming capacity through better animal care and cultivation techniques.

Learn More Bangladesh
Women with goat in field.

Bihar, India

In one of India's poorest states, Heifer empowers women farmers to provide food for their families, improve the local environment and increase business opportunities for their communities.

Learn More Bihar, India

Blue Flames Project

For families living along Senegal’s northern coast, cooking can be an arduous process.

Women and children spend hours every day gathering firewood. Smoke from fires pollutes outdoor areas, irritating people’s eyes and lungs. To make matters worse, the demand for firewood is driving deforestation and soil erosion as trees are cut down for fuel.

The Blue Flames project worked with families to make their farms more sustainable by expanding access to renewable energy.

Learn More Blue Flames Project
Farmer feeding cow.

Dairy Network in the Andes

Ecuador

Through coordination and financial services, farmers are able to enter formal markets and meet bigger orders. 

Woman milking cow.

East Africa Dairy Development Project

Dairy farmers in East Africa face many barriers to entering the formal economy.

Learn More East Africa Dairy Development Project
Group of youth in a field.

East Africa Youth Inclusion Project

The majority of Uganda and Tanzania’s populations are youth, who grow up in poverty.

Learn More East Africa Youth Inclusion Project
Women sitting in a semi-circle in Nepal.

Empowering Women Farmers

Nepal

Heifer works with farmer cooperatives to improve financial management and link them to distribution markets.

Learn More Empowering Women Farmers

Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative

Farmers operating on their own typically face many costly challenges that keep their earnings down and forcing them to take off-farm jobs to supplement their incomes. 

Learn More Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative
Chicks being held by two hands.

Hatching Hope

China

An efficient, productive poultry farm can change everything for farmers, their families, and their communities.

Learn More Hatching Hope

INCOME Project

Through specialized production techniques, cooperatives and connections to local markets, Cambodian families earn living incomes.

Learn More INCOME Project
Woman with her Cattle.

Lenca II Project

Powering local dairy production in Lempira, located in western Honduras, which is the country's poorest department.

Learn More Lenca II Project
Woman with her child interviewing.

Leveraging Success

Honduras

Heifer provides training and technical support for farmers to boost yields of quality, reliable products for high-value markets.

Learn More Leveraging Success
Hands making cheese product.

NIKA Milk Project

Supporting farming families in Nicaragua’s ‘Milky Way,’ to increase production and diversify their product offerings.

Learn More NIKA Milk Project
Farmer with a bull.

REACH Project

Haiti

Restoring rural livelihoods by promoting sustainable food production

Learn More REACH Project
Woman mixing a glass jar with child on her back.

Women's Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Project

Sololá, Alta and Baja Verapaz, Guatemala

By identifying local market demand and providing support and training, Heifer International and partners are paving the way for women to earn living incomes.

Learn More Women's Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Project
Woman sorting eggs.

Rural Entrepreneurs Project

In this partnership with the Walmart Foundation, Heifer empowers women farmers across Mexico through training, finance and providing connections to formal markets where they can sell their products.

Learn More Rural Entrepreneurs Project