Sustainable Organic Agriculture in Chiapas, Mexico

With the support from people around the world (people like you!) DESMI has taken important steps towards creating sustainable agricultural practices in indigenous communities.

Through programs such as farmer training on agroecology tools farmers learn ways to create new economic opportunities that leave no adverse effects on the environment.

Their work in Chiapas has enabled them to become an integral part of building the Mujeres Indigenas al frente de Justicia Economica (MIJE), or the "Indigenous Women at the Frontlines of Economic Justice" initiative, to expand asset building in indigenous communities through partnership, generate guidelines for asset building for the social justice philanthropy sector, build alliances among indigenous leaders in asset building and explore the results of asset building in communities.

Perhaps the most inventive part of the proposal is the development of a curriculum that is being written by indigenous women leaders that integrates ancestral knowledge, agroecology and asset building for many generations to break the cycle of poverty and ensure economic justice.

As DESMI puts it – “the promotion and practice of sustainable agriculture breaks the conventional model of farming based on chemicals.  We are constructing a new economic model for our communities that guarantees food to feed families for many generations while preserving our natural resources….we find the balance in the relationships between production for economic development and protection of natural resources, of Mother Earth, where we see that the life of the human being is dependent on the Mother Earth, as our ancestors told us.”

Your generosity has made a significant impact on creating new and exciting opportunities for indigenous communities to build their local economy through the use of new environmentally sustainable techniques.  Thank  you for your support!