Learning at Duke Lemur Center in Madagascar
Our work is about local and long-term investment. Our Board Chair, Brian Love, recently said it this way: “SPI’s vision is that farmers will access vegetable seed sustainably through local networks so that they can determine their future. These local networks include seed saving as well as local supply chains that access seed at a broader scale. Once communities have broken the cycle where no seed is available, SPI refocuses its attention on communities where this remains an issue.”
An investment takes root when people gain knowledge alongside materials. In 2019, with your support, 14,000 people attended a training session provided by an SPI partner about their gardens and harvests. In Ethiopia, women co-op leaders visited a commercial vegetable farm to learn new techniques as part of our partner program with GrowEastAfrica. In Guatemala, families learned how to incorporate their abundant vegetable harvests into familiar dishes to realize the nutritional benefits of their garden — all part of our partnership with Habitat for Humanity. People all over the world are planting seeds for long-term change.
To solve the next generation’s existential challenges, humans everywhere need strength and stability, especially those most impacted by hunger, poverty, and crisis. Now more than ever, it’s time to share what we have, to grow resilience and prosperity in the next generation around the globe. In 2020, you can provide kids with the knowledge and materials they need to become leaders for generational change through SPI’s seed programs for school gardens.
“This garden has been a great resource for the students, supplying vegetables [that we didn’t have before]. We even involve them in farming. They enjoy working in the garden, and we have seen their mental health improve as they increase their socialization. They are passionate about planting more and more vegetable varieties in the future.” Ms. Otieno, School Diet Manager, Kenya
Will you consider a generous end of year gift of any amount? By donating to SPI, you are making an investment that works. Ms. Otieno is only one of many partners whose students are excited to grow their own food and build a more nutritious and prosperous future.
Peter Marks
SPI President / CEO