Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Written by Melissa Delzio, Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer in Colombia I am visiting Cali, Colombia on assignment with Partners of the Americas’ USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program. Partners pairs American volunteers (typically farmers) with producers, farmers cooperatives, agricultural universities, in developing regions of the Americas for a cultural and professional knowledge exchange. The company I am working with, Zen Naturals, has previously hosted technical and agricultural volunteers that have helped the start-up train Indigenous farmers from the Paez tribe to harvest ingredients that become the foundations of their products. Currently, Zen Naturals has developed a line a skin care products called Zue Beauty. This product line includes quinoa-based facial scrubs, toners and creams, but the mission of the company is much greater than the natural product they manufacture. The Paez tribes live in a remote mountain region of the Cauca Department. As farmers, they have been h

By F2F Volunteer Harry Greene My name is Harry Greene, I live in Burlington, Vermont, and I am the co-founder of and head of farm development for Propagate Ventures. We are an investment management firm that links financial capital with agroforestry and multi-species agriculture. My role at Propagate involves creating replicable economic models for polyculture (biodiverse) agroforestry systems. In plain English: I design organic orchards that grow more than one type of fruit; I work with everything from building the soil, to planting the trees, to forecasting management requirements over a 10-year time horizon. I also work as part of team that manages a 245-acre organic farm in Shelburne, Vermont, where I run a chestnut-centric tree nursery and agroforestry consultancy called 100 Years of Sun, which is the nursery and installation arm of Propagate Ventures. In February of 2017, Partners of the Americas’ Farmer to Farmer (F2F) program contacted me with the opportunity to trave

F2F Volunteer Vance Haugen leading a interactive lecture on bio-digester design at the Wawashang School From April 16 to May 1, two Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteers traveled on assignment to Wawashang, a remote community in the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. This assignment included the participation of Vance Haugen (a University of Wisconsin Extension professor specializing in biogas production) as well as James Rhode (Director of the 4-H Adventure Project in Crawford County, Wisconsin). Their dual assignment was part of Farmer-to-Farmer’s “Women & Youth in Agriculture” project and was done in partnership with local host FADCANIC (Fundación para la Autonomía y el Desarrollo de la Costa). Mr. Haugen and Mr. Rohde’s assignment was centered on the implementation of bio-digesters systems for FADCANIC’s Wawashang School. Due to the school’s remote location, the administrators are actively trying to strengthen the institution’s self-sufficiency by generating all   the food, en