Much with Little: A Central American Journey with Sustainable Harvest International By Scott Vlaun
I’m standing on a hillside so steep that I feel if I stumble in the loose soil, I’ll tumble down to the bottom.
The heat is oppressive. We’re all soaked with sweat after an hour and a half drive on a rutted dirt track and another couple of hours of hiking through the hills to visit these remote farms tucked away on steep, marginal land in north central Honduras. The scene before me is familiar. A farmer stands proudly in his field, showing us the progress he has made since he started working with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI).
The crop diversity, soil erosion barriers, seedling nursery, and hand-dug aquaculture ponds full of fish and rice plants (or “ricipicicultura” as they call it here) are signatures of SHI’s low-tech approach to small-scale sustainable development. Florence Reed, the founder and president of SHI, listens intently and surveys the scene proudly, while Bruce Manuum, SHI’s field coordinator, assesses the situation, taking notes and making suggestions. Along with us is Jorge Rodriguez, an SHI extensionist, who has guided and assisted Ignacio “Nacho” Castro to develop his farm for the last three years.
As I have seen repeatedly, the conversation evolves from the successes of the project to the dreams of the farmer. “If only we had a well, an irrigation pump, or a way to get our produce to market…then we might actually be able to make some money, send our kids to school, put a metal roof on the house, or buy medicines for the old ones.” The list goes on. The needs are so great here; the poverty wrenching. As the conversation shifts, so does the expression on Ms. Reed’s face.