Gardening the Sahel
by Lea Billen & Deborah Goffner Can multiplying small-scale “re-greening” in the form of women-run communal fruit and vegetable gardens make a difference for local populations in the Sahel? The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGW) is a Pan-African project consisting of a contiguous series of landscape-scale interventions designed to cross the African continent with the goal of improving environmental and human well-being in the [...]
Farm Hack: open source technology for small-scale resilient agriculture
How can small-scale farmers network to share ideas, innovations, and inventions to increase the resilience of sustainable agriculture and rural economies? Before the industrial revolution, low-input agriculture was the norm, but now, farmers must make a conscious choice if they want to avoid large scale mechanization. Many small-scale farmers in the US are discovering new means of food production and in the process, innovating tools and equipment. Innovations can range [...]
Philippi Horticultural Area Food & Farming Campaign
How can a unique agricultural area on the urban fringe of Cape Town, South Africa be protected to provide ecosystem services, fresh produce for low income city dwellers, and a local model of agro-ecological farming? The vast green fields of the Philippi Horticultural Area are an incongruous sight, in the midst of one of the most densely settled areas of the Cape Flats, an expanse of gritty, peri-urban townships [...]
Social change through “Social Ecology” in Montreal
By Théo Rouhette How can a citizen community use popular education and social action in order to transform society and its institutions toward an ecological, egalitarian and democratic future? Challenges such as climate change and global inequity can be so overwhelming, individuals may feel powerless to respond and create positive change. But what if there was a way to organize ourselves so that together we can make more of a difference than [...]
“Open Standards” for the Practice of Conservation
How Can Conservation Organizations share a common language and framework for increased learning and adaptive management? In a world with competing interests and an ever increasing pressure on the natural world, it is important that resources spent on biodiversity conservation are used to their utmost efficacy. Biodiversity conservation is often a moving target, and the stakes are high. How much protection is enough? Which tactics are the most effective? How do we know [...]
