Global Partners

Seeds for a Future

Seeds for a Future, based in Guatemala, has been a Population Connection Global Partner since 2022. The organization, founded by two longtime Population Connection members, helps families break out of the poverty trap by improving their health, introducing them to new sources of income, and giving their kids the best start in life.

Chronic malnutrition affects nearly 50% of Guatemalan children — one of the highest rates in the world — causing them to be shorter than average for their age. Stunting doesn’t only affect a child’s stature — it also hinders cognitive development and has other lifelong negative effects.

Suzanne and Earl de Berge saw this firsthand when they were working in the area around the village of Chocolá, in the department of Suchitepequez in southwestern Guatemala, as archaeology volunteers in 2004. They observed the poverty and malnutrition of the rural, Indigenous population living there and decided to see if they could help. After several community meetings identified the greatest needs, the organization was officially founded in 2007. Seeds for a Future has been helping rural families improve their food security ever since.

“We knew from the start that we wanted a self-help program for families. A program where they could build their own futures and create success, using the skills and confidence gained through knowledge-sharing and education.”

–Suzanne de Berge

Over 5,200 families in 20 communities across 10 departments in southern Guatemala have completed the Seeds program to learn how to grow their own nutritious, diverse crops and to raise small animals using environmentally sound methods for their own sustenance and to sell at markets. They take advantage of whatever land they have, however small the plot — containers are especially useful for growing food in tight spaces, so those are often utilized. Families learn how to save and store the seeds of existing plants to use the following season and how to create nutrient rich compost from their kitchen scraps and yard waste. Permaculture and regenerative farming techniques improve soil health, crop yields, and biodiversity.

Maternal and child health, kitchen hygiene, and first aid are additional aspects of the program that help with its success in the community — people see their neighbors enjoying good health and nutrition and want to participate as well.

The organizational model does not involve recruiting or convincing anyone — rather, families approach Seeds with an interest in participating in the program. Families sign up for a 12-month membership, paying about $1.50 per month. It’s a token amount but it’s important, as many Guatemalans have become suspicious of things that are given, but assign value to those to which they contribute monetarily, Suzanne says. The membership entitles them to nutritional education, mentorship in gardening, weekly in-home visits, community events, and more.

Seeds offers nutrition and family health education focused on women, children, and infants, paying special attention to the critical 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday. The field staff educate women about the importance of their own nutrition during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, which helps keep women healthy and strong and ensures that their children get the healthiest start in life. Suzanne says one of the best, although originally unplanned, impacts of the program is the empowerment and sense of agency that occurs among women participants.

Seeds for a Future is currently working toward setting up family planning projects with two of our other Global Partners in Guatemala — one with WINGS in Guineales, and another with Maya Health Alliance in the Chocolá region.

Learn more about Seeds for a Future here!

– Marian Starkey, marian@popconnect.org