August 12, 2012

On Friday we held an Open Day at our new Project Center in San Marcos.  It’s always a bit nerve wracking just before an event like this, waiting to see what the results of all that effort will be and wondering how many farmers will decide to make the trip, but it turns out we needn’t have worried. We had a great turn out, with 4 different communities represented, including the remote San Rafael and Betania. We even had quite a few women attend, something we have been pushing for as it’s really important for the whole family to understand...

April 25, 2012

We are delighted to announce that Up In Smoke, the documentary that follows 3 years in the life and work of Mike Hands and the Inga Foundation,  has won the Objectif d’argent Award (Best Development Message – a special UNDP Award) in Brussels at the Read More

April 19, 2012

Mike Hands is working with the Eden Project to create a demonstration of Inga alleys in their rainforest biome. The  biome already has an exhibit demonstrating the effects of slash and burn, with an area of burnt and blacked tree stumps, so to demonstrate sustainable solutions that can halt the devastation caused by slash and burn Eden are keen to install an area of Inga alley cropping right beside it. They have prepared a space for...

As well as subsistence food crops, cash crops are hugely important for Honduran families who need the money to buy what they cannot grow themselves, which includes everything from shoes to school books. Growing high value cash crops on slash and burn plots is often all but impossible as the plots are so far from family homes that families cannot manage to plant, nurture and guard demanding and expensive cash crops. By allowing families to grow crops right beside their homes, Inga alley cropping opens up a whole new range of...

A lot has been happening on the ground with our Cuero Valley project and there’s a real buzz about the place as we start work on our new Project Centre. Having finalised the deal and signed the deeds to the land in March, we have now drawn up a detailed plan for the 7ha that will house our project and education centre, areas for cash crop propagation and processing and our Inga seed bank. The picture on the left shows the first seedlings...