Posts by Seeds for a Future

Planting Seeds, Finding Connection: A Journey Through Guatemala By Leilani Yats – 11/05/2026 Traveling with our Field Team, visiting families, and seeing their gardens firsthand is one of my favorite parts of being Executive Director of Seeds for a Future. It’s one thing to read about the work happening in our communities each week. It’s…

From Seedling to Supper: Five Highlights from the Field Team in September By Vivien Varga – 10/13/2026 What does food security look like on the ground? Every week, our team of extensionists, nursery growers, and student interns sends in a report from the field. Last month, those reports told the story of a season of…

Roots of Success: How Long does it Take to Grow? By Vivien Varga – 09/15/2026 Insights from the recent field team report. At the end of July, Catarina T. was preparing her first permaculture garden in Pasac, Guatemala. Space around her home was limited, so Catarina worked with Field Team member Julia and a practicum…

What is Food Security, and What are the 5 A’s? By Christopher Warren – 08/10/2026 We’ve noticed something. The term ‘food security’ keeps showing up in new contexts, often meaning something a little different each time. You’ve probably seen this too; oftentimes food security is a blanket word for hunger.  Food security isn’t only about…

Mud, Mam, and Marigolds: Two Weeks of Quiet Persistence in the Field By Vivien Varga – 07/08/26 Food security doesn’t grow in perfect conditions. During the first two weeks of June, it grew through heavy rains, muddy roads, language barriers, and the steady determination of families and field staff working together across rural Guatemala. What…

The Ingredients for Change Were Already Present By Vivien Varga – 06/24/26 From fish tanks turned into nurseries to kitchen spices that defeat crop plagues, small-scale farmers in Guatemala are reclaiming food sovereignty, one garden at a time. What does real change look like in a small farming community? Often, it looks like someone walking…

“Pass the Plate, Improve Community Health!” By Vivien Varga – 05/12/26 From mountainsides to lakeshores across Guatemala, families in the Seeds for a Future program are doing something quietly radical: growing their own food, on their own terms. In backyards and borrowed spaces, in repurposed fish tanks and stacked recycled tires, families are finding creative…

When Intuition Meets Crisis with a Proven Solution By Vivien Varga – 05/06/2026 In the volcano-side community of Chocolá, Guatemala, something began to disintegrate one family’s mushroom harvest, before something remarkable happened. As many program members cultivate mushrooms as a source of protein and income, a relationship between the health of their crop and the…

Why Permaculture Home Gardens Sustainably Overcome Chronic Malnutrition By Dr. Jim Barlow – 04/25/26 Seeds for a Future is deeply committed to reducing chronic malnutrition among indigenous populations in Guatemala, with a special focus on pregnant women, infants, and young children. While many programs focus on short-term aid to address chronic malnutrition and food insecurity,…

Breaking the Cycle: How Nutrition Education and Home Gardens Transform Lives By Dr. Jim Barlow – 03/27/26 There’s a chronic nutrition and malnutrition crisis in rural communities across the highlands of Guatemala. At Seeds for a Future, we address malnutrition every day through home gardens, education, mentorship, and practical tools to guide families in building…