Reflections, Perspectives, and Notes from the Field

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 ways to nourish themselves and their communities. A woman in Montecristo…

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 success of their yields begins to form. One mother noticed it first: something…

By Dr. Jim Barlow, Agronomist, Soil Expert, and Seeds for a Future Board Advisor 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,…

By Dr. Jim Barlow, Agronomist, Soil Expert, and Seeds for a Future Board Advisor 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 their own sustainable,…

Rural Nutrition and Health Requires More Than Planting Gardens. Since 2009, Seeds For A Future has been refining and evolving the design of its core Program, which focuses on food security, nutrition education, and increasing incomes.  The concept of the Seeds Program began when its Founders, Suzanne and Earl de Berge, were living in a…

By Dr. Jim Barlow, Agronomist, Soil Expert, and Seeds for a Future Board Advisor Sometimes, it can take the new person a little while to fully understand the scope of an organization. My name is Jim Barlow, and I recently joined the Seeds For a Future team in Guatemala, where we work to reduce chronic…

By Suzanne de Berge | Co-Founder and Board President Across rural Guatemala, chronic malnutrition continues to be one of the most urgent challenges families face. Per Hum Data, 47-70% of children under five experience long-term nutritional deficits that affect physical and cognitive growth, development, and lifelong opportunity. According to the World Bank, the average rural…

The first 1,000 days of life is a critical period for child development. From the moment of conception up to age two, caretaker decisions have an immediate impact on a child’s physical health and future cognitive abilities. At Seeds for a Future, we work with rural families and particularly young parents to optimize family nutrition…