Seeds for a Future Planting Techniques Workshop 0820

Families Are Leading the Way to Lasting Food Security

For generations, rural Guatemalan families have faced the challenges of chronic malnutrition, poverty, and limited access to resources.

Many families are now taking proactive steps to address these challenges by cultivating their own nutritious food, improving household health, and creating new income sources.

Creating Long-Term Food Security and Better Health Through Training and Mentoring 

Nutrition Instruction - Seeds for a Future

The underlying goal of the Seeds for a Future Program is to provide essential training for families and communities to create their own food security and live healthier lives.

Started in 2009, our Program is a hands-on 12-month mentorship program with weekly training and check-ins.

Participants are not simply exposed to new skills and information and then left on their own.

They’re trained and supported to help them recognize and solve problems, to become comfortable and confident in their knowledge and embed their knowledge into their daily thinking and routine.

As each family gains fluency with their permaculture gardens, animals, and nutrition and health expertise, they share their knowledge with extended family and neighbors.

Through taking personal action, Program participants can overcome many of the obstacles they face and live resilient, self-reliant lives.

This long-term approach allows rural Guatemalans to sustainably generate their own food security, have healthy diets to reduce illnesses, such as the stunting of infants and children, and foster new income opportunities. 

As of 2025, almost 5,400 families have graduated from our Program, which is currently operating in 19 communities throughout rural Guatemala.

The Seeds for a Future Program Combines Three Core Elements:

Sustainable Food Security

Nutrition and Health Education

Micro-Business Creation

Seeds for a Future Impacts

What is the Impact of the Seeds for a Future Program?

Program participants become more self-sufficient and self-reliant by creating the following outcomes for themselves:

  • Sustainable food security
  • Improved health and well-being
  • New income opportunities

Of critical importance, with better food security and nutrition, fewer infants are born with stunting and health issues, while children and adults live healthier and more fulfilled lives. 

A study of the Seeds Program using a randomized control trial was conducted from 2014 to 2017 by the internationally respected Institute for Nutrition in Central America and Panama (INCAP).

Funded by the Nestlé Foundation of Switzerland, INCAP’s research revealed that Seeds for a Future’s strategies and methods produce measurable positive improvements in the health of participating mothers and babies.

“This is the first time that an integrated health, nutrition, and agriculture project demonstrated a positive outcome in biochemical biomarkers in women and children, and therefore, there is a great potential for escalating the model to other regions.”

The Program also empowers women while allowing new opportunities for citizens who may have otherwise migrated abroad to stay in their communities.

Fostering Community Development

Our Program includes vital factors for achieving acceptance and resilience within communities:

  • Sensitivity to the cultural context

  • Relevance to needs and interests

  • Ethnic, political, and religious neutrality

  • Use of appropriate learning techniques such as learn-by-doing and guided observation

  • Design for affordability and the reinforcing effect of  early success

Experience has shown these factors are also critical for success:

  • Field teams are local to the area and trained to model mutual respect

  • Encouraging innovation and learning from failure as well as success

  • Self-selection by families indicates a willingness to learn and do their part

  • Encouraging the sharing of both knowledge and resources

The Program's integration and reach into the communities it serves has not been a matter of luck. 

The hard work and persistence of the team and the program's participants have evolved a unique, long-term food security and health program that continues to grow and expand.

The Seeds For a Future Program Aligns with the Following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
UN SDG 1 Seeds for a Future
UN SDG 2 Seeds for a Future
UN SDG 3 Seeds for a Future

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Our newsletter shares the heart of our work—stories of transformation, voices from the field, and the ways we can create reliable food security and better health for rural families and communities around the world.

2024 Non-Profit Awards Seeds for a Future