An Overview of the Seeds for a Future Program
Seeds for a Future has a long track record of creating food security, increasing health, and generating economic opportunities in rural communities.
Because of its neutral stance and inclusive core, the Seeds Program enjoys a high degree of success working with new communities in a variety of cultures and climates.
Seeds for Future trains and empowers rural families and communities to create sustainable food security, address chronic malnutrition, and build better lives.
While some organizations are supplying important, short-term aid relief to rural Guatemalans, Seeds for a Future provides long-term, one-on-one training and coaching along with critical up-front resources for its participants.
This long-term approach allows rural Guatemalans to sustainably generate their own food security, have healthy diets, and foster new opportunities.
Through taking personal action, Program participants are able to overcome many of the obstacles they face and live resilient, self-reliant lives.
As of 2025, over 5,200 families have graduated from the Program, which is currently operating in 19 communities throughout rural Guatemala.
The Seeds Program Integrates Four Core Elements for Long-Term Food Security and Increasing Health:
3. Micro-Business Opportunities
4. Empowering Women
What Drives the Impact of the Seeds for a Future Program?
The underlying goal of Seeds for a Future is for families and communities to create their own food security and to build better lives for themselves.
Participants are not simply exposed to new skills and information and then left on their own.
They’re closely 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 confidence with their crops, animals, and skills, they share their knowledge with extended family and neighbors. It’s a chain-reaction effect, spreading throughout the entire community.
What are the Outcomes of the Seeds
for a Future Program?
Program participants become 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 for a Future 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.
The Seeds For a Future Program aligns with the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Fostering Community Development
The Seeds for a Future Program also includes many 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 the program’s 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
Seeds for a Future's integration and reach into the communities it serves has not been a matter of luck.
The hard work and persistence of the team have evolved a unique, long-term food security and wellness program that continues to grow and transform.
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