Biodiversity Nourishes

These members of our Nourishment Economies Coalition have pioneered social and business enterprises which stimulate the wealth of animal, plant, and microbial biodiversity in the world.

We understand biodiversity as a metabolism for health in people and land. Micro- and macro-biodiversity are engines that convert minerals and chemicals and sights and sounds into the fabric of life, and these enterprisers build on those forces in powerful ways.

Many of them entered the recent Ashoka Act for Biodiversity challenge, and links to their entries and ideas are provided below.

Sustainable Harvest International, Central America: Pioneering technical, financial, and community support tools needed by small farmers during the risky time needed to transition from historically dependent/destructive land management practices back to ecological and economically healthy ones.

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, United States: Moving the American “community land trust” system of conservation properties and community relationships into the future by fostering a nimble public-plus-private force to monitor and take action on local ecological risks as they emerge.

Burren Programme, Ireland and the European Union: Combining simple financial incentives, locally-based technical assistance, and cultural tradition (“pocket, head, and heart”) to restore historical wildflower and plant diversity (and thus tourism) in livestock farming communities.

BeeOdiversity, Belgium, Europe, and the United States: Using high-end laboratory science and bees as data collectors for public and private partnerships that identify and tackle specific biological and chemical risks to biodiversity in a region.

Convenant Pathways, Navajo Nation in the United States: “Healing the soil, healing the soul” by combining Native and forgotten traditional farming and spiritual practices with modern regenerative methods and enterprises in local communities, for biological, health, economic, and cultural benefit.

Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute, Zimbabwe: Increasing food and nutritional security in ways that also increase biodiversity, through community rehabilitation of degraded rangelands.

Radicle Wellness through Home Health Gardens, United States: A methodical plant-by-plant approach for households that creates home gardens which empower individuals and communities to lead their own everyday health, and which diversify home yards and biodiversity in the process.

Canopy Bridge, Ecuador and global: An online international marketplace for buyers and sellers of ecologically grown products.

URDT, Uganda: An acclaimed girls school system that fosters community enterprisers who understand, envision, and build on local resources including healthy soil, wildlife, and nutrient cycles between people and ecology.

COMACO, Zambia: Recognized globally for combining elephant and forest conservation, local farming and food security, and atmospheric carbon sequestration into a fascinating enterprise model that now partners closely with over 180,000 local farmers.

Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda: Stewarding natural forests and wildlife by creating community partnerships to scientifically monitor relationships between health of people, gorillas, and livestock.

The Nomad Dairy, Ethiopia: Engabling indigenous communities to earn revenue for managing wide landscapes and protect ecology and biodiversity in traditional ways by selling traditional, nutritional camel milk to consumers in cities.