CAN is an amazing nonprofit that connects people from very different parts of the world and walks of life and gives us the opportunity to work together to make a more just, equitable and environmentally sound world. Through CAN I have the opportunity to interact with small scale coffee farmers in Mexico and Nicaragua and their children and to bring them together with university students and coffee drinkers in the US. Together we learn about each others' lives and work on projects. One project is involving farmers in improving sustainable farming practices through trainings and establishment of a sustainability fund in their community. Farmers decide as a group the priorities of what they need. For example this year in San Ramon, Nicaragua the farmers decided to improve their coffee milling so it did not pollute the local river. They also used the fund to support a U.S. grad student to conduct a bird study on their farms to learn what migratory birds are present. As a Board member for CAN I see a network of volunteers from both Latin America and the USA working with a small staff at CAN to connect healthy environments and healthy people through sustainable farming, just trade, and intercultural awareness person to person, community to community.
2,041 Pageviews Read Stories
- EIN 75-3003372
- (831) 459-3619
- PO Box 7653 Santa Cruz CA 95061-7653 USA
- www.canunite.org
- Facebook page
- Add to Favorites
Promote This Nonprofit
Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Economic Development, Microfinance, Rural Economic Development
Mission: Our mission is to sustain rural livelihoods and environments by integrating research, education, and trade innovations.
Geographic areas served: Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, United States
Programs: John Halliday Community Fund; Scholarship for Youth Leader in Food Security in Las Segovias, Nicaragua; Certification Program for Small Farmers in Chiapas, México; Mujeres y Maiz, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, México; Youth Leadership for Food Security (central Veracruz State, México)