Sustainable Harvest International

Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) is a non-profit organization, based in the United States, that addresses the tropical deforestation crisis in Central America and provides farmers with sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture. SHI is dedicated to working with farming communities in Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, and Panama to overcome poverty and restore tropical forests in these nations.

SHI was founded in 1997 by Florence Reed, who discovered first-hand the consequences of tropical deforestation while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panamá in the early 1990s.

Following completion of her Peace Corps service, Reed sought to bring about significant and permanent change throughout Central America. She met with a group of villages in Honduras that desired to implement sustainable techniques. Reed then promoted the project to an interested group of people that included university professors, small business owners, and non-profit executives. In May 1997, this group formed a Board of Directors and Sustainable Harvest International was incorporated as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization.

Since its inception, SHI has expanded its reach beyond a single program in Honduras, and now includes programs in Panamá, Belize and Nicaragua. SHI has also established La Fundacion Cosecha Sostenible Honduras (the Sustainable Harvest Honduras Foundation) as an independent affiliate which, following a transition period, has become responsible for its own management and funding.

A primary objective of SHI is to facilitate implementation of a program that allows poor farmers to take responsibility for reversing environmental degradation and achieving economic viability within their own neighborhoods and countries.