Wonderful people/Wonderful organization
Posted by carpetsucka8217  |  May 6, 2009 1:31:18 PM

This is a well run organization. The people do what they say they are going to do. Everyone associated with this organization is nicer and more helpful then the next. I have worked with other charities and this ones doing it right. Most all of your donation goes to the people, the way it should be. I did hands on with this group along with a tour of all they have/are doing in CA and the passion that they have is unbelievable!! This is my new charity! Don't hesitate to give to SHI, Its working!! I've seen it first hand.

SHI has a win win strategy
Posted by mwcopi  |  April 28, 2009 8:44:07 AM

If you want a huge bang for your charitable buck, if you want to make a difference in the lives of the rural poor and have a positive impact on the enviroment, SHI is for you. SHI has a wholistic, long term, effective approach. It is my favorite charity!

Sustainable Harvest International
Posted by IvorW  |  April 16, 2009 8:11:45 AM

This organisation follows the biblical instruction about teaching fishing rather than giving a fish. Thus, it has effect far longer and greater than just handing out food or money. Its ethical basis inspires all who come in contact with it. If it had ore money it could help more families!

SHI Belize & Brown University- Innovative Partners
Posted by trgage  |  March 30, 2009 6:44:46 AM

I am a student at Brown University and I just returned from Belize after spending 10 days with a group of students investigating cacao production and markets with SHI Belize. The quality, personality, and incredible knowledge of each and every one of SHI Belize's field extensionists, and the charisma and vision of Director Nana Mensah greatly impressed our team of students. Brown, as an academic institution, & SHI, as an successfully operating NGO, have begun an innovative partnership to help generate academic research that can further SHI's mission, and to offer real world learning opportunities to undergraduate students. I commend SHI for their vision and commitment to intercultural education for opening the doors to their organization for us students, and it has been a profound learning opportunity for me, unlike anything I have encountered before. We will continue to support SHI and will carry the inspiration and energy we received on the trip to Belize with us as we mature and grow.

Kudos to Sustainable Harvest International
Posted by mcrenshaw  |  February 27, 2009 10:34:21 AM

I just returned from a 10-day trip to Honduras with Sustainable Harvest International. That small organization with a relatively small staff that accounts for only 8 percent of the organization’s expenditures is doing a fantastic job helping the rural areas of Honduras diversify crops and re-forest the denuded mountains of the country. The people on the ground demonstrated a dedication and grasp of both the problems and possible solutions that I found worthy of Nobel prize recognition. The leadership of our small world tour by an employee of SHI was first-rate. We worked, we learned, we contributed. If there is truly a way to help the impoverished developing world, SHI holds the key. Margaret Crenshaw

I have personally seen the difference SHI makes
Posted by Erin  |  February 11, 2009 1:01:44 PM

Sustainable Harvest International is an outstanding organization that really helps those in need. SHI really makes the most of all donations they receive to make a difference in families and communities lives.

I have witnessed the difference SHI makes in their Smaller World Tours in Belize. Building more fuel efficient stoves and planting trees was only one of the direct benefits provided to these families.

Not only are they extremely efficient with using the funds in the most helpful ways, they really listen to and are led by local needs.

In Belize they work with cacao farmers and the Smaller World Chocolate Week was very educational, informative and fun. It also directly improved the lives of the local community for the long-term.

The staff are extraordinarily dedicated and passionate, working very hard to connect and deliver locally what is most needed. They are sensitive to the needs and culture where they are working.

It is one of the best organizations I have come in contact with.

An organization worth supporting
Posted by Lenore  |  December 30, 2008 7:20:14 AM

Over many years we have given donations to many organizations, but none are more worth our support more than SHI. We know that SHI does good work and serves an important mission. Great organization!

Sustainable Harvest International
Posted by holly  |  December 23, 2008 3:55:14 AM

SHI is a hard working non-profit that meets the needs of people in Central America by teaching them about sustainable agriculture. I've had the chance to work with other organizations and can say SHI is the best run organization I have worked with and works hard to spend as much as possible on the communities in Central America. Keep up the hard work!

SHI gives me hope
Posted by flyingdogz  |  December 22, 2008 6:39:40 AM

I was very impressed with the SHI staff and a board member I met at a green conference in San Francisco. Their programs are so effective and done on a shoe string. My dollar goes so far to help improve peoples lives significantly and to help save the world.

Sustainable Harvest International gives me hope!!

Sustainable Managers and Sustainable Future
Posted by Diana Films  |  December 19, 2008 5:21:46 AM

SHI solves multiple global problems simultaneously.

Through their unique programs they fight poverty by empowering women and their families through micro-lending and mentoring for small businesses. Stimulating the local economy and inspiring other families to follow suit.

With their unique sustainable farming and animal husbandry methods they are reducing further environmental damage. SHI advocates and trains local farmers and families to combine old world techniques with modern processes. For instance their wood conserving stoves help families to work smarter and under much better health conditions. These ovens have been instrumental in reducing asthma and have improved the overall health and nutrition not just for the families running these small businesses but also the local community. The farming techniques SHI advocates for preserves more rainforrest and empowers farmers and their community to farm with greater efficiency and provides the local community with healthier products, produced sustainably and without using toxic and expensive pesticides, GMO seeds and other estrogen disruptors.

These local farmers are yielding great results and setting a good example for other local businesses to follow. Each one teach one, many of the families and businesses SHI mentors becomes a local hero and a community resource.

The country directors working with SHI have proven themselves to be astute value engineers and adaptable leaders. SHI uses nearly all the money it receives running the programs, they have a very low over head, making the most of the resources available through generous contributions of money, land and equipment.

The diverse and multifaceted approach being pioneered by SHI places this organization very high on my list this time of year. SHI serves as an inspiration for best practices in creating a sustainable future for all living creatures and the earth that holds them.

Impressive!
Posted by Rhino  |  December 17, 2008 8:13:23 AM

SHI impresses me with their unique methods of helping rural Central American families improve their quality of life. Aside from improving crops, health, and living conditions, SHI also helps to instill a deep respect for the environment in the communities it serves.

The far reaching and deep benefits that SHI can give on it's relatively limited budget is testament to what a great organization it is.

Imagine the impact SHI could have if they could double or triple their revenues!

Great popeple make a great organization!
Posted by John B. Farmer  |  December 15, 2008 10:25:18 AM

SHI's mission is holistic -- only by fighting poverty and environmental degradation simultaneously can we make a difference in either. I have supported SHI for several years as a volunteer and a donor, and, the more I interact with the staff, the more impressed I am with this organization. These are very capable people who believe very strongly in what they do. I will continue to support SHI and hope everyone does.

SHI makes a difference with OUR donations!
Posted by mbb  |  December 15, 2008 6:57:33 AM

I have personally seen the work that SHI does in three of the four countries where they work. It is incredible the dedication of the field staff and how much the farmers can accomplish with our donations. Keep it up, SHI!

Mature Organization
Posted by varresa  |  December 12, 2008 9:13:04 AM

I've been amazed to see SHI really mature into a well-run, professional organization and crystallize the focus of their work in Central America. SHI really sets a high benchmark for other environmental non-profits to reach, both in the field and administratively. Great work!!!

Strong support for SHI
Posted by tom_b_machias  |  December 10, 2008 10:29:45 AM

We are so impressed with the quality and effectiveness of Sustainable Harvest International (SHI). Having lived in Latin America and worked in natural resource management, my wife and I have a great appreciation for the impact that SHI's work has in the communities they serve. Their programs are well planned and executed and the success stories connect donors, like us, to the people benefiting from SHI's programs. SHI gives people the tools and training they need to improve their quality of life. My family strongly supports SHI's mission and we are making holiday gifts to support SHI part of our yearly holiday tradition. We hope you will too.

An Outstanding Organization
Posted by rjh  |  December 10, 2008 6:57:03 AM

I have been fortuate to watch SHI grow. As a non-profit professional I am consistently impressed by not only the immense work that SHI is capable of doing, but their best practices in doing so. Truly an amazing source of positive environmental progress and the right organization to support.

The Cure
Posted by tam  |  December 1, 2008 9:26:20 AM

SHI implements alternatives to slash-and-burn farming. In my opinion, education is the best way for the natives to get out of the negative feedback loop that is rain forest destruction.

SHI's top rankings on Charity Navigator attests to its effectiveness.

Ever evolving SHI
Posted by 'Sconset Rose  |  December 1, 2008 9:03:38 AM

What I admire about SHI is that it continually evolves to develop more wholistic programs that are in reaction to what the farming families need. Farmers who need loans at reasonable rates? SHI founded 23 community loan funds See http://www.sustainableharvest.org/CommunityLoanFunds.cfm

And I can see their efficiency on Charity Navigator - my dollars go a very very long way.

So, this year, when things are tough for everyone, I plan to give "gifts of hope", I donate an amount linked to a specific project, like planting a hundred trees, making a loan to a women's business, or establishing a community loan fund, and my friends get a card. See http://www.sustainableharvest.org/giftofhope.cfm

What a great organization!
Posted by jshonle  |  December 1, 2008 8:57:42 AM

Sustainable Harvest International is now my favorite charity. The work they do is an outstanding win-win-win. The people they help win, the forest wins, and the earth wins. They work with the people of Central America treating them with respect and dignity. SHI does amazing things with the money that they have. They could do so much more with more donors.

Mention in Huffington Post
Posted by HarvestFlo  |  November 26, 2008 8:11:07 AM

Marguerite Manteau-Rao noted in a recent posting that SHI is the only one of Charity Navigator's ten best managed environmental organizations to be led by a woman. The posting is at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marguerite-manteaurao/where-are-the-women-in-th_b_136528.html