Sowing Seeds of Change: Grow Ahead’s 2024 Highlights
2024 has been a special year for Grow Ahead, filled with meaningful projects, impactful partnerships, and powerful change. Here are a few highlights that showcase how the Grow Ahead community has come together to support small-scale farmers and combat climate change through agroforestry.
Big Changes for Grow Ahead = More Impact for Farmers
Grow Ahead began 2024 with some big changes. In March, Grow Ahead welcomed a new Program Manager to the team after months of that role sitting vacant. Her introduction set everything off on the right foot with more bandwidth to connect with donors, educate the public, and in turn, fund meaningful projects around the world. Soon after her arrival, Grow Ahead launched two new projects; “Farmer Led Agroforestry in Mexico’s Coffee Lands” and “Regenerative Organic Agroforestry in Ivory Coast.” Collectively, these projects aim to plant 110,000 trees with 550+ farmers, supporting food security, biodiversity, and farmer training. Spoiler alert: one of these projects has already been paid off! Keep reading to learn which one.
100,000 Trees Planted
October saw Grow Ahead Week of Action, a week dedicated to making an impact in the lives of small-scale farmers. Throughout the week, Grow Ahead supporters attended live webinars focused on agroforestry 101, our farming and business partners, and advocating for forests and forest defenders with Amazon Watch. The webinars are now available on demand so your can get a taste of the excitement that was Week of Action. The Grow Ahead community also united efforts by donating. This incredible week led to the funding of the “Seed Saving and Reforestation in Mexico” project and the reforestation of 620 acres!
On the heels of fully funding our first Mexico project of 2024, Grow Ahead also announced the funding of “Farmer Led Agroforestry in Mexico’s Coffee Lands.” That’s right, this project was funded in less than a year which speaks to the commitment of our loyal donors and business partners! We’re excited to keep you informed as farmers across Guerrero plant 50,000 heirloom coffee trees, 10,000 fruit trees, and 15,000 shade trees.
For anyone keeping track, the Grow Ahead community funded the planting of 100,000 trees in 2024!
What's Next?
As 2024 quickly comes to a close, Grow Ahead is looking forward to an incredible new year full of fresh opportunities to support small-scale farmers. Before then, Grow Ahead still has one more project that needs your help. Through the end of 2024, Grow Ahead is offering our Holiday Gift Package full of Fair Trade Federation member items (a $125+ value) with each $75+ donation to the “Regenerative Organic Agroforestry in Ivory Coast” project. The incredible project will plant 35,000 trees with over 500 women farmers from KANY Cocoa Cooperative. Through Dynamic Agroforestry demonstration farms, KANY farmers will also help rapidly scale out agroforestry in the region.
Make 2025 your year of generosity by creating a recurring donation to allow for more projects which in turn, will impact more farmers and communities. If you're in need of a last minute holiday gift, you can also plant trees and send a custom eCard to honor your loved ones.
From everyone on the Grow Ahead team, thank you for your consistent support. Thanks to you, small-scale farmers in Mexico and Ivory Coast are planting trees, diversifying their incomes, and increasing food security for their communities. We hope you'll join us next year as we continue to enhance the resilience of small-scale farmers, the power of agroforestry to combat climate change, and the shared vision of a more sustainable and equitable future. Together, we can plant the seeds of change—one farmer, one community, one tree at a time.
Want to support farmers all year long?
Choose "Recurring" on the donation page to make a monthly or quarterly impact. Recurring donations provide consistent, predictable funding, which is crucial for planning and sustaining long-term agroforestry projects. Unlike one-time donations that may create uncertainty, recurring contributions allow Grow Ahead to commit to more projects and in return, more farmers. Make generosity your 2025 New Year Resolution!
