The Hummingbird Project operates a number of initiatives domestically and globally in an effort to promote and educate communities about ecological regeneration. Learn more about our projects.
Cleveland Seed Bank
The Cleveland Seed Bank is dedicated to building a resilient, regionally adapted seed supply and an alliance of seed savers, creating the foundation of a sustainable food system that can be adapted by communities around the world.
We cultivate resilient communities and work to strengthen the network of seed savers through seed exchanges, educational programs, seed libraries, and seed stewardship. Currently, through partnerships with 8 public library systems, the Cleveland Seed Bank operates 28 Seed Libraries which span 3 counties in Northeast Ohio.
Living Soil Saves Lives
A core initiative of The Hummingbird Project is providing education on organic methods of soil regeneration, both internationally and locally.
Our Living Soil Saves Lives program supports rural subsistence farmers in India’s “suicide belt,” an area where disproportionately large numbers of farmers have committed suicide due to rising debts and failed crops. Additionally, the area is the center of India’s intensive genetically-modified cotton production, which has negatively impacted both the quality of the soil and groundwater in the region. Farmers are increasingly vulnerable to crop failures due to drought, soil infertility and resistant pests.
By focusing on the “soil food web,” utilizing various composting techniques and facilitating hands-on training sessions, we’re able to educate farmers on what healthy, living soil looks like. This is all done in an effort to transition back to natural, organic farming methods.
Since 2011, we have presented our Living Soil Saves Lives to over 2,500 individuals in 6 different states across India and provided infrastructure such as water harvesting, irrigation and compost systems to 12 different farmer’s cooperatives. Our training program is based on the idea of soil, seed and food sovereignty, which emphasizes the right of people to define their own localized, culturally appropriate and ecologically sound food and agriculture system.
Sustainable Schools
Our Sustainable Schools initiative in Kenya provides education and infrastructure to impoverished institutions, allowing students and their communities to become working models for sustainability.
Through experiential learning, students are taught about the role they play in relation to their food, water, energy and ultimately, the ecology of their region. The school campus becomes a ‘living laboratory’ for water, energy and waste management practices, benefiting the school and educating the pupils.
Our Sustainable Schools Initiative focuses on basic ecological principles and incorporates local, holistically designed solutions, such as:
Biogas digestion to provide a source of clean, renewable cooking fuel for the kitchen;
Greywater systems to recycle water to grow fruit and fodder trees in the semi-arid, equatorial region;
Seed bank and indigenous tree nursery to re-forest the degraded landscape surrounding the campus;
Raised gardens built on contour to increase the water holding capacity and fertility of the soil;
Drip irrigation systems which utilize rainwater harvested from classrooms and administrative offices.
Young people represent the fastest-growing demographic in Africa, and by implementing our Sustainable School model in more regions, we hope to empower the next generation with the knowledge and framework needed to thrive.
