Business platforms have emerged as a catalyst for fostering entrepreneurship in economically disadvantaged nations. The resources, services, and opportunities that they provide prove to be an invaluable asset in allowing entrepreneurs to surmount obstacles and grow their businesses. Online business platforms like Slack, and ASANA, as well as agile and scrum management types, have successfully provided platforms allowing entrepreneurs and artisans to flourish.

HSP sits down with Shalitha Peaches “Shy” of White Mountain Apache to discuss ethnobotany and the impacts and importance of the continuation of cultural knowledge.

Today, three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and 35% of the world's crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. Pollinators are fundamental for maintaining the balance and health of our ecosystem, as they support biodiversity and provide a multitude of environmental benefits. However, many pollinators, such as moths, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and bats, are in trouble due to habitat loss, parasites, climate change, and environmental contaminants. It is crucial that we implement changes and take care of our environment.

Empowerment Theory informs all of our programming at HSP, but what is it exactly and how do we use it? Empowerment Theory is often used in social work and its goal is to empower people and communities to gain personal, interpersonal, and political power to better their lives and aims to challenge the existing institutions and systems that act in opposition to these groups.

Volunteering abroad is a great way to make an impact in the lives of people and communities around the globe, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of “voluntourism.” Without proper safeguards and intentional planning, many voluntourism trips may do more harm than good – resulting in exploitative practices and tokenizing local communities. 

The legacy of Native American boarding schools is rooted in a long history of oppression and injustice. Native American boarding schools – which were often run by Christian missionaries – were designed to assimilate indigenous children into the dominant white culture, stripping them of their language, traditions, and culture. The impact of this system of assimilation has been devastating for generations of Native Americans who were subjected to this oppressive form of education. It is essential that we recognize the systemic racism that enabled the establishment and continuous operation of these boarding schools – and work together to address the flaws of the system. 

Global warming directly impacts the environment, and a decrease in carbon emissions is essential. The temperature is predicted to increase by 1.5 degrees celsius by 2050. It’s very clear that we need to find efficient ways to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere annually, the question is how. 

In the hills and rolling valleys of the Appalachian region, a musical tradition was born, drawing on the diverse influences of Scottish, Irish, and English immigrants, as well as the soulful rhythms of African-American blues and gospel music. Known as bluegrass, this stirring expression of the shared struggles and joys of those who call these hills home arose in the early 20th century, a symbol of resilience and resistance in the face of poverty, limited opportunities, and environmental destruction wrought by extractive industries.

Since the program's initiation in September, we have provided nine different workshops in four locations. The importance of positioning women in the formal market continues to be a primary necessity for local entrepreneurs. As the general market transitions to digital advertising and payment processing, local business owners face the risk of being left out of the shift. HSP and AMA have implemented the Online Merchants program to avoid the loss of women in the marketplace but to also streamline a new reality of empowerment in finances for indigenous business women. 

By creating pollinator gardens, we can help to enhance the health of our environment and promote a sustainable future for all.

Charles Eisenstein is an environmentalist and published author and his book Climate - A New Story covers his outlook on climate change and the issues of how it’s approached.

The primary goal of The Deep Ecology Education Program (DEEP) is to serve as a bridge between scholarship on cultural adaptations required for our species to survive climate change.  Developing sustainable political and commercial responses requires sufficient popular support in turn making it a priority for policymakers. 

The Highland Support Project (HSP) and our sister organization, the Association of Highland Women (AMA), have partnered for over two decades to foster healing in communities with historical trauma. One of the foundational programming areas has been organizing around increasing access to improved indoor cookstoves. An essential need to address for empowering women is the cost and labor associated with firewood. 

On November 28th, AMA and HSP facilitated and oversaw the delivery of 30 sanitation systems to 30 families in the community of Chuicutama, Guatemala.

HSP is in the process of forming a co-op holding company to facilitate micro-investment in Guatemalan and U.S. small businesses. In addition to direct investment, the co-op would supply personalized training, technology, and administrative support. Steps such as integrating e-commerce for these businesses would expand demand by opening access to markets in the U.S. and internationally.

In the months of September and October, we implemented our full focus on the Virtual Merchant program in Guatemala, Marchante Línea. Continuing through our circle empowerment method, a team consisting of a marketing director, business administration director, and graphic designer trained Guatemalan women in each field providing them with the knowledge and means to conduct their own product management through the creation of business cards, market photography, Webdesign, and business and contingency plans.

HSP has partnered with BJC in their National effort to save Oak Flat. Chí’chil Biłdagoteel loosely translated to “Oak Flat” in English is a part of the ancestral homelands of the Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, Zuni, and many other Nations in the Southwest. Qualified as a Traditional Cultural Property it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It is a site of religious and cultural ceremonies, a burial ground, and a sacred space for tribal members to source medicinal plants, food, and water. The Apache People see the land as sacred and alive and have been caring for and communing with Chí’chil Biłdagoteel for centuries.

HSP is a network of social workers, scholars, faith-based community members, and Indigenous change-makers partnering to solve critical social and ecological problems. We utilize the methodologies of Participatory Action Research (PAR) " to bring together action and reflection, theory and practice, in participation with others, in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people" (Reason & Bradbury, 2001). PAR utilizes a spiral of steps, each composed of a circle of planning, action, and reflection about the results of an action.

With all of your efforts and partnership, we’ve done it again! Through recent funding and community engagements, HSP has been able to assist in the building of new stoves for six new families.