(Illustration by iStock/franckreporter)
In Brazil, where one-third of the world’s deforestation has occurred, the nonprofit CEDErva promotes traditional practices for tending to—and harvesting—the land. “Conventional approaches to sustainable agriculture are no longer working,” argue the coauthors of “Who Knows Agroforestry Best?” one of this issue’s Viewpoint columns. Instead, they advocate for a new model. From its headquarters in the state of Paraná, CEDErva advances innovative solutions to conservation, raises awareness of Indigenous knowledge systems, and seeks alternative compensation for communities so that ancient practices can compete with more modern ones.
While CEDErva’s focus is decidedly local—the acronym stands for the Center for the Development and Education of Traditional Erva-Mate Systems, referencing the plant species native to South America that’s often used in teas—its model could be applied elsewhere. Consider Bolivia, Laos, Nicaragua, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other countries rapidly losing tree cover, according to the World Resources Institute’s latest report. Might they, too, benefit from adopting CEDErva’s approach?
It’s that question, and the answer it implies, that explains why so much of our reporting comes from around the world. Why we’ve set up partnerships with international organizations to translate SSIR’s features into several other languages to reach a wider audience. And why we support and mentor those organizations as they produce their own original work, highlighting social progress in China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and, yes, Brazil, that might not otherwise be seen, shared, and celebrated.
Elsewhere in just this print issue, you can enjoy: a profile of Take2, a social enterprise in New Zealand offering job training during periods of incarceration and other paths to job security as a form of rehabilitation; and a new life for old brick and other building materials, which are being turned into “green concrete” and used in the development of sustainable architecture in the Czech Republic.
Online, at ssir.org, you’ll find much more, including a recent series that brought together all of our international partners in an inspiring, collaborative effort. The Global Pursuit of Equity, published over several weeks this spring and presented in six languages, “looks at inequities within the context of seven specific regions or countries, and the ways local innovators are working to balance the scales and foster greater inclusion across a range of issue areas,” according to the introduction by Jenifer Morgan, our global editions editor, who coordinated the project.
In a meeting about our wide reach and distribution, Jenifer once shared that social innovation isn’t just a Western phenomenon. It’s an obvious statement, but one so powerful in its simplicity that I find myself invoking it often. It’s why I encourage you to read widely and to look for solutions and inspiration everywhere, even in unlikely places.
Read more stories by Nicholas Jackson.