After seven years of applying for scholarships while working to support her family, Maken Love Mallebranche (Class of 2027, Haiti) received the call that would change her life: news that she had received a full scholarship to study at EARTH. Hers is the story of a young Haitian woman who turned loss, waiting, and uncertainty into purpose.
March is the month when we commemorate the voices of the women who make EARTH’s mission—and the transformation of the world—possible. In this story, we share the stories of a professor, a graduate, a student, and a staff member, all of whom have turned persistence, care, and courage into tools to forge their own paths.
When Débora Flores Vásquez (Class of 2026, Guatemala) began her studies at EARTH she knew she had found the place that would form her career. From her work on vanilla cultivation during her third-year Internship at an eco-lodge and retreat center in Oaxaca, Mexico, to her Graduation Project plan to formulate a yogurt-like product with a healthful bacteria and additional fiber, she is amassing a diverse set of skills. After graduation at the end of 2026, she is eager to apply all she has learned at her family farm and in her community of Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
Emmanuel Mark Fornah (Class of 2014) and Aiah Umar Konoboy (Class of 2015), both from Sierra Leone, are two examples of how EARTH’s hands-on approach goes beyond the classroom and translates into real impact. Today they work in fruit production in their country, applying the knowledge, technical skills, and leadership capacities gained at the University.
From crop management to supporting work teams, they are demonstrating how a learning-by-doing education prepares professionals capable of creating opportunities, strengthening communities, and transforming production systems.
Through her leadership in sustainable agribusiness programs and initiatives across Latin America, Adriana Escobedo (Class of 2007, Costa Rica) has built a career defined by community development, entrepreneurship, and education. Her experience shows how agribusiness—when people are placed at the center—can strengthen local economies and generate long-term impact.
Raphaël Loubert (Class of 2018, Belgium), who arrived in Costa Rica as a traveler, found at EARTH the starting point for his life’s purpose. His experience in a multicultural environment with hands-on learning and a strong sense of community shaped both his personal and professional development. Today, based in Belgium, he works in environmental education, leading projects inspired by EARTH’s educational model.
Emmanuel Cooper Gonfatee (Class of 2015, Liberia) has built a career focused on science, sustainability, and agricultural innovation. From his work with farmers in Liberia to his doctoral studies in weed management and digital agriculture, he is applying the hands-on and environmental approach he learned at EARTH to protect crops and strengthen leadership in the field.
Khaalid Ahmed Awali (Class of 2018, Somaliland) has carved a career path that combines agriculture and technology to address real challenges in the field. Drawing on his education at EARTH, he has advanced practical solutions that support smallholder farmers, improve production processes, and strengthen access to local markets.
In San Juan La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala, coffee is much more than a crop—it is identity and livelihood. Through the Resilient Agrifood Systems Project led by EARTH Futures, smallholder producers like Federico Manuel Ujpan are strengthening their productive, organizational, and commercial capacities, advancing toward a more sustainable organic coffee sector.
From a childhood shaped by learning through agriculture to her participation in the Resilient Agrifood Systems Project of EARTH Futures, Doris’s story shows that knowledge can be gained through hands-on learning. Today she leads, shares, and applies agroecological practices alongside other women in her community.
EARTH and INTA are strengthening a strategic alliance that promotes applied research, agricultural innovation, and leadership development. Through joint projects in Costa Rica—including the development of value-added products from sweet potato, both institutions combine knowledge, experience, and learning to generate a positive impact on the agricultural sector…
Komlan Kekeli Batchey (Class of 2021), a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni, grew up in a farming community in Togo. As a child he helped his mother grow and sell green beans and lettuce from her garden…
From their first year, EARTH students learn how to turn ideas into sustainable businesses. Thanks to the support of funds such as the Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund (SEF) and the Katherine John Murphy Fund, many of these projects have successfully made the leap from an idea to making a real impact in communities…
Coming from an island where nearly all food is imported, Veonn Caines (Class of 2025, Saint Kitts and Nevis) always knew that agriculture has a future. His research comparing two types of planters in the humid tropics revealed findings that could one day transform how corn is produced—with greater efficiency and fewer losses. Now, as he prepares to graduate, he dreams of bringing that knowledge back home and proving that innovation can also emerge from small places.
When José Antonio González (Class of 1997) arrived at EARTH from Panama, he had never held a shovel nor endured the heat of the open field. What began as a physical challenge turned into a life lesson that led him to discover his passion for the environment and for teaching…
In one of the villages surrounding Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, a group of women gathers to weave and embroider. With their hands, they write the stories of the Maya people in a symbolic language of threads and stitches that form birds, flowers, and serpents. Some sit before backstrap looms, creating pieces filled with hundreds of colors…
With support from members of the EARTH community and strategic partners, our University is conducting research to learn more about the species inhabiting the Guácimo Campus—understanding their needs and implementing solutions that respect their life cycles, behaviors, and habitats…
Sam Hansen (Class of 2014, United States) is part of a sustainability education center based in Costa Rica. There, he manages agroforestry systems, fermentation processes, and teaches courses on permaculture and natural building—all while keeping community development at the heart of his work…
The first time Gastón Miyashiro (Class of 2007, Argentina) stepped foot on EARTH’s campus wasn’t his first day as a student—it was for a week-long training on microorganisms. At the time, Gastón was studying Business Administration at the University of Buenos Aires and had been working with Effective Microorganisms, a Japanese technology that creates synergistic effects by combining beneficial microbiomes that exist in nature…
Within her first week at EARTH, Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni, Betania Taquiva Ramírez (Class of 2016, Venezuela) had already introduced herself to all 400 students, the faculty, and every staff member on the Guácimo Campus…
Inspired by his grandfather, Cawayne always dreamed of working in agriculture. He imagined studying close to home in Jamaica, where he could directly uplift his family and community…
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