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…
Malachi Troy Symonds, from the island of Bermuda, is not one to step away from a challenge. The 2019 EARTH graduate, well-known locally for his agronomy skills and gardening expertise, is working diligently to develop the agricultural capacity of his home country in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way…
EARTH Futures, Trudi’s y CARE Guatemala, se unieron para crear Alianzas para el Éxito, un proyecto que busca capacitar a mujeres y jóvenes en comunidades de Matina, Costa Rica, para que sean ellas quienes lideren iniciativas que impulsen la seguridad alimentaria, la economía local y el futuro de sus comunidades.
Susan Yar Deng, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at EARTH University (Class of 2028) is from South Sudan, but she was born in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, where thousands of people from different nationalities live and where daily needs are urgent and evident…
From Scotland, Karina Garcés-Mirza (Class of 2002, Ecuador) is leading green infrastructure projects that aim to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change. Her background in sustainable development and rural communities now translates into an urban vision committed to building more resilient and sustainable cities…
Abigael Simaloi Pertet (Class of 2016, Kenya), a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni, first learned about EARTH University through the Maasai Girls Education Fund, an organization whose mission is to support girls’ education and empowerment and who had sponsored her schooling. In 2012, an EARTH graduate gave a presentation about EARTH, and in that moment Abigael fell in love with the idea of what the institution represented…
Neither Lajanda Blake (Class of 2025, Jamaica) nor Patience Cyuzuzo (Class of 2025, Rwanda) ever imagined their career paths would shift so much after completing their third-year Internship. In 2024, they both traveled to the United States, where they discovered new passions that today drive their Graduation Project (GP)…
Yngrid Espinoza Villaruel (Class of 2011, Peru) was the first recipient of a scholarship funded by EARTH alumni. What began as a unique opportunity became a path marked by effort, innovation, social and environmental impact, and an unwavering commitment to giving back to the world…
David Steiger has long been committed to making his community, and the world, a more equitable place. The 2011 graduate, from Switzerland, was one of the first students from the European continent to attend EARTH University. David is currently working for Robi, an NGO that provides services for vulnerable children in his small yet diverse hometown of Olten, Switzerland…
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