EcoLogic understands that lack of alternatives is a major reason the rural poor degrade natural resources. Working through our partners to identify local needs and solutions, EcoLogic increases alternatives that are environmentally compatible and that improve individual and community well-being.

Sustainable Agriculture

Demand for agricultural land poses one of the greatest threats to forest resources. Because traditional slash and burn practices deplete the land of necessary nutrients, farmers are continually looking for new fertile areas to transform into agricultural land. Sustainable agriculture - in the form of shade-grown crops such as cacao, coffee, and cardamom - reverses this trend by making forest cover an integral part of the agricultural practice. This alternative provides the opportunity for a community to prosper without having to chop down forests to provide for their families.

Non-Timber Forest Products

Non-timber forest products provide a way for the rural poor to preserve the ecologically critical forests - and the plants and animals that live there - in their region. Instead of competing with forests for land use, economic activities such as beekeeping, seed collection, sustainable rubber harvesting, and tree resin collection take place within the forest cover.

Community Enterprise

Community-led management of natural resources is both a strategy and a goal in our projects. The experience and success with collective action spills over into other activities as groups begin to tap the formidable potential of group enterprises. This has certainly been true among women’s groups in Guatemala banding together to cultivate and sell vegetables, and community groups in Honduras joining forces to provide fee-based water management services. These community efforts act as fertile training ground as groups evolve toward more sophisticated cooperative models.

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