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World Moms Network

Connecting mothers; empowering women around the globe.

October 6, 2015

SOCIAL GOOD: A Hidden Gem, Heifer International’s Heifer Farm

heifer Collage

One day I was in New York City at the United Nations among World Leaders, and the next in rural Massachusetts milking a goat. Though the two may seem totally unrelated, they are actually intertwined. It will take both the efforts of world leaders and small share farm holders for the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals to ever succeed. As a social good writer I had been to New York City for UN General Assembly week and the Social Good Summit, and then to Heifer International’s Farm located in rural Rutland, Massachusetts, where World Moms Blog had been invited to their first ever Media Day.

The new set of Global Goals are focused on sustainability which is one of the cornerstones of Heifer International’s approach. Heifer International was founded by Dan West based on his experience as a relief worker. He realized the aid work he was doing needed a new model to help those in need become self-sufficient as opposed to continually reliant on aid. As a farmer he knew that a gift of livestock was a gift that would keep on giving. A heifer refers to a pregnant cow, and in 1944 the first dairy cattle were shipped, and Heifer International born.

“Heifer International is a non-profit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. Heifer currently provides livestock, trees, seeds and training in environmentally sound agriculture to families in 30 countries, including the United States. We work with smallholder farming families and communities because we believe they are key to feeding us all.”- Heifer International

The goal of Heifer International is to help communities transform themselves through education, environmental stewardship, empowerment of women in the community, and the legacy of passing on generations of animals and knowledge. This in turn generates the accomplishment of the once recipient turning into a donor in their community.

HeiferCollage1

At World Moms Blog we have written about Heifer International in the past, included Heifer International in gift guides, and followed their trip last summer to Malawi with our friends at ONE Girls and Women. We had no idea however that Heifer International had a farm to showcase their programs this close to home. As it turns out, just over an hour from where I live is this hidden gem of global education!

At Heifer Farm in Rutland Massachusetts we toured the flourishing ¾ acre farm garden where we were encouraged to pull vegetables out of the ground and taste as we went along. A delicious fresh beet hummus, with a rainbow of carrot colors I had no idea they grew in, was served.  Apparently the massive size of the vegetables grown at Heifer Farm has to do with the rich soil quality based on the farming techniques used,  the same techniques taught to small share farmers working with Heifer International around the world. After the garden tour we had lunch in Peru.

Peru is one of the eight global villages at Heifer Farm that provide experiential, hands on learning through programs ranging from day trips to week-long camps for all ages. We then meandered through China and Ghana on our way to the barn. This brings us back to milking the goat, and to the tiny baby piglets we got to hold, and all I could think was how crazy my kids would have been for everything. I can not wait to bring them back to experience Heifer Farm! Other Heifer International sites in the US include Heifer Ranch in Perryville, and Heifer Village in Little Rock, Arkansas. If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it. If you do be sure to bring the kids, after all they are the future generation who will be seeing these new Sustainable Development Goals through to 2030.  Global Goals that all stakeholders will need to be involved in, large and small.

HeiferCollage3

This is an original post written for World Moms Blog by Elizabeth Atalay who also writes at documama.org.

 

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Elizabeth Atalay

Elizabeth Atalay is a Digital Media Producer, Managing Editor at World Moms Network, and a Social Media Manager. She was a 2015 United Nations Foundation Social Good Fellow, and traveled to Ethiopia as an International Reporting Project New Media Fellow to report on newborn health in 2014. On her personal blog, Documama.org, she uses digital media as a new medium for her background as a documentarian. After having worked on Feature Films and Television series for FOX, NBC, MGM, Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and Castle Rock Pictures, she studied documentary filmmaking and anthropology earning a Masters degree in Media Studies from The New School in New York. Since becoming a Digital Media Producer she has worked on social media campaigns for non-profits such as Save The Children, WaterAid, ONE.org, UNICEF, United Nations Foundation, Edesia, World Pulse, American Heart Association, and The Gates Foundation. Her writing has also been featured on ONE.org, Johnson & Johnson’s BabyCenter.com, EnoughProject.org, GaviAlliance.org, and Worldmomsnetwork.com. Elizabeth has traveled to 70 countries around the world, most recently to Haiti with Artisan Business Network to visit artisans in partnership with Macy’s Heart of Haiti line, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans. Elizabeth lives in New England with her husband and four children.

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8 Comments
2015 Cultural Differences Culture Documama Education Elizabeth Atalay Food Ghana Global Citizenship Global Goals Humanitarian Kids ONE Social Good Sustainable Development Goals UN United Nations World Moms Blog

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Comments

  1. Sisters From Another Mister says

    October 7, 2015 at 7:50 am

    LOVE that you were able to do this … and had no idea they had such a thing right here in the States. My girls would love this … road trip 😉

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Atalay says

      October 7, 2015 at 9:49 pm

      Definitely worth a Road trip Nicole, it is such a cool place, I just loved learning about their programs and their global impact!

      Reply
  2. Tes Silverman says

    October 7, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    What an awesome experience! I wish there was a Heifer farm in LI. Loved reading about what they’re doing to further SDG’s for future generations!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Atalay says

      October 7, 2015 at 9:54 pm

      Tes, It was such a great experience, you will just have to visit MA, but think of it this way, While you are there you also get to go to 8 countries around the world like Peru, Ghana,and Guatemala! Not many day trip you can take to do that!

      Reply
  3. Kyla P'an says

    October 9, 2015 at 6:21 am

    Well, reading this makes me only lament further the writing deadline that prevented me from joining you. Wish I had. Sounds like an amazing visit. Thanks for inspiring me to make another trip there; this time with kids in tow!

    Reply
  4. Jennifer Burden says

    October 9, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    I’m so glad you were able to *take* us all along, Elizabeth! Very cool!!

    Jen 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. #WorldMoms 2015 in Pictures - World Moms BlogWorld Moms Blog says:
    January 4, 2016 at 8:14 am

    […] Moms Blog attended the first ever Media Tour of Heifer Farms in […]

    Reply
  2. Heifer Farm in New England And The Seven Ms - documama says:
    March 11, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    […] programs, is located just about an hour from where I live. After visiting on a Media Day with World Moms Blog in September I could not wait to bring my family back with me to share the experience. Last weekend […]

    Reply

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