Asekia’s First Year: Grounded in Community

We’re thrilled to be celebrating Asekia’s first birthday! In the year since we officially launched this nonprofit organization, we’ve had the privilege of working with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners across the U.S. With programming in Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Florida, and North Carolina, we’ve had the opportunity to build strong relationships, strengthen local communities, and improve access to bilingual information about sustainable agricultural and forest management practices. Our work has also supported local ecosystems and through efforts such as planting trees, including native species and fruit trees. 

Fig Casa Nursery in Florida will be featured in an upcoming Spotlight!

Outreach to Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Landowners 

In the past year, we’ve positively impacted more than 300 acres of land and have carried out dozens of drone flights, providing farmers with aerial images of their land. These bird’s-eye view photos enable farmers to analyze potential resource concerns, among other benefits. 

In Puerto Rico, our programming has also made the island greener. Through our forestry fund, landowners have established more than 300 native and endemic trees. These trees will create habitat for wildlife and help to clean the air amongst many other benefits. To reduce soil erosion and contribute to the health of the local watershed, landowners have also planted more than 1,000 linear feet of vetiver grass in the past year, in addition to other projects. 

Additionally, the third cohort of the Hispanic Forest Landowners Outreach Program is underway in Puerto Rico! This year, we plan to expand the program to a total of 100 landowners and will host another iteration of our forestry workshop series. This program continues to build community among participants, creating hands-on opportunities for landowners to share their areas of expertise and learn from each other while caring for the land and local environment. Last year, for example, participants built 10 bat houses, helping to support these important pollinators in Puerto Rico. 

Members of the Asekia team visit Edison Rodríguez at his family farm in southwestern Puerto Rico.

Talent Development

We’re also continuing and expanding our bilingual talent development efforts. Through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), we’re currently recruiting 4 interns in Puerto Rico! They will be based at the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, where they will support conservation programming and community outreach. We’re also planning for two interns to work with USFWS on the island of Culebra this summer. 

Capacity-Building

Our multi-year capacity-building initiative is working to strengthen farming communities in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico through partnerships with community-based organizations that excel in their fields and have demonstrated success. 

Tierra Viva, one of our capacity-building partners, has launched an educational platform with easily accessible information in Spanish about NRCS conservation practices and other educational resources, such as a guide to navigating the NRCS website. 

We’ve also begun working in watershed-based conservation with our partners at Puerto Rico Sea Grant and are collaborating on a youth corps model with the Forest Stewards Guild in New Mexico. 

Additionally, we are partnering with El Vinculo Hispano / The Hispanic Liaison, based in North Carolina, on the Cultivar program, which centers on youth leadership development and environmental education. 

Conclusion

We’re looking forward to continuing to grow this year as we expand our landowner network. 

Reach out to info@asekia.org with any questions about our work or for more information about our programming.