Stop Slash-and- Burn Farming, Plant a Tree, Restore the Forest In rural Central America, the soil has been depleted by slash-and-burn agriculture. As a result many farmers can no longer provide enough food to feed their families. To achieve greater food and economic security, more than 2,500 families in Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama have worked with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) to grow cacao (for which chocolate is made) or other primary cash crops in organic multi-story 'forest gardens.' The top story consists of hardwood trees, which provide shade for the lower level's shade loving crops, including cacao, coffee, ginger and vanilla. Below the upper canopy, farmers plant vitamin-rich fruit trees and nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees that improve the soil. The transition from destructive slash-and-burn cultivation to sustainable farming techniques (such as multi-story gardens) allows families to improve their health, restore our planet's tropical forests, and preserve the wildlife habitat. Since the organization's start in 1997, SHI has planted more that 3.5 million trees and converted over 18,000 acres to sustainable farming. Your redemption provides the training and materials needed to plant one fruit or hardwood tree on a family farm.