North America - Solidaridad Network

How We Work and Where

North America is a major market for global commodities, such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, fruits and vegetables, and critical minerals from low- and middle-income countries. As demand increases for sustainable production of these goods, Solidaridad North America works with partners to evaluate sourcing and sustainability goals and co-create solutions that drive impact throughout the supply chain, especially among small-scale farmers, workers and miners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We also partner with philanthropic organizations and governments to develop approaches that address local needs and build community resilience.

Facing uncertainty in a changing world

In a connected world, disruptions in one part of the supply chain can have far-reaching consequences. With the increased frequency of extreme weather events, resource scarcity, food insecurity, and unfair trade, the global economy is struggling to adapt. We believe solutions can be found among the small-scale farmers, workers, and miners producing the majority of our goods, and the supply chain actors they work with.

Solutions

Driving tangible commitments

Sustainable and stable supply chains are the responsibility of every actor. Solidaridad engages with stakeholders at every level to shape conversations on sustainability in the North American market and spur tangible commitments. We incorporate the voices of all actors throughout the supply chain, especially small-scale farmers, workers and miners.

With a marked increase in extreme weather events, Solidaridad and partners are working together to build resilience in farming communities to not only provide for local livelihoods, but also contribute to stable supply chains.

An integral part of developing sustainable supply chains is ensuring market uptake for sustainably produced goods. In North America, Solidaridad works with the private sector to implement sustainable production and procurement practices that contribute directly to better livelihoods, and stable and resilient supply chains. We are committed to jointly developing innovative and pragmatic approaches to increase sustainable production and consumption.

New digital tools are transforming agriculture around the world. Solidaridad leverages digital tools to help small-scale farmers gain access to crucial information, improving their practices, market access, and ultimately, their livelihoods.

Solidaridad employs integrated landscape approaches by fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration across entire regions, not just individual farms. These programmes connect farmers, businesses, and governments to implement sustainable practices, conserve biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and improve livelihoods, balancing production with environmental protection.

Programmes & Partnerships

Marcelo Wiest, a participant in the continuous improvement programme being implemented by Solidaridad and Cargill. Credit: Agropecuaria&Negocios

Cargill Global Partnership

Cargill and Solidaridad are implementing a three-year global partnership to improve farmer livelihoods, increase use of climate-friendly farming practices, and improve conservation and responsible land use with farmers across five countries in Latin America and Asia.

EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP FOR RESPONSIBLE MINERALS (EPRM)

Solidaridad has partnered with the NGO IMPACT on the Scaling Up project, which aims to enable scalable and sustainable artisanal mineral supply chains by encouraging artisanal gold traders in Côte d’Ivoire to participate in responsible resourcing.

The Gates Foundation

The Gates Foundation is supporting a two-year project by Solidaridad teams in North America and Southern Africa to strengthen and scale Kvuno, a social enterprise that delivers low-cost, high-impact, digitally-driven bundled services to small farmers in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

Walmart Foundation

Solidaridad is implementing a jurisdictional initiative focused on beef in the municipality of Campo Aceval in Paraguay with support from the Walmart Foundation. The effort unites small-scale farmers, indigenous communities, cooperatives, and local officials to support the municipality’s economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being.

Amazonia Connect

Amazonia Connect was a partnership between USAID, Solidaridad, Earth Innovation Institute, the National Wildlife Federation, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The initiative worked to promote and scale the adoption of sustainable commodity production to reduce deforestation and improve biodiversity conservation in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. This 5-year initiative was cut in early 2025.

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Jennifer Horning
Head of Corporate Engagement
jennifer.horning@solidaridadnetwork.org

Madhyama Subramanian
Head of Programmes and Partnerships
madhyama@solidaridadnetwork.org

Kyle Freund
Senior Communications Manager
kyle.freund@solidaridadnetwork.org

Strong advances and new partnerships

In 2023, Solidaridad’s North America office continued to gain traction and influence with high-value donors, the private and public sector, and foundations. The Amazonia Connect initiative made strong advances in its first full year of implementation. New partnerships with Cargill, the Walmart Foundation, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have pushed our sustainability work forward with a focus on sustainable production, digital innovation, and climate solutions. The publication of the Small Farmer Atlas and progress on new digital tools piqued interest in the public and private sectors as the impacts of policy shifts and climate change are felt in global supply chains.

Jennifer Horning, second from right, on a panel about a Just Transition with BRS at Climate Week 2023

New grants, more impact

Given policy shifts on climate action and sustainability, Solidaridad was recognized for its cutting-edge solutions on climate, equity and decent work. Amazonia Connect, Solidaridad’s largest grant outside the European Union, was approved by USAID. Various tech companies engaged with us to address transparency, traceability and impact in the minerals space

The Amazonia Connect Team in Washington D.C.

Participation and collaboration

In 2021, Solidaridad continued to grow by leaps and bounds in North America, solidifying important partnerships and growing visibility through participation in relevant events and media opportunities. Through collaboration with global colleagues and a deep understanding of donor perspectives and needs, Solidaridad was able to make significant progress on its 2021-2025 strategic plan.

Unlocking potential

2020 was a transformative year for North America in more ways than one. We grew our capacity, and signed $1.2 million in new contracts. We also sparked critical conversations with ten major global corporations around issues ranging from zero-deforestation and climate to transparency and labour practices. We boosted our visibility regionally by participating in or hosting panel discussions at three globally attended events including AgriLinks’ ICTforAg and SOCAP.

Transition and reflection

This was a year of transition and reflection. We progressed on building meaningful partnerships, and brought together stakeholders to address pressing issues in supply chain sustainability. With the onboarding of a new managing director, our lean team assessed the current internal and external landscape and rebuilt its strategy for 2020 and beyond. This included an analysis of the unique position we have to pursue opportunities for impact globally.

Growing recognition

The year 2018 saw Solidaridad begin to emerge from anonymity in North America. We were featured on national television, received a significant award, hosted a major conference and participated in numerous events, activities and publications throughout the year. In a region with more than a million non-governmental organizations, it has been a successful year for us.

Collaboration is key

The year 2017 was an eventful one for Solidaridad North America. The team continued to manage existing partnerships and develop new ones with leading brands and civil society organizations. Solidaridad focused significantly on improving external communication and enhancing brand recognition through different channels. In addition, the North American team developed several important proposals in collaboration with other regional centres in the Solidaridad Network.

A lean team with big goals

Small but effective – that is Solidaridad North America in a nutshell. With a lean team, Solidaridad is punching above its weight in terms of proposals developed and relationships managed. In 2016, Solidaridad developed proposals in collaboration with all regional centres in the Network, strengthened its connections across North America and managed relationships with both current and prospective supporters and partners.

Growing commitments

Solidaridad North America continues to develop significant partnerships with companies, foundations and government agencies, engaging in an ever-widening range of activities. The highlight of the year was the consummation of a partnership with the MasterCard Foundation to implement a five-year, $15 million youth empowerment programme in the cocoa sector of Ghana, starting in 2016.

Becoming a trusted advisor

Solidaridad has grown into its role as an adviser to North American consumer goods companies and private foundations on issues including sectoral trends, multi-stakeholder initiatives, opportunities and risks within supply chains, and we continue to form partnerships to achieve sustainability targets.

Budding partnerships

Together with establishing its presence in North America, Solidaridad establishes a partnership with Walmart Foundation to support female cotton farmers in China. Solidaridad also builds relationships with several networks and civil society organizations, including the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020.

Setting the stage

The North America office is established as a legal entity in the United States, enabling Solidaridad to engage strategically with key market players and institutions across the region. Focused on partnership building, the office will support network-wide activities designed to promote sustainable land use and strengthen commodity supply chains.

Continental Supervisory Board

The Continental Supervisory Board of Solidaridad North America is responsible for monitoring policies, quality of programmes, financial control and the performance of the office in North America. They support in setting the parameters for growth, determining the future direction, and ensuring a strong national and continental presence. The current board has four members: Deborah Barry, Barbara Stinson, and Chris Wolz.

Deborah Barry is a rural development and environment specialist with over 40 years of experience working in Central America and Mexico. Her formal training was as an economic and cultural geographer (University California, Berkeley ’74) and in social anthropology (CIESAS, Mexico ’79). Governance, resource management and tenure rights over the land and resources of smallholders and communities who depend on them have been a central concern during career, whether in agriculture, water, agroforestry or community forestry. Resource management at scale – through payment for ecosystem services or large landscape restoration- have also been a focus of her work, seen as pathways for helping rural communities adapt to climate change and other major challenges they face. Her numerous publications reflect those concerns.

Deborah has held a wide range of institutional positions with over half her career building applied research organizations, and then in philanthropy and public service.

Over the years she has also worked as an international consultant for Norad, Sida, Danida and USAID. She has been an advisor and senior technical staff in public office: Ministry Environment- El Salvador/ Ministry of Planning-CEPAL/Nicaragua. She later became the Policy Director of the Global Water Initiative in Central America and then the WaterSmart Agriculture program with Catholic Relief Services, a Buffett Foundation funded program across Mesoamerica. She currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico and is a senior advisor to Fundación Prisma, CRS-RAICES in Central America, and a Fellow of the Global Evergreening Alliance.

Barbara Stinson is an executive leader with extensive experience in building institutions, negotiating solutions on controversial policy issues, creating strong partnerships and executing complex, international projects. She led the World Food Prize Foundation into a new era through the global pandemic to deliver in three areas: Highest awards in food and agriculture, International Borlaug Dialogues and global youth training and programming. She mobilized 26 WFP Laureates in open letters to the President Biden Administration and meeting of the G7 to urgently address global food insecurity needs during global climate change, COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine. Named the challenge in early March 2022 “the triple threat of three C’s: Climate, COVID and Conflict”.

During 22 years with Meridian Institute, she developed and implemented over 40 major stakeholder-based projects, especially in African agricultural development controlling aflatoxin, renewable energy, ecosystem restoration, chemical waste management, and natural resource management.

Chris Wolz is board chair of Forum One, a digital agency focused on making an impact on important issues in health, education, environment, international development. Forum One helps clients better succeed in mission-driven work, by improving their overall digital platforms for communication, engagement, data collection and sharing, fundraising, and team collaboration. Their clients include government agencies at the Federal, state, local, and international levels; nonprofit organizations engaged in research, professional associations, and advocacy; grantmaking foundations; and private companies engaged in making a difference on global problems. Chris brings a deep understanding of the world of policy issues ranging from international development to climate change. Before joining Forum One Chris worked in rural Nepal in water supply and sanitation, in environmental engineering, and as an environmental policy analyst for the US government. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.