- Zubin Contractor
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
The 12 Cornerstones
Forming the foundation of our work
A set of 12 core values known as the Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development form the foundation of our work.
All project participants take part in training around the Cornerstones, establishing a set of common values between them at the beginning of the partnership
Accountability
We want to provide the connections that are essential for farmers to shift from subsistence to sustainability. The power of these connections – so that they can participate in the global economy that has overlooked them for generations.Accountability is vital for students to strengthen their networks. Every partner wants to know they can trust each other, and that requires cultivation.
Project participants set up the governance mechanisms for their self-help groups and cooperatives with support from our expert field staff. All members actively participate and key roles rotate among them.
Our projects all feed into a comprehensive program framework that monitors and evaluates a set of key indicators throughout the lifetime of the project. Everyone involved can quickly see what’s working and what isn’t, and be accountable to each other for the outcomes.
3. Sharing and Caring
To end poverty globally, we worky, partnering with community members invested in finding and delivering solutions for their families and neighbors.
In order for them to prosper, it’s critical that sharing and caring are woven into the fabric of their community.
Sharing lessons about growing vegetables or can improve the nutrition of entire villages. Techniques for preserving water and soil nutrients can protect entire crops from drought and climate change. Information on animal management and market prices can increase productivity and in turn, increase profits for everyone.
After all, communities are made up of neighbors, friends and families – all of whom are potential customers.
Sustainability and Self-Reliance
To that end, we teach our partners effective tools of the trade and the foundation of commerce itself.
By fostering an environment where people openly share knowledge, best practices can be distributed from person-to-person, organically creating more stewards of the land.
We connect farmers to self-help groups and cooperatives to ensure that they have a local support network and negotiating power. Through training and access to agricultural experts, farmers learn to produce a greater abundance of higher quality products.
Consistency in both quantity and quality of supply, paired with the power of cooperatives, enables farmers to access new markets. Buyers are eager to engage, knowing and trusting the process farmers have been through as part of the Heifer model.
By bringing together the demand for goods and empowering the people who supply them, we are building inclusive economies – resulting in living incomes for farmers and markets that are sustainable on their own.
6. Nutrition and Income
In areas of high malnutrition and food insecurity, animal-sourced foods are the fastest way to get vital nutrients to the people that need them most.
Livestock provides high-quality protein such as milk, meat and eggs. Their fiber can be used to make wool and other income-generating products. And their manure helps put vital nutrients back into the soil.
But we do more than breed livestock. We work with farmers to identify the best value chains to increase their incomes. We help them do the analysis and identify opportunities. And we support the diversification of their farms and implementing ways to grow their own food.
Whether it’s cardamom growers in Guatemala, oil seed farmers in Uganda, or poultry producers in Cambodia, all our work is focused on closing the living income gap and building sustainable markets that deliver for farmers.
Gender and Family Focus
Ending poverty begins with agriculture.
We believe women-led smallholder farming is the future of our economy and our relationship with the earth.
When women have the opportunity to earn their own income and decide how it’s spent, the whole family benefits.
Women reinvest up to 90 percent of their income back into their families, making sure they have balanced diets full of nutritious food – whether they purchase it locally or buy seeds to grow their own.
They’re able to plan for tomorrow, next month and next year, so their family stays food secure and has something in reserve when storms hit.