Shumei — Partnerships

Shumei has developed a number of partnerships with organizations around the world that share its concern for the environment and sustainable agriculture.

Rodale Institute
The Rodale Institute was created by visionary J.I. Rodale. He learned about organic food-growing concepts being promoted by Lady Eve Balfour and Sir Albert Howard and theorized that to preserve and improve our health we must restore and protect the natural health of the soil. The Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial is the longest running research trial comparing organic and non-organic farming in the US looking at regenerative farming methods’ ability to curb global warming, improve food nutritional values, and increase food security. Shumei has a demonstration Natural Agriculture garden at the Rodale Institute.

Soil Association
The Soil Association is the UK’s leading campaigning and certification organization for organic food and farming. The Soil Association certifies 80 percent of the organic produce in England. Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association, established a relationship with Shumei recognizing the value of the Natural Agriculture farming system and its philosophy. Both organizations are actively involved in improving the way in which food is produced, prepared and consumed.

Sacrafamilia
The Sacrafamilia Vineyard is a 24-hectare vineyard located in Pavia Province of Northern Italy. It was established in 2003 by the brother and sister team of Giorgio and Anna Mercandelli. Their goal was to produce the highest quality of wine in its purest form without adding even organic herbicides, fertilizers and other substances that are permitted by organic vineyards.
At the Sacrafamilia vineyard, they create a “biotic wine”, which is produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, yeast, tannin, enzymes, clarifiers, or anything unrelated to its own natural resources. They care for the vines with natural methods and only natural sulfur in a powder form is blown onto their vines to ensure that the sulfur will not penetrate the grapes. Classical music is also played in their winery, which they believe helps to improve the taste and quality of their wine, which has won several awards. In 2007, the Sacrafamilia’s red wine, ASTRAGALO, was chosen as one of the top 100 Italian wines. With their mutual respect for nature, the Sacrafamilia began a partnership with Shumei and has been practicing Natural Agriculture to cultivate grapes for their wine on 0.7 hectares of land since the spring of 2008.

Total Rural Development
The Total Rural Development Institute of Cooperatives Inc. (TRDIC) is a grassroots organization based in Iba, Zambales in the Philippines. The organization’s vision and mission is to create a totally self-reliant development model. TRDIC assists rural communities through self-reliance model replication training and support services, including developing sustainable agriculture-based cooperative enterprises and industries. Shumei formed an alliance with TRDIC to apply Shumei’s knowledge in Natural Agriculture to the organization’s self-reliant model.

Mbabala Women Farmers’ Cooperative Union
The Mbabala Women Farmers’ Cooperative Union (MBAWOFA) was established by Jessie Brenda Hachipuka in 2003. The organization is located in the Mbabala Constituency, Southern Province of Zambia and consists of several women cooperatives. MBAWOFA aims to empower rural women farmers in order to improve their household status and income through increased participation in rural development. Barbara Hachipuka became the director of MBAWOFA after her mother’s death and established a partnership with Shumei. The MBAWOFA works with Shumei to train farmers in Natural Agriculture and teaches them to use affordable, environmentally friendly farming methods for food production and as a source of income. The micro-finance program provides them with the opportunity as well as skills for them to run their own small-scale businesses. This partnership program was featured on the UN NGO-IRENE Best Practices Network.