Kelp Farming Is Reviving an Ancient Practice -- and a Modern Economy

Members of the B’laan ethnic group in a community in the Philippines are improving their livelihoods by foraging for coffee beans excreted by wild palm civets. They can sell the beans at a premium price because they are used to make a luxury coffee brew. And the practice encourages the locals to protect the wild animals, which benefits the ecosystem, too.

Urban farms across the United States are bringing affordable, fresh, and healthy foods to communities facing food insecurity and are forming connections with residents along the way.

The government-run Job Guarantee program in Gramatneusiedl, Austria, provides employment for residents who have experienced unemployment for at least a year. After a training course and discussion of their wants and needs, the person can choose to accept the offered job in which they will earn at least as much as they would receive from unemployment benefits.

In order to have more say and control of their utilities, the city rallied together to create a campaign to take over their local electricity distribution. This take-over has created city jobs for local residents that are more secure than those in the private sector and residents have also seen lower electricity rates.

Investment in African agriculture has wide-ranging impact because the industry provides 60 percent of employment in the continent. Injaro, founded by an investment banker, is a private equity fund that seeks to invest in African businesses. Injaro’s funds have helped to make Gold Coast Fruits one of Ghana’s largest employers and have helped revive a struggling pineapple farm. The steady investments have improved productivity as Gold Coast Fruits now produces up to 50 tons of pineapple.

Hikers in Conundrum Hot Springs often do not properly dispose of their human waste, burying it or leaving it in the open where it can contaminate the water or make the trails less enjoyable. "Wag bags" are bags distributed to hikers to put their waste in and hike it out of the area and to a trash can.

Ajo, Arizona is home to a growing collective, collaboration of local agriculture and food-based initiatives. The small town coordinates actors from schools, restaurants, the farmers’ market, local gardens, and community supported agriculture initiatives in a network under the Ajo Regional Food Partnership. The network also works with the Desert Senita Community Health Center, making sure the benefits of the collaboration equitably reach all citizens.

Los Angeles is partnering with two nonprofits, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), to accelerate sidewalk repairs ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LANI has spent over two decades helping council districts fix broken sidewalks more cheaply and flexibly than the city's official process, and LACC pairs the repair work with paid job training for youth ages 18–26, with 30 participants already completing the program.

The community-run Water Consumer Association in Adamawa manages and maintains a solar-powered borehole system installed in 2022 by Mercy Corps and WaterAid. Trained volunteers handle operations, repairs, and hygiene promotion while charging households each month for maintenance costs. Four years after installation, the system continues serving approximately 200 households with clean water. Community members also report less fear of disease from contaminated river sources.

Farmers are adapting to changing climate effects by fusing traditional Hawaiian practices with new, regenerative agricultural techniques to save soils, streams, and reefs.