Geniuses By Many
Other Names
Most of the time when we think of genius, names like Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, or Bill Gates tend to float to the surface. Usually white, usually male, usually in a discipline far removed from hard labor.
We don’t typically think of poor, smallholder farmers in far-off countries as fitting the “genius label,” but I can assure you, we are wrong to assume.
In my work as president and CEO of Heifer International, I have had the pleasure of meeting with a wide range of people all around the world. And while, of course, we don’t administer IQ tests to our participants, I have absolutely met a number of genuine geniuses in the field.
I’ve met farmers who were genius entrepreneurs, leaders among leaders, who take the training and inputs Heifer gives them and build upon them in ways we never anticipated. Economically and socially exceptional, they overcome barriers and challenges in contexts unimaginable by others.
I don’t believe it’s up to us to nurture this genius; I don’t believe it is possible, because genius is innate. The best we can do is create conditions under which geniuses can emerge, thrive, and bring others along with them.
The Genius to Lead
In 1993, Heifer gave Sita Poudel in Nepal two goats, with the expectation that she would Pass on the Gift® of the first female offspring to another participant, provide nourishment to her family from the goat’s milk, and earn some extra income selling surplus milk.
The goats and training she received, however, ignited within her a desire to help other women. She started her own nongovernmental organization — the Women’s Group Coordination Committee (WGCC) — and now works with more than 500 women’s groups.
Under her guidance, WGCC members teach women farmers practical methods for raising livestock and operating businesses — the same things Heifer taught Sita more than 20 years ago. With neighbors training neighbors, members already know and trust each other and speak a common language, so the lessons are easily understood and put into practice right away. The result of Sita’s and WGCC’s efforts is an ever-expanding network of successful women-led farming businesses, lifting entire communities out of hunger and poverty.
The Genius to Succeed
Dolores Delgado Cahua lives on a tiny farm in the Huachanccay community outside Cusco, Peru. On her small plot of land, she not only immediately put Heifer’s training in agroecological farming into practice, but she also grew her guinea pig raising efforts into a truly successful business.
Dolores learned to raise guinea pigs — or cuy, as they call them in Peru — from her mother. She joined a Heifer project in 2010 and learned improved breeding and management techniques. When I visited her farm in 2011, just five months after she received inputs and support from Heifer, it was clear she was a woman with a vision.
Her setup for raising guinea pigs is impressive. She has a system for capturing waste from her animals to use as organic fertilizer on the farm. She grows her own fodder and medicinal plants, saving money and keeping her animals healthy. Dolores has her business down to a science.
In the time since I first met her, Dolores has built a second barn for raising guinea pigs, started her own guinea pig raising association — which includes 36 of the 40 families in her village — and doubled the selling price for guinea pigs in her region.
The Genius to Transform
Although Jose Omar Rodriguez Romero (just “Omar” to his friends) was not a farmer living in poverty when Heifer first encountered him, the transformation he has led for small coffee farming families in Honduras is the work of a genius. When Omar took over his father’s leadership position in The Limited Coffee Cooperative of Capucas (COCAFCAL) in 2004, he dedicated himself to expanding upon his father’s work with his own vision.
Omar began several new initiatives, including producing high-quality coffee, planting a variety of Arabica coffee plants, using solar dryers to process coffee beans, promoting micro-lot coffee, and promising to certify the cooperative’s coffee. The co-op now maintains eight certifications (Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Organic, Starbucks, UTZ Certified, Bird Friendly, Naturland and JAS).
When he first took over the co-op, there were 55 local members, and it managed about 20,000 bags of coffee. Under Omar’s leadership, the co-op processed nearly 170,000 bags in the 2013–2014 harvest for export to 10 countries.
Recognizing the farmers’ need to diversify their income, Omar helped start ancillary projects, like organic honey, fruits and vegetables for export, drying fruit, and developing organic fertilizer to maximize farm production while improving the environment. He also helped promote programs to renew farms, produce wood and ornamental trees, and to take part in Heifer’s work. The co-op has also provided university scholarships and computer training workshops for the community, as well as funding for local medical brigades and a doctor’s residency. They help women’s groups create their own businesses through the co-op, and also supporting tourism in the region.
Omar is pushing the co-op to new heights every year, helping it achieve the mission “to promote sustainable development, reducing poverty, and improving the quality of life in local communities.”
Together, the End to Hunger and Poverty Becomes Reality
It’s inspiration from these exceptional people that keeps the optimism alive that an end to hunger and poverty where Heifer International works is possible. Our work is meant to function exponentially, one family passing on livestock and training to the next. When we encounter individuals with vision and passion on the level of Sita, Dolores, and Omar, we see an eruption of progress that has the power to propel an entire region forward.
