Since 2017, Health In Harmony, along with Indonesian partner Alam Sehat Lestari, has worked with local community members to action the Chainsaw Buyback program. This innovative program supports those wishing to give up illegal logging in seeking alternative livelihoods that do not damage the forest.  Now, the program is developing in exciting new ways.

Rainforests are the most biodiverse terrestrial biome on our planet. The level of biodiversity – the number of different kinds of life you'll find – varies from place to place. Islands are known for their biodiversity, because the isolation of islands allows organisms to evolve in their own, unique directions – and nowhere on Earth has more one-of-a-kind species than Madagascar.

Local communities in Madagascar, the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world, found that cyclones were damaging tree nurseries, particularly in 2023, when three cyclones hit the area. Communities voiced a need to build cyclone-resilient nurseries and worked with HIH to implement these designs: learn how a cyclone-proof nursery is built, the impacts of climate resilience, and this initiative’s progress so far.

Traditional nursery bags are made of plastics that cannot be recycled and harm the environment as well as human health. To address this issue, Health In Harmony worked with communities in an initiative to reduce waste as well as support local livelihoods in a sustainable way.

Located in São Félix do Xingu, Pará, Brazil, the Apyterewa Indigenous Territory comprises ~750k hectares of primary rainforest, sequestering over 80 million tonnes of carbon. Apyterewa has the highest deforestation rate among Indigenous territories in the Amazon, but in just a few months, community-led solutions here have begun to heal the forest, restore biodiversity, and strengthen the Parakanã’s rightful stewardship of their land.

2025. Another vital year for Earth's climate. More audacious goals. Find out more about what Health In Harmony has worked on in 2024 and aims for this year.

In 2024, in Brazil, Indonesia, and Madagascar, rainforest community members have designed innovative and sustainable pathways to protect the ecosystems they call home. Watch a video now to hear accounts of planetary health solutions from community members first-hand. 

ASRI, the Indonesian affiliate of Health In Harmony, is pleased to announce it has received more than $30,000 in funding through Ashden’s Thriving Forests program. This initiative, supported by the Nature Recovery Project, aims to protect or restore one million hectares of forest across Africa, Asia, and South America, creating a critical defense against climate change. Find out more now.

In August 2024, Health In Harmony was honored to attend Juma Institute’s first Meeting of Indigenous Xipai Women and Riverine at the Kaarimã village in the Xipaya Territory. This joyful event’s focus was to unite and strengthen women's ancestral knowledge, promote cultural practices, and encourage the exchange of knowledge between communities of the Xipaya Indigenous territory and its partners. 

Meeting the expressed healthcare needs of women and girls is not only critical for their well-being but also for fostering sustainable livelihoods, empowering decision-making, and strengthening community resilience to the cascading effects of climate change. In Madagascar, cervical cancer prevention is a pressing health concern; find out more about HIH’s cervical cancer initiatives.

During this holiday season, we are honored to share words from Health In Harmony’s Laura Tesch, offering a Native American perspective on reclaiming Thanksgiving. Read more now.

It’s time to do things differently.

The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a major new $500,000 grant to Health In Harmony to catalyze private sector investments toward climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.

Read more about Health In Harmony's work and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

In the Xingu River Basin, in the Brazilian Amazon, SAMA–Health In Harmony is honored to have been collaborating with the Terra do Meio Network since 2020. A key strand of this work, borne out of Radical Listening sessions with Indigenous communities in the region, focuses on livelihoods and forest economies.

Health In Harmony global team delegates joined the conference, with co-CEO Jonathan Jennings speaking on the occasion of the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s 2024 Report on Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) for Health.

We must acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples have been the stewards of biodiversity since time immemorial. Their tested ways of knowing and science are not only integral to conserving nature but also to restoring ecosystems and addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. 

In honor of exchange and reciprocity, HIH's latest donors trip was a learning and sharing opportunity for supporters to better understand and witness how their contributions amplify the wisdom and solutions that already exist within community-led initiatives. Find out more at our blog.