Holistic Management International (HMI) is a not-for-profit organization promoting holistic management in agriculture, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[1] It maintains an international network of educators and "land stewards" who "use holistic management strategies to manage more than 30 million acres around the globe".[2] HMI's mission is to envision and realize healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities by serving people in the practice of Holistic Decision Making & Management.
About
Holistic Management International was founded in 1984 by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield to promote the practice of holistic management on a global level.[3][4][2] It was originally called the Center for Holistic Management[5] and later The Savory Center.[6]
HMI has the goal of educating people in ways to manage natural resources in such a way as to build biodiversity,[7] improve natural growth production, enhance land and financial sustainability,[8] and improve the overall land quality for those who use it.[9][10][11]
In 1992 it launched the Africa Centre for Holistic Management, based in Zimbabwe.[12][13] This became a regional office of HMI,[14] but separated in 2010.
Savory left HMI in 2009 to form the for-profit Savory Institute.[15]
In February 2010, PBS broadcast a documentary called First Millimeter: Healing The Earth detailing the work HMI was doing around the world.[16][17]
Programs
Education and educator training
HMI offers introductory and advanced courses in holistic management practices and an Individualized Certified Educator Training Program.[18]
In October 2011 HMI ran a series of seminars as part of their 'Beginning Farmers and Ranchers' programs in Texas. They were designed to teach women resource management skills.[19]
Whole Farm/Ranch Planning
Beginning farmers in the Northeast learned more about whole farm/ranch planning in a program developed specifically for women and funded by a USDA grant.[20]
This program was expanded to include 6 Northeast states and Texas
Publications
HMI publishes an online journal called In Practice.[17]
In 2008 HMI was awarded $329,750 from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance to address drought disaster issues in Zimbabwe.[21]
In 2009 HMI was awarded $639,301 for their beginning farmers program.[22]
In 2011 Farm Aid awarded a grant to HMI for $5000 in support of their Beginning Farmers and Ranchers program in Texas. In 2012 $7,500 to help new farmers incorporate environmental, economic and social sustainability through the Whole Farm Planning curriculum.[23]
In 2012 HMI was awarded a $537,101 federal grant from USDA to train first-time women farmers in whole farm planning.[24][25]
In 2013 HMI was awarded a $60,400 federal grant from USDA Western SARE to train agricultural professionals in Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning.[26]
^"25th Anniversary Celebration!"(PDF). Holistic Management in Practice. Holistic Management International. 2009. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
^"Building Capacity". Holistic Management in Practice. 61. Center for Holistic Management. 1998. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
^Impact of livestock management on water quality and streambank structure in a semi-arid, African ecosystem by A.M. Strauch (Journal of Arid Environments 73, 2009) p. 795–803