After numerous short-term missions trips to developing nations, Biola University students Brendon Anthony and Craig Erickson discovered a desperate structural and societal need for assistance that reached beyond the short-term mission scope. Now, as founders of the nonprofit environmental organization Harvest Craft, they have begun the task of long-term investment and education for some developing communities.

“We are looking at environmental justice and seeing how it’s connected to social justice,” said Anthony, senior environmental science major and Harvest Craft CEO. “We can do holistic work and ministry, so we’re not just tackling one of the problems, but approaching an educational, communal, economical, physical, and ultimately spiritual deficiency, as well.”

Harvest Craft was founded in July 2013 when Anthony and Erickson came together to help eradicate poverty in the developing world. They started by looking into long-term food production systems in areas of the world that are developing economically. Today, the organization has three farms in Rojo Gomez, Mexico, and Jacmel and Les Cayes, Haiti, providing sustainable resources for the community.

Through Harvest Craft, Anthony and Erickson provide underprivileged communities with environmental education and communal-based permaculture techniques that equip the communities to produce food for the short-term, but also produce economic and environmental gains for the future.

The farm in Rojo Gomez is an urban, aquaponic farm operating in congruence with a local community center. The farm’s food helps feed about 300 children every morning with organic produce before they go to school, and is also sold to aid income for the church pastor. In Haiti, Harvest Craft has another aquaponic farm at an orphanage in Jacmel, as well as a chicken farm at an orphanage about a three-hour-drive away in Les Cayes. The organization also combined with Biola's organic garden to build a small aquaponic farm on Biola's campus in fall 2013, from which all produce is donated to the cafeteria and local food banks.

“The way that we’ve been able to be really effective is by not having to go in and buy our own land and do it all on our own,” said Anthony. “We’re coming alongside like-minded people who have the same mission and desire, but don’t necessarily have the means or knowledge to do so. We partner with organizations that have already been building relationships with the people in the community — who have housing for the kids, security, running water and electricity, which makes it a lot easier to come alongside them.”

Anthony and Erickson plan to expand Harvest Craft in other developing communities as resources become available, however, they are committed first to the continual growth of the current communities where they’ve invested.

“It’s a lot easier to go down and hand out clothes and food and to walk away,” said Anthony. “And there’s definitely a place for that. If I didn’t go on short-term trips and see the injustices happening, I would’ve never had the ability or capacity to know what’s going on and become motivated to try and fix it.”

Harvest Craft is focused on breaking these cycles of dependency through their heavy focus on education and development.

“If relief organizations are truly doing their job, then they’re working themselves out of their job and that’s our main mindset,” said Anthony. “If Harvest Craft is being effective, then we’re working ourselves out of these jobs. We’re not working ourselves out of these relationships — we’ll have those for life and that’s what’s important — but if I’m truly helping this person, I’m not going to have to be helping them anymore.”

Harvest Craft operates primarily on donations, but also receives project-based funding from organizations with whom they collaborate who have budgets for sustainability projects, like the farms.

Fundraisers and speaking engagements are another source of donations for Harvest Craft and the organization will hold its first annual “Party with Purpose” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 13 in Brea, Calif.

Learn more about studying environmental science at Biola.

Support Harvest Craft.

Harvest Craft Fundraiser from Brendon Anthony on Vimeo.

Written by Stephen Day, iBiola Reporter. For more information contact Jenna Bartlo, media relations specialist, at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu or Brendon Anthony, Harvest Craft CEO, at brendon.anthony@harvestcraft.org.