“For any health, self-sustainable or economic development related program in the South Pacific to succeed, it must start with soils training.”

Mike Smith, Organic Matters

The above quote is the key lesson Sea Mercy has learned when it comes to building Healthy, Self Sustaining & Thriving Communities in the South Pacific. It starts with the soil and it is the foundation of what the Remote Island Soils Education (RISE) program is built upon. Mike Smith has spent the last 10+ years teaching, training and demonstrating to the leadership and communities of the South Pacific island nations that there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to achieve the above. It starts with Soils Training and only then can you build a successful health, economic, and education program around it.

Sea Mercy not only fully embraces this philosophy; we have formed partnerships with Organic Matters Foundation to help restore hope and a future to the thousands of remote islands across the South Pacific. Islands and communities who in the pursuit of western social, agricultural and economic shortcuts, have turned away from, or forgotten ‘their old ways’ and are now feeling the effects. Unproductive lands (nutrient depletion), failing health (diabetes) due to poor diet that relies more on processed foods than food grown locally, and an increasing exodus of their youth and talent to the primary islands for employment and income opportunities.

Our Economic Development Programs Include:

• RISE Program Phase I, II and III Programs - Introductory soils training and income crop production, soils and income crop training for short, medium and long-term crop production, and expanded economic development programs
• The Amatasi Project - The construction and donation of an ecologically and economically sustainable fishing and inter-island transport vessel.
• College/University Partnerships - We hope to further develop international and island nation college and university partnerships and student/faculty participation
• Growing A Future Training Farms - Where needed or requested, to offer community teaching and training farms for sustainability and healthy food production

During the Covid lockdown, we took the opportunity to put into practice what we preach on the international scale in the South Pacific (see below video), and developed a Growing A Future School Farm within our own local community (Oregon, USA). We're looking forward to continue creating healthy, self-sustaining and thriving communities across the South Pacific.