As alumna of Minnesota’s Earthrise Farm Internship program, Shi Yan learned about community-supported agriculture and brought her knowledge back to China to start the country’s first community-supported organic farm. The Shared Harvest farm uses alternatives to pesticides, such as ash, hot pepper, and tobacco water, to treat disease and pest infestations instead of synthetic chemicals. Shared Harvest and Shi Yan herself have hosted around 200 apprentice farmers over a period of five years, and currently mentor 20 young people to spread the pesticide-free agriculture movement in China. Photo credit: Katrina Yu/Al Jazeera
