SOUTH NORTH NEXUS

Our Mission

SNN brings together diverse stakeholders to share experiences and promote collaborative solutions to address complex problems. We facilitate action on mitigating the effects of climate variability and the interface with livelihood resilience, food security, immigration, and social justice. We are committed to local and global actions that sustainably protect livelihoods, communities, and the planet.

These complex issues require collaborative approaches starting with the daily challenges people face, such as accessing water and food, and sending their children to school. We link their priorities with sustainable solutions, local knowledge, and proven technologies.

SNN partners with established organizations that support community-led action through holistic approaches. As a convener, we promote the exchange of locally adapted solutions, strengthen capacities, and foster the nexus between traditional and contemporary science. By working with communities, civil society, researchers, and local governments, we drive mutual learning, partnership, and action to confront location-specific challenges. We also collaborate with students who contribute to our research and advocacy work.

SNN Is Leading Action-Oriented Change On Today's Most Pressing Issues

Climate Change & Disaster Resilience

Climate change is intensifying, making disasters more frequent and severe. SNN works with partners to address related social, environmental, and economic challenges. We prioritize most at-risk people, especially women and children, and those forced to leave their homes.

Food Systems & Water Management

Access to affordable and healthy food for all requires rethinking how food systems and water resources are managed. SNN fosters knowledge sharing and collaboration, developing sustainable strategies that strengthen community farming across bioregions.

Gender Empowerment

Addressing challenges through gender-specific solutions starts with the moral obligation to act, fostering respect for women’s roles and rights, and different cultures. SNN prioritizes empowerment, advocates for basic human rights, and works to end gender-based violence.

Social Justice & Migration

Inequality is on the rise, displacing more than 123 million people worldwide as a result of conflict, human rights violations, and climate events. SNN integration support helps people adjust to their new reality when forced to leave.

Dialogue & Learning

SNN unites diverse stakeholders to share experiences and develop collaborative solutions to complex challenges. SNN facilitates knowledge exchange, promotes locally adapted solutions and capacities, and integrates traditional knowledge with science.

Important South North Nexus Results

SNN achieves impactful results thanks to the contributions of
our donors, team members, and volunteers, including:

Assisting more than 4,500 people to build resilient livelihoods
Putting 90 cents of each dollar donated to program support
Training more than 1,000 women in small business management and women’s rights
Helping over 200 women start new businesses in Kenya
Connecting with 13 local partners globally
Scaling up 3 pilot projects in Kenya, Mexico, and Colombia in dry
ecosystems to build resilience and improve water and nutritious food
Starting garden and art programs with immigrant children to
introduce them to nature and eating healthy foods
Assisting families and individuals with their immigration legal fees
Developing more than 10 intern collaborations

Stories of Change:
Addressing Climate Change, Gender Inequality and Migration

SNN advocates for vulnerable groups, including migrants and those
displaced by natural disasters, climate change, or civil unrest. Our
work supports communities facing food insecurity, economic
exclusion, and displacement.

Identifying risks linked to natural disasters, climate variability, and social disruptions to protect at-risk people, cultures, and ecosystems

Strengthening capacities through South-South and South-North cooperation

Implementing gender-responsive and culturally inclusive strategies for resilience-building and
financial stability

Positioning innovative solutions and lessons on global and national agendas to influence policies and programs

Positioning solutions and lessons on global and
national agendas to inform policies and programs

Everlyne’s Journey to
Financial Success

Everlyne, a mother of six in Turkana County, saw her fresh produce business suffer due to drought-related losses. Her spoiled vegetables made it difficult for her to support her family and keep her kids in school.

Determined to create a stable future, she sought financial training and support. With help from Blessed Community Empowerment Organization and South North Nexus, she accessed financial education and a revolving fund loan. This allowed her to pivot from selling perishable produce to opening her own salon and barbershop.

Today, Everlyne employs six people and earns $200–$230 per month, a 20 percent increase in her income. With her new financial skills, she saves money and keeps her kids in school.

Her next step? Expanding her business, opening a second salon, and creating more jobs in her community.

International Learning Exchanges:
Sharing Livelihood Challenges and Local Solutions

In collaboration with BioRegions International and Broken Ground Permaculture, the learning exchanges foster cross-regional knowledge-sharing, enabling grassroots organizations, academics, and practitioners to exchange knowledge and successes. Participants engage in field visits to innovative farms and interact with farmers and Indigenous communities, exploring practical solutions to address local livelihood challenges. Ongoing discussions are organized remotely to discuss pressing issues as they arise and cover topics such as:

Strengthening livelihoods in dry ecosystems to address climate change
Advancing regenerative and precision agriculture for sustainable food production
Empowering women through small business development
Supporting immigrant integration into communities