SOUTH NORTH NEXUS
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WHAT WE DO

SNN works across borders bringing people and cultures together
to address common challenges

OUR VISION

Today, our challenges are great and urgent. It is up to each of us as global citizens to find and share solutions that build resilience in the face of climate and political shocks, promote dignity for those furthest behind, and guarantee access to basic human rights.

Learning, innovation, and sharing are at the heart of our work. Grounded in the moral obligation to amplify the voices of those most impacted, we take context-specific actions that catalyze dialogue and action. Our goal is to expand sustainable solutions rooted in learning and community leadership, ensuring support for those most forgotten and affected by today’s climate and political challenges.

Essential is developing a common understanding among communities, organizations, the private sector, and individuals that we face shared problems, their consequences, and the possibility of implementing concrete solutions.

READ MORE

OUR ACTIONS

SNN tackles critical issues focusing on the intersection between climate variability, migration, and social justice. We bring together stakeholders, including international and regional organizations, to collaborate and address these challenges through policy formulation, solution identification, and concrete community action.

We promote mutual learning, partnership, and action to confront location-specific challenges by facilitating relationships with communities, civil society, government officials, researchers and professionals. Through innovation and technology, we work to reduce disaster risk and impacts and promote adaptation to climate change with a focus on justice.

Effective communication is at the heart of our work, helping to address the complex challenges communities face daily while linking their priorities to broader policies and proven technologies. We emphasize the nexus between traditional knowledge and contemporary science, championing sustainable food systems, food security, and nutrition.

​OUR TOOLS

SNN and partners leverage research, evaluations, case studies, and assessments to address regional challenges. Our tool kit includes livelihood and gender analyses, climate impact assessments, hazard mapping, adaptation planning, and disaster risk reduction strategies.
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​Livelihood Analyses
In partnership with BioRegions International, SNN conducts livelihood analyses across bioregions to identify best practices for resilience building in Colombia, Kenya, Mongolia, and Montana. These studies explore food security, health, conflict, and migration drivers and findings inform local and regional strategies that empower communities to prepare for shocks. Using inputs from local discussions and research, SNN then mobilizes funding for priority livelihood solutions implemented by communities and local partners.
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Nutrition Assessments at the
U.S. - Mexico Border

The separation of immigrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border presents a public health crisis with lasting consequences. SNN and partners are
conducting needs assessments to address food insecurity, malnutrition, shelter access, and stress. Ongoing updates guide effective support
strategies that evolve with the changing conditions and help shelter residents prepare for the next stage of their journey.
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Economic and Health Studies
In collaboration with diverse partners, SNN explores and documents the challenges facing migrants, their contributions to local economies and occupational health. Studies highlight key issues such as gender roles, food security, workplace discrimination, labor shortages and occupational health issues. This research informs strategies for local and global action, including in Montana and at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Immigrant Legal Fund

SNN provides legal assistance to immigrants in Montana, covering document preparation, legal fees, and court-related travel. Support includes asylum requests and removal responses. A big benefit of this work is reducing family stress and allowing people to work and contribute to local communities.
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Building Community Resilience

Through community-based, participatory dialogue, we work with women and men community members and leaders, local government, and nongovernmental organizations to design and test community-led actions that enhance the resiliency of livelihood actions.

Training and skill development play a central role in supporting the diversification of livelihoods. These training efforts integrate nutrition and human rights components with income-generating opportunities. A recently introduced revolving fund is helping women start, sustain, and expand their businesses.

Our Kenya partnership is a catalyst, providing knowledge and lessons that have the potential to be scaled up to achieve broader impacts in the Turkana region and other countries.

Sharing Experiences and Community Dialogue
  • SNN partnered with Broken Ground Permaculture to host an online forum on regenerative agriculture for drought-prone areas, marking the second year of the Learning Exchange.
  • SNN and BioRegions International organized the International Learning Exchange: Sharing Livelihood Challenges and Local Solutions, bringing together project teams from Colombia, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, and Montana.
  • SNN Co-Director Deborah Hines worked with Montana State University as part of a dedicated team researching the challenges immigrants face in Montana. LEARN MORE >
  • In Critical Issues on Human Rights and Development (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2021), Deborah Hines examines the international legal bases supporting the right to adequate food and nutrition. She argues that hunger is neither inevitable nor acceptable. See Chapter 11, edited by Stephen P. Marks and Balakrishnan Rajagopal.
  • In March 2021, SNN participated in a forum sponsored by the Arias Foundation (led by Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias) alongside former Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís, former European Parliament leader Ramón Jáuregui, and Cindy Arson of the Wilson Center.
  • Deborah Hines and Rondro Rondono reflect on building sustainable resilience solutions to achieve SDG 2 in Colombia in Community Capacity and Resilience in Latin America (Routledge, New York). Edited by Paul R. Lachapelle, Isabel Gutierrez Montes, and Cornelia Butler Flora. (In press, 2020).
  • Deborah Hines highlighted the importance of gender empowerment through technology and innovation at the 2nd annual WTM Bozeman International Women’s Day Summit. LEARN MORE >
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SNN welcomes everyone who shares our passion for creating change

CONTACT US DONATE TODAY BECOME A VOLUNTEER

Get Involved

South North Nexus
PO Box 404
Bozeman, Montana
59771 USA

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[email protected]

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South North Nexus is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Bozeman, Montana, USA.
All donations by US citizens are tax-deductible.
(EIN 84-3630498)

SOUTH NORTH NEXUS © 2025 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  • Home
  • WHAT WE DO
    • SNN REPORTS
    • LIBRARY
    • GALLERY
  • WHERE WE WORK
    • US-MEXICO BORDER
    • COLOMBIA
    • KENYA
    • MONTANA >
      • Compact and Signatories
      • Other state compacts
  • WHO WE ARE
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Contact
  • Donate