Louise Mabulo, the founder of the Cacao project, called on students to use their voices to advocate for food sustainability on Sept. 29 during the 7th annual Nebraska Youth Climate Summit. 

“Sustainable farming has always existed. It has just been cast aside in the pursuit of fast, easy and cheap food,” Mabulo said. 

Mabulo is a 25-year-old farmer, chef and entrepreneur. She was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020 as a social entrepreneur because of her work in the Philippines. She started her initiative, the Cacao Project, after the super typhoon Nock-ten destroyed 80% of agricultural land in her home region. 

Her project began as a typhoon relief program helping farmers by handing out seedlings and food relief packs. Then she realized that this was a “band-aid solution,” and she needed to think bigger to address the food systems that made her home country one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 

“Many of these farmers are struggling to survive. They’re considered victims, they turn into numbers and statistics and lose the human value of who they are,” Mabulo said.

Since farmers’ livelihoods depend on the food they produce, they are one of the most vulnerable groups to natural disasters in a country like the Philippines which experiences 20 typhoons annually, according to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center. 

Mabulo realized the disaster would have an enormous economic impact on her community for years to come, so she needed to rethink the food system that forced farmers to live day by day. She began with a bar of chocolate.

“Who doesn’t love chocolate?” Mabulo said. 

Cacao was brought to the Philippines by Spanish settlers in the 1800s but has been an underutilized resource since then. The Cacao Project teaches farmers how to rethink underutilized resources like cacao.

Mabulo splits her project into three branches: education, agriculture and regeneration. She teaches farmers about sustainable practices like agroforestry, planting trees as wind buffers, and restoring biodiversity. Then she engages in agriculture by creating plant nurseries, collecting seeds and diversifying the growing season to create year-round income. Lastly, she gives back to the community. Mabulo said her region has come to stigmatize farming, and she wants to teach people that farming is valuable.

“It’s not just you know, planting on the field: it can be design, it can be art, it can be community organizing, it can be climate activism,” she said in her speech. 

Sustainable farming is a necessity. According to the United Nations, agricultural production needs to increase by 60% to meet the demand for food in 2050. Mabulo thinks that this is possible, but the world needs to think sustainably now and recognize that food is intersectional with the capacity to connect people.

“All of us can agree that we love food, we have to eat three times a day and we all look to a farmer,” Mabulo said. 

The Cacao Project has worked with at least 200 farmers, planted more than 50,000 trees, and helped local schools teach young people about agriculture. It has also propelled Mabulo to the forefront of the climate crisis. She’s been named as a United Nations Environmental Programme Young Champion of the Earth and has become an ambassador for the Food and Land Use Association. Now she’s shaping global policy on food systems and reminding politicians that young people need a voice at the table, too. 

Mia Perales, a freshman environmental engineering major, was one of 150 youth who heard Mabulo’s message. Perales said that Mabulo inspired her because Mabulo hasn’t let her young age stop her from addressing the climate crisis.

“I think younger people are creating incredibly amazing, innovative solutions all the time and the way that we are advocating and rallying for each other, it’s extremely exciting,” Perales said.

Perales attended the climate summit for the second time this year after being inspired by last year’s speakers.

“I think it’s a really great event. And I’m really glad that the University puts it on,” she said.

She spoke on a student panel later about how she started a composting initiative at her high school, Omaha South, that diverts 54,000 pounds of waste from the landfill every year.

The Nebraska Youth Climate Summit attracts many activists like Perales to learn about climate change and sustainability issues from experts. Lincoln’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Kim Morrow, urged students during the summit to use their skills to combat climate change before the effects become irreversible for the planet.

“The window of time in which to make a real difference on climate change is shrinking,” Morrow said. 

Nebraska’s former state climatologist Martha Durr echoed that message. Nebraskans are already experiencing the effects of climate change through extreme weather, according to Durr. She said if the state does not cut emissions in half by 2030, Nebraska will experience summer highs that average 95 degrees, increased wildfire risk, intense flooding, and low air quality from wildfire smoke. She advised students to “use their voice” because decision-makers want to hear from them.

Mabulo said it’s up to the next generation to rethink the food systems we’ve had for decades. She said there’s magic in our nature, environment and climate and it’s up to every individual to find that magic in whatever path they carve for themselves. 

The Nebraska News Service is the state news wire service provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Find more coverage at nebraskanewsservice.net.