NERC/CIIRED

The Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI) is leading the formation of the Networked Engineering Research Center (NERC)—in Spanish, Centro de Investigación de Ingeniería en Red (CIIRED)—that focuses on research and technical support for practitioners adopting innovations in sustainability in coffee, biofuel and essential oil production. The collaboration includes the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and Amherst campuses, along with Universities in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua. MDI’s innovations in coffee processing using renewable energy technology and Integrated Open Canopy™ (IOC) coffee production are the initial focus of the consortium.

L4SW NETWORK

The Learning for a Sustainable World Network (L4SW Network) is an informal consortium of several nongovernmental organizations (NGO) dedicated to the propagation of sustainable development learning and technology implementation in the United States and internationally. The two principal entities of L4SW Network are MDI and The 1420 Foundation for Sustainable Development Education (1420). MDI and 1420 work together on sustainable development education and technology implementation projects.

1420’s MISSION is to design and implement interdisciplinary education programs in high schools and universities in the United States and overseas that connect these with NGOs that are implementing sustainable development projects and strategies in communities around the world.

MDI’s MISSION is the design and implementation of sustainable technologies and methods for productive applications.