Founding Story

Levo began with a determination to take action. It began when the Boy Scouts thought that the founder Christian Heiden’s Eagle Scout proposal was too ambitious. Christian had proposed the construction of a hydroponic greenhouse for an agency operating in Haiti, but the costs and risks associated with the project were outside what the Boy Scouts thought were realistic. Undeterred, Christian completed his Eagle Scout project building a greenhouse for his high school and then set out to do what he had always wanted to do.

Working together with his family, a plan was put together and executed to begin to bring a sustainable food supply to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Thanks to the willing participation and support of Many Hands for Haiti, Christian, Bill and Nate Heiden built a demonstration greenhouse in July of 2016 on the Many Hands compound in Pignon, Haiti. A new team of young people joined the effort and in 2017 marked the first installation of Levo’s hydroponic farming units, called Babylon systems. Levo expanded protocols and improved the systems, creating several varieties of systems for Haitian families.

Since the pandemic in 2020, Levo has continued to maintain its operation in Haiti, launching a new pilot in 2022 to provide 300 school children with hydroponics.

In the United States, the Levo team launched a CSA urban farming pilot to provide Hartford, CT growers with hydroponics and a market. Levo worked with a number of local churches and organizations to create a network of growers and buyers in Greater Hartford, pioneering a whole new approach to the local food system.

Community-Led Development

Levo was created with the understanding that we needed to put community leaders in the driver’s seat. This means working with communities to identify the specific challenges that their community faces, and how Levo can add value to their existing community-strengthening efforts. Levo does this by leveraging food security solutions, the first step to create strong communities.

Our Values

Household Focused

Levo views households as the essential foundation for positive change in a community. Levo works with local leaders and community organizations who understand the problems and culture that exist within specific communities. These community leaders form the pathway to work with families in their communities. This family-focused approach allows us to maximize our impact per dollar by cutting out the middle man.

Sustainable

Levo creates programs to be not only environmentally sustainable but operationally sustainable. We look to create solutions for communities that can continue beyond traditional fundraising, creating long-term change that continues, regardless of donations.

Additive Partnership

Levo recognizes the difficulty the development world faces in successfully partnering as every organization tries to compete for resources. Instead Levo seeks to be additive to organizations, bringing in new resources and opportunities organizations may not otherwise have.