Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) is a pioneer organization in starting to work with smallholder farmers in Tigray region by selecting self-initiated communities to promote sustainable farming system and improve their livelihoods. In collaboration with the Tigray bureau of agriculture and natural resource, targeted capacity-building activities were employed in the area of soil fertility enhancement using locally available inputs and the restoration of the natural environment by mobilizing community labor and providing technical supports. In the midst of many challenges in Ethiopia, the Tigray project brought hope. ISD launched the ecological agriculture farming system with full consent of the local communities and in agreement with local decision makers with the objectives of supporting communities to be food secure and reviving the natural environment. Its long term and systematic work to develop sustainable farming has returned an area, hit-hard by erosion and droughts, into an agricultural system that generates bigger harvests and greater incomes while improving ground water levels, soil fertility and biodiversity.