Overview
Profile summary
I am an interdisciplinary social scientist with a background in agroecology, human geography, and natural history. For the past fifteen years, I have worked in the Maya-Achí territory in Guatemala, on issues related to community development and sustainable agriculture; Indigenous knowledge and soil health; and the connection between small-scale food production, culture and wellbeing (buen vivir).
I am currently involved in participatory action research with the Association of Committees for Community Production (ACPC), a Maya-Achi organization implementing projects on coffee agroforestry, watershed restoration, and the development of homemade microbial bio-inputs/ fertilizers. I am also involved in ongoing research with the Welsh organization Cegin y Bobl, who are transforming local food systems by teaching schoolchilden how to cook and integrating local agroecological farms into school meal programmes, among other interventions.
Please contact me if interested in pursuing a research master's or PhD in these areas. See here for information about a specific opportunity in Wales.
Prior to my appointment at the University of Plymouth I taught food systems and human geography at San Diego State University and at Schumacher College, where I led the master's programme in regenerative food, farming, and enterprise.
Professional memberships
Society of Latin American Studies
Conference of Latin American Geographers
Roles on external bodies
Editorial Board Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Steering Committee for The Agroecology Learning Collective (Landworkers Alliance)
Board Member European Association for Agroecology
Academic qualifications
Agriculture, food and related studies, Doctorate, Agroecology on the periphery: A case from the Maya-Achí territory, Guatemala , Colegio de la Frontera Sur
Award Date: 1 Dec 2020
Social sciences, Other higher degree (e.g. Masters degree), Dams, development, and displacement: A case from Río Negro, Guatemala, University of Northern British Columbia
Award Date: 1 Jun 2010
External positions
Honorary Research Fellow, Coventry University
1 Dec 2022 → …
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 2 Zero Hunger
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SDG 4 Quality Education
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SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
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SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Looking forward, looking back: Indigenous agriculture in Guatemala
Einbinder, N., 2025Research output: Other contribution
Open Access -
Culture: The missing link in sustainable food systems
Einbinder, N., 3 Feb 2026, In: NPJ Sustainable Agriculture. 4, 1, 14.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open AccessFile4 Downloads (Pure) -
Scaling local climate action: learning from community organizations to build a post-development agenda for Central America
Bakal, M. & Einbinder, N., 25 Apr 2024, In: npj Climate Action. 3, 30.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Downloads (Pure) -
Agroecology from the ground up: a critical analysis of sustainable soil management in the highlands of Guatemala
Einbinder, N., Morales, H., Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho, M., Ferguson, B. G., Aldasoro, M. & Nigh, R., 29 Jan 2022, In: Agriculture and Human Values. 39, 3, p. 979-996 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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‘With agroecology, we can defend ourselves’: examining campesino resilience and economic solidarity during pandemic-era economic shock in Guatemala
Rice, A. M., Einbinder, N. & Calderón, C. I., 10 Nov 2022, In: Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 47, 2, p. 273-305 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review