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Over the Years

A History of Savory's Work

Bringing Holistic Management into Global Consciousness

What started as one man’s efforts has evolved today into a complex ecosystem of initiatives stewarded by a global cadre of changemakers. At Savory, we are revolutionizing agriculture and offering a proven path to the transformative wholeness upon which all of life depends.

Allan Savory

The founder of Holistic Management and the Savory Institute, Allan has made it his life’s work to understand and reverse what was causing the rapid degradation of land and wildlife afflicting his Rhodesian homeland.

Timeline

Savory's Evolution
Allan Savory on a horse in the African bush
1960'S
A Revelation
Working as a game and research officer in what is now Zimbabwe and Zambia, Allan Savory begins to observe that areas where animals have been excluded are degrading worse than areas where there have been herds followed by rest. This leads to a significant breakthrough in understanding what was causing the degradation and desertification of the world’s grasslands, and the seeds of Holistic Management are planted.
Allan Savory on a horse in the African bush
Allan Savory founded the Center for Holistic Management in 1984
1984
Allan Forms the Center for Holistic Management
Having worked with numerous land managers across four continents as a resource management consultant, Allan Savory founds a non-profit organization in the USA, the Center for Holistic Management, to further develop his work. The organization is known by several names over the years, including the Allan Savory Center, the Savory Center, and Holistic Management International.
Allan Savory founded the Center for Holistic Management in 1984
The founders of the Savory Institute
2009
The Savory Institute is Founded
Launched originally as a management consulting firm in July 2009 by Allan Savory, Daniela Ibarra-Howell, and a handful of other longtime holistic managers, the Savory Institute quickly pivots to become a non-profit dedicated to regenerating the worlds grasslands through the spread of Holistic Management .
The founders of the Savory Institute
Healthy grassland along a fence line
2012
Savory Receives 501(c)(3) Status
The Savory Institute receives its 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit organization recognized by the U.S. IRS.
Healthy grassland along a fence line
Person standing in tall grass with hands in the air in celebration
2013
The First Savory Hub Joins the Global Network
The Savory Institute launches a distributed nodal network aimed at sharing Holistic Management through peer-to-peer local learning. The Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe, the birthplace of Holistic Management, becomes the first officially accredited Hub of the new Savory Global Network.
Person standing in tall grass with hands in the air in celebration
Allan Savory on the TED Talk stage
FEBRUARY 2013
The TED Talk
On the main TED stage, Allan Savory inspires his audience and nearly 9 million others who have since viewed his now famous TED Talk online. At the TED event in 2014, Allan’s talk was recognized as "one of the 50 most intriguing TED talks of all time."
Allan Savory on the TED Talk stage
EOV in Argentina
2015
Ecological Outcome Verification Takes Root
With Holistic Management now having transformed the land and livelihoods of farmers and ranchers across the globe, a need arises to scientifically document the ecological improvements that land managers have witnessed for decades. Pablo Borrelli of the Argentina Hub develops the GRASS standard, a modification of Ecological Monitoring from the HM framework, and this eventually evolves into the Savory Institute's Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) protocol.
EOV in Argentina
West Bijou Ranch in Colorado is home to the Savory Institute
2017
West Bijou Ranch is Transferred to Savory's Stewardship
The Plains Conservation Center donates the 7,500-acre West Bijou Ranch in Strasburg, Colorado to the Savory Institute to ensure its long-term stewardship. In addition to bison ranching, West Bijou will eventually evolve to become one of two Savory Global Campuses, the other being at Dimbangombe Ranch in Zimbabwe.
West Bijou Ranch in Colorado is home to the Savory Institute
wool bales with EOV mark
2018
Land to Market Launches
To accelerate adoption of Holistic Management, Savory launches its ambitious new Land to Market program, the first ever outcome-based sourcing solution for raw materials such as meat, dairy, wool, and leather. The first ever Land to Market Verified products are solid in 2018 – wool in South Africa and jerky in the United States.
wool bales with EOV mark
Regenerating grasslands with the Savory Institute
2018
Ten Million Hectares Transformed
With the Global Network having grown to 24 accredited Hubs across six continents, Savory officially crosses the ten million hectare milestone with nearly 9,000 people trained.
Regenerating grasslands with the Savory Institute
The Land to Market Team
2022
Land to Market Spins Off
Savory evolves Land to Market into a public-benefit corporation, of which Savory remains an equity partner. The move is driven by strong global demand for Land to Market’s services connecting brands to supply derived from verified regenerating landbases and will allow Land to Market to scale while remaining an integral initiative of Savory's emerging ecosystem.
The Land to Market Team
Healthy grassland ecosystem - Savory Foundation
2022
Savory Foundation Launches in Denmark
Savory continues its evolution into a complex ecosystem of initiatives by launching the Savory Foundation, a Denmark-based foundation established to attract and deploy mission-aligned capital into large-scale projects to catalyze global transformation at the intersection of finance, climate resilience, and regenerative agriculture.
Healthy grassland ecosystem - Savory Foundation
A group walking in a pasture on a ranch
PRESENT DAY
The Mission Continues
With approximately 50 Hubs, 29 million hectares transformed, 22,000 people trained, and driven by a deep belief that regeneration emerges when with the right underlying conditions are created, Savory continues to be deeply committed to its mission of regenerating the world's grasslands through Holistic Management.
A group walking in a pasture on a ranch

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