Heifer International Explains Why It Walked Away From Hidden Villa

Finances. That was the reason why Heifer International abruptly canceled its plans to build a learning center at Hidden Villa, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The Little Rock, AR-based nonprofit organization had hoped to break ground this year on its fourth educational center, a "global village" design that would have  programs for middle school to young adults, said Joedy Isert, the brand development and communications director for Heifer International.

But the Santa Clara County planning department informed the organization that the timeline would be lengthier, because a project of that size would be held to "a higher standard for review," said Isert.

The new timeline would have added 15 months to three years for the review process, Heifer International estimated.

"It would be lengthy; we would have had to bring on a consultant to do so," he continued. "With the higher cost, the more complicated review, and the uncertain outcome, the organization decided it would not be a fiscally prudent."

Heifer International had already conducted a traffic study and a riparian study. Some local residents had been opposed to the proposed site of the global village that included some overnight stays to experience living with limited resources.

Some sites that some residents said they preferred had been ruled out by Heifer in 2008, because of the expected environmental impact. The property sits in unincorporated Santa Clara County area, so the project would have needed approval by the county of Santa Clara, not the town of Los Altos Hills.

Heifer International, founded to end hunger through providing families and villages a means to feed themselves and propagate that means, works around the world, from Asia to Appalachia. The center at Hidden Villa was to be one of four, including the Heifer Village in Little Rock, Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR, and Overlook Farm in Rutland, MA.

It has had an ongoing association with Hidden Villa through programs it runs now, and will continue to run, Isert said. These are largely classroom activities surrounding agro-ecology, and encouraging people "to get engaged to work with small-holder farmers."

A disappointed Chris Overington, executive director of Hidden Villa, said in a statement that the organization "will continue to explore ways to fulfill its mission of inspiring a just and sustainable future through our programs, land and legacy."