|
Brighter Futures Program
In Nepal, one of every three children is a child laborer, with an estimated 2.6 million children between the ages of five and fourteen working on farms, in factories, in businesses, or in other people's homes. World Education is implementing a four-year project to combat child labor through education. World Education's Brighter Futures Program works closely with the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor in Nepal. Brighter Futures activities are carried out at two levels: in communities where children come from or where they currently live and work; and at the policy level with government and international agencies.
World Education and its government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners use what they learn from project implementation at the community level to help inform existing and new government policies related to child labor. World Education and its partners work to increase children's access to education, and to improve the relevance and quality of education and training for children rescued from abusive forms of child labor. This includes provision of nonformal and vocational education opportunities, the strengthening of community based education, and the strengthening of monitoring and supervision systems used in primary education and nonformal education programs. Brighter Futures engages policymakers in the continuous review of lessons learned from program implementation and the study of specific barriers to children's participation in order to formulate and improve educational policy on child labor.
Contact Information
Children's Participation in Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) Program
In the Philippines, crop production losses from pest infestations and diseases are significant, and the use of pesticides on crops is not the answer to improving food supplies. Concern is growing because pesticides compromise human health, contaminate soils and water, damage ecosystems, and contributes to pest resurgence. In rural areas where many children attending schools come from farming families, introducing integrated production and pest management (IPPM) in schools promotes good environmental management principles. World Education's IPPM training equipped students with the skills to address not only the overuse and misuse of pesticides but also other pressing issues in the environment and in their communities. With funding from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in the Philippines, and in collaboration with the Philippines' Department of Education and Philippine NGOs, World Education introduced IPPM in schools in three provinces. The program promoted sustainable agricultural practices through introducing young farmers to IPPM. It improved teaching methods by introducing discovery learning methods to teachers, and encouraged local governance of education by promoting the use of community-school committees to help plan, implement and evaluate program activities.
Contact Information
Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions (ECHOES)
Low literacy and numeracy skills impede farmers' abilities to efficiently manage production and loans, negotiate agreements, understand the business aspects of cocoa farming, apply new technologies to increase crop yields, and understand costing and pricing calculations. The ECHOES initiative aims to strengthen cocoa growing communities in Western Ghana by expanding opportunities for youth and adults through relevant education.
ECHOES is implemented in collaboration with the International Foundation for Education and Self Help, Winrock International, and Leadership Africa USA.
Contact Information
Faisons Ensemble
Faisons Ensemble, a 31-month project funded by USAID/Guinea, focuses on improving basic services in health, education, agriculture, and natural resource management through better governance practices. The project targets communities in Upper Guinea, Forest Guinea, and the five communes of Conakry.
The goal of Faisons Ensemble is to increase citizen access to better services in the health, education, agriculture, and natural resources sectors, with the aim of improving living conditions for Guineans. Faisons Ensemble will recruit and work with "champions" within local government, civil society, and the media, to provide capacity building, technical, and financial support for groups that promote good governance practices.
The project has four main objectives:
1. Improved effectiveness of government institutions and decentralization and local service delivery
2. Greater visibility and effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts
3. Increased capacity and effectiveness of civil society, working through strong CSOs and CBOs that are well managed and participate, demand accountability and transparency in service delivery, and advocate for good governance.
4. Increased citizen access to more diverse sources and types of information.
World Education is responsible for managing the third and fourth components of Faisons Ensemble, which focus on the capacity and effectiveness of civil society for improved civic participation and advocacy, and citizen access to information - as well as cross-cutting adult literacy, youth engagement, and gender. World Education also oversees overall grants management of the project, ensuring that targeted champions at community, regional, and national level receive the full financial support required to advance innovations in good governance.
World Education collaborates with five other U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGO) and two Guinean NGOs in the Faisons Ensemble consortium led by the Research Triangle Institute.
Contact Information
Farmer Field Schools in Nepal - The Next Generation
(2002 - 2005)
The reality for young women and out-of-school youth in rural Nepal is that agriculture is a major focus of their lives. Over 82% of Nepal's population is supported by agriculture. Rapid population growth has meant that although agricultural production is increasing, levels of malnutrition are still rising. World Education is working with older girls graduating from its Girls Access to Education (GATE) Program and out-of-school youth in its Brighter Futures Program by linking them to farmer field schools (FFS).
World Education works with its nine NGO partners to identify girls and out-of-school youth who have not entered school or who have dropped out. If a community is interested, they form groups of parents and daughters or youth interested in attending a FFS. Once groups are formed, the NGO FFS trainer conducts a Farmer Field School that lasts for approximately 18 weeks, or a full cropping season. During FFS, participating farmers gather in a village field each week to compare their own standard farming practices to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. The primary learning curriculum is the paddy field itself, where most learning activities take place. At the end of the season, girls, out-of-school youth, and their parents share what they have learned with the community through a Farmer Field Day. This is their opportunity to show (and show off to) the rest of the community. Farmers can proudly share what they have learned with their families, neighbors, friends and peers. Through sharing, they also recall the whole Farmer Field School experience and reinforce their own learning.
Read the following success story about the program: Taking on the Future: Building a Better Life through Education and Agriculture
Contact Information
Farmer Learning and Environmental Stewardship in Indonesia
(2002 - 2006)
Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse and expansive tropical forests remaining in the world. These forests and the wildlife that inhabitant them face numerous threats to their survival, including the unsustainable harvest of resources by poor farming communities who lack other options. This project provides farming communities with training and technical assistance to develop more productive and ecologically sound agriculture and agroforestry systems. The goal is to develop farmers' livelihoods in order to reduce pressure on forests in the Kelay River watershed. These forests are habitat to globally important and threatened orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) populations.
This project engages farmers in season-long training courses where farmers learn to experiment and pioneer new cultivation techniques in their own fields. Through these activities, farmers learn how to improve their agricultural practices and learn how to establish sustainable agroforestry systems, as well as develop livestock. This project will continue through 2005 and is funded by USAID/Indonesia.
Contact Information
Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems Project in Andhra Pradesh
(2004 - 2009)
Sustainable management of water resources is an issue of increasing importance, especially in drought-prone areas of India, such as Andhra Pradesh (AP). There an increase in land under irrigation and a shift to water-thirsty crops has created growing pressures on existing water resources. The Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems Project, funded by the Royal Dutch Embassy, New Delhi, is a continuation of a 15-year Dutch Government involvement in the provision of borewells and technical training to small and marginal farmers in seven districts of AP. The main objective of the APFAMGS Project is to enhance the ability of farmers and water user groups to manage their groundwater systems efficiently.
World Education works with Project staff to: - Develop a successful technician-farmer knowledge transfer 'interface' by using nonformal education techniques;
-
Plan and implement community outreach programs and social mobilization campaigns aimed at engaging all water users, in particular women and small farmers, in joint management of their water resources; and,
-
Monitor project activities on an ongoing basis by documenting farmers' adoption and ownership of project technical and organizational inputs.
Contact Information
Indonesia Learning Farm
( - 2007)
In Indonesia, poor, vulnerable youth have been deeply affected by the country's economic crises and lack both education and economic opportunities. Many feel hopeless at a time when they should be optimistic about the future. Lacking education, skills, or support, they are at risk of being trapped in a cycle of poverty and never realizing their full potential.
The Learning Farm seeks to address the lack of skills, opportunities and hope amongst vulnerable Indonesian youth by providing entrepreneurial and life skills training in the context of an operational organic farm. Located in Puncak, West Java, the Learning Farm provides Indonesian youth with the tools and skills needed to live healthy and productive lives and become change agents within their own communities.
The Learning Farm is a community where vulnerable youth can find opportunity and support; an educational center where these youth can obtain practical skills and knowledge; a productive organic farm as the primary educational medium; a social enterprise where youth apply their new skills to benefit themselves and support the sustainability of the Learning Farm; and a networking center where experience and lessons learnt are shared with other organizations working with vulnerable youth as well as with the community at large.
The farm serves as both an educational center and an organic farm, where students take responsibility for tasks related to running the farm and participate in structured learning activities that utilize a "learning by doing" approach. The farm's curriculum includes basic literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking skills, organic farming, enterprise development, health, life skills, computers, and English. Using environmentally-sound growing methods, the youth work in teams to produce organic vegetables for their own consumption and also for sale. Most importantly, the farm has become a community where young people feel welcome, work directly with supportive adults, and have a chance to focus their energy and intelligence on building meaningful skills and relationships that will help them over the course of their lives.
Contact Information
Laos Economic Acceleration Program for the Silk Sector (LEAPSS)
(1999 - 2006)
For centuries the Lao silk textiles have been admired for their beauty, quality, and unique designs. The domestic and international demand for textiles has been high. Over the past 25 years, however, the silk industry in Laos has suffered a decline, and the demand has exceeded the supply. The limited supply of domestic raw silk creates a demand for imports from surrounding countries, resulting in higher costs and lower profits for silk weavers. From 1999 to 2006, the Laos Economic Acceleration Program for the Silk Sector (LEAPSS), was funded by USAID and implemented by the Consortium of World Education and World Learning. The project provided training assistance and technical support to silk growers in the remote provinces of Xieng Khoung and Houphan. In addition, the program offered training and networking support to agricultural extension workers, weavers, small business owners, and traders, with a particular focus on women micro-entrepreneurs. The Consortium and its government partner planned for this program to serve as a policy model for future private enterprise development in Laos. The project was active through 2006 and is no longer being implemented.
Read the following success story about the program: Expanding Agricultural Options in Laos
Contact Information
Managing a Multifunctional Landscape for Orangutan Conservation in East Kalimantan Indonesia (2008-2009)
( - )
The forested area bordering Berau and East Kutai Districts in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, is one of the few remaining areas on either Sumatra or Borneo that still contains substantial expanses of relatively undisturbed lowland forest. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has counted more than 10,000 orangutan nests in the area and delineated two forest areas in the Kelay and Lesan watersheds that provide refuge for approximately 3,000 orangutans, which makes it one of the three largest known populations in the world.
Since 2001 TNC and World Education activities have advanced the process of safeguarding 50,000 ha of critical orangutan habitat in the Berau and East Kutai. Local management councils and technical units have been set up in both areas to combat future threats, and local community dependency on forest and forest products has been reduced through the development of sustainable farming systems.
Unfortunately large areas of conversion forest have already been approved for oil palm establishment by the local government, and clear felling is actively taking place. Oil palm and other plantations, as well as coal mining, are necessary parts of the economic development of the province. But integrated spatial planning and collaborative management is urgently required to ensure that development does not destroy the habitat necessary for the conservation of orangutan.
The aim of this project is to minimize the loss of orangutan habitat in a large, contiguous multiple-use forest area in the Kelay-Lesan area in Breau and the Wehea Area in Kutai Timur in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. This project provides an opportunity to tackle the issue of orangutan habitat erosion at its root, through efforts to improve forest governance, spatial planning, law enforcement and the provision of incentives to encourage responsible practice by the private sector as well as income generation activities and capacity building for the local communities.
In collaboration with TNC, World Education works primary with local communities to enhance their roles in natural resource management and to increase their income through sustainable agriculture. The Nature Conservancy works on the development of collaborative management approaches with private sector entities, such as oil palm plantations, logging and mining companies. This habitat protection through co-management and multi-purpose use at the district and provincial is backed up at national level. This will be achieved through lobbying the Indonesia government to address the conservation of orangutans that occur outside the protected area network and also to give formal protection not just to the orangutan but also to the habitats.
Contact Information
Orangutan Habitat Conservation II
(2005 - 2007)
On the southern tip of Indonesian Borneo lies the Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), home to biologically diverse, lowland forests that are habitat to globally important and threatened orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) populations. TPNP faces numerous threats to the survival of its orangutan population, including the unsustainable harvest of resources by poor farming communities who lack other options. This project provides farming communities with training and technical assistance to develop more productive and ecologically sound agriculture and agroforestry systems. The goal is to develop farmers' livelihoods in order to reduce pressure on forests in the TPNP.
Funded by USAID/Indonesia, this project uses an integrated conservation and development approach that combines livelihood development with community participation in protecting TPNP. World Education leads season-long training courses where farmers learn to experiment and pioneer new cultivation techniques in their own fields. Through these activities, farmers learn how to improve their agricultural practices and how to establish sustainable agroforestry systems, as well as develop livestock. A subcontractor to this project, Orangutan Foundation International (www.orangutan.org), recruits and trains communities to protect park resources, and provides technical assistance to TPNP's planning and management.
Contact Information
Orangutan Habitat Protection in Tanjung Puting National Park
Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) is home to one of the two largest remaining orangutan populations (around 6,000) in the world. Given its formally protected status as a national park, as well as the high profile of the park and its orangutans, prospects for long-term viability of the orangutan population would seem promising. TPNP, however, is still besieged by numerous and persistent threats.
Proposed changes to the park boundaries and proposed changes in land use classifications of the land surrounding TPNP combine to bring about a 447 km reduction in park areas. In order to prevent and mitigate these threats, World Education and Orangutan Foundation International have combined efforts to apply an integrated conservation and development approach to protecting the Park and its orangutan population.
This project is a continuation of the joint efforts that World Education and Orangutan Foundation International have undertaken in and around the TPNP since year 2003.
World Education continues to help strengthen local organizations to balance village economic planning and activities with conversation concerns through farmer field schools, developing village level planning processes, and facilitating the development and implementation of village natural resource management regulations. World Education works with farmer groups to provide them alternative income generation opportunities as well as improve irrigation and water management, and overall stewardship of the natural resources that their livelihoods depend upon.
The beneficiaries of the project include the 6,000 orangutans and other species of TPNP, as well as 3,000 people who live in the seven villages that abut TPNP. Thousands of others in nearby communities all reap benefits from the improved ecological services of the TPNP. Many other stakeholders at district and provincial levels also benefit from the projects activities.
Contact Information
Reducing Pressure on the Lesan Protected Forest in Indonesia
The Lesan Protected Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia provides refuge for approximately 2,500 orangutans. It is under pressure from large logging concessions, oil palm plantations and agricultural development by local communities. In this project World Education works with community members in two of the villages nearest the Protected Forest Area to alleviate pressure on this area, adjacent conservation forests, and other areas presently open for conversion to oil palm plantations. This is accomplished by enabling target communities to increase their incomes from improved agriculture, agro-forestry and sustainable forest-based activities. The project provides education and training in land use planning, conservation, and environmental protection. Agricultural development services will also be provided so that local communities can reduce the need to develop new lands for agricultural use or to lease land to oil palm plantation operators in sensitive forest areas.
The project benefits the orangutans and other wildlife in the Lesan Protected Forest Area as well as the local communities which will have increased their income generation capacity and gained a better understanding of environmental and conservation issues.
On this project World Education collaborates with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), local community-based organizations, and the local government to safeguard this very important area of biological diversity.
Contact Information
|
