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Listening to Local Voices : Storytellers Around the Globe
In the US, there is a heightened sense that the rules of our political and economic system seembroken, and that our legacies of racism and colonialism are connected to that. But what dothese issues look like from the perspective of storytellers around the globe, namely Groundswell International’s partner organizations in Africa, the Americas and South Asia? Groundswell works to address big-picture challenges by starting locally. To do so, we try to staygrounded in the insights, wisdom and priorities of our partner organizations and thecommunities they work with. Over the last six months I’ve m …
Improving the Food Security, Incomes and Nutrition of Women-Led Families in Central Nepal
Groundswell International and our partner on the ground in Nepal, the Baudh Bahunipati Project Pariwar (BBP-Pariwar), have been able to work with women from the Dalit caste living in the remote areas of the Kavre, Ramechhap, and Sindhupalchowk districts of Central Nepal thanks to a grant provided by the Hapke Family Foundation and other support. Our Work in Nepal Our work supports some of the most marginalized women in Nepal. The situation in rural Nepal is especially difficult for women from the Dalit caste due to centuries of culturally instilled gender inequality and discrimination. These …
Learning from COVID-19 in the Philippines: Why Growing Our Own Food Is Essential
By: Rene Lucero, Guest Writer Cebu is an island province in the central part of the Philippines that hosts the country’s second-biggest city, Cebu City. Agriculture is one of the main economic activities on the island, along with fisheries, industry, and tourism. Being a major tourist destination, Cebu suffered so much from the COVID-19 pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in the country was an international traveler who entered Cebu. The first lockdown that was enforced in March 2020 shocked everyone. All of a sudden, people lost their jobs and sources of livelihood. Those who were working in th …
Groundswell’s 2020 Annual Report: Highlights
Each year, the annual report sums up the progress our organization has made in countries around the world. 2020 was a year plagued by hardships and crises, yet we were still able to partner with grassroots organizations to bring agroecological principles where resilience to hunger, disease, and poverty was needed most. Here are a few highlights from the 2020 Annual Report In Haiti, Groundswell is working with Partenariat pour le Développement Local (PDL) to scale farmer-led agroecology to address climate change. In 2020 over 360 community leaders, nearly 40% women, were engaged in participator …
Catalyzing Resilient Seed Systems in Mexico during COVID-19
In southern Mexico, the loss of native seed varieties is a crisis undermining indigenous communities and cultures. We at Groundswell International are facilitating a collaborative action-learning process with eight local NGOs to strengthen farmer’s capacities to recover, improve and distribute quality local corn, beans, wheat, and amaranth seeds. This reverses the loss of biodiversity and improves food production and resilience to climate change. Seed production is essential, not only to conserve biodiversity, but also for rural communities’ food security. This is broadly involved in the commu …
Improving the resilience of rural communities in the Sahel through pro-equity agroecology interventions
Vulnerability looks different across all rural communities. Pro-equity agroecology programs must take that into account.