Environmental Champions

The way TPP grantees engage with our planet is astounding and ever evolving. From organic farming, gardening, rain water harvesting and clean water initiatives, there are infinite ways to heal and develop a community. Although each project below is passionately created in a different region, all grantees are collectively striving to strengthen their community, and share knowledge and practices that preserve the planet.

Katia, Aline, Karina – Projeto TransformAção CSEUR (TransformAction CSEUR)

TransformAction CSEUR is project developed by Aonde Environmental Institute and its main goal is to contribute to the socio-environmental development of CSEUR’s interns.

CSEUR, which stands for Centro Socioeducativo de Uberaba (Socio-educational Center of Uberaba – Brazil) is an institution which aims to rehabilitate young offenders under 18 years. The goal will be reached through the practice of a range of activities related to the environment, healthy eating, well-being and entrepreneurship, aiming at improving not only the environment in which they are inserted, but the community as a whole.

Often, these young offenders come from poorer, marginalized families and have not had enough opportunities to development, mainly due to the lack of incentives and investments in infrastructure and social programs so many times experienced in developing countries. Once they are in rehabilitation institutions, the problem tends to persist and not enough opportunities to personal development are offered.

This can even aggravate the behavior of these young inmates, defeating the purpose of their time in the rehabilitation center. Thus, aiding these individuals in recognition of their rights and duties while citizens of a changing world, whilst improving skills which might enable them to provide for themselves and their families, in a sustainable way, are the main positive impacts this project intends to make on these young people’s lives.

The main activities the inmates will be performing as part of this project are the construction and maintenance of a vegetable garden (mini-scale urban agriculture) to produce fresh and healthy food for their own consume; composting of garden and kitchen residues; the development of a rainwater harvesting system for the main building of the center; the restoration of an existing un-utilized greenhouse; the reforestation of the center surroundings; the creation of a sensory garden. This grant is important because it will be invested in buying the main materials and tools which are necessary to build and develop the main instruments that will enable the inmates to develop the aimed skills and to change their relationship with the local environment.

Njeke Joshua And Agri-Life Association – BONAVADA Women Community Maize Project

The repeated usage of chemical fertilizers and GMOs seedlings are severely harming the land and affecting the health of the tribal communities. With farmers not able to keep up with the high cost of synthetic fertilizers, they are currently facing poor harvest due to poor soils, difficulties in buying seedlings, food insecurity, and illnesses caused by synthetic chemicals. In trying to bring back tribes around Buea, the Southwest region of Cameroon to traditional agriculture practices, which would ensure food security as well as ecological sustainability, we have a vision to build model farms that focus on organic cultivation and to train tribal marginalized women in low cost organic farming practices, which they will later implement in their community farms and home gardens.

With funds from The Pollination Project, these marginalized women would have the opportunity to engage in organic farming workshops to protect the environment, save their lands, and to eat a well-balanced diet. They would be trained to sustain their farms organically and to generate income through farming to support their needs. These selected women would be awarded quality organic maize seedlings and modern farming tools after their training.

Nalumansi Phionah And Kaweesa Jovan – Herbs And Spices

Herbs and Spices is an initiative located in Namayina Jolwe Village in Uganda. Project leaders Nalumansi Phionah and Kaweesa Jovan train youth, women, and underserved individuals on how to make organic fertilizers while understanding the benefits of herbs, horticulture, and establishing a market.

Funds from The Pollination Project will be used to procure tools to empower community members to create more jobs and expand the general market.

Lisa Jarvis, Kim William, And Sue Wilfred – Irie Kids Inc. Basic Pet Care Program

Irie Kids, Inc. founder Lisa Jarvis is bringing the Basic Pet Care Program to the island of Saint Lucia. The program brings together local youth, shelter workers, educators ,and volunteers in an effort to exchange information about how animals are viewed and what role we all can play as ambassadors for animals. Basic needs of animals will be explored through games, crafts, a trip to the shelter, and other hands-on learning activities.

The Pollination Project’s grant award allows this program to be offered free of charge to elementary school age children living in rural communities.

Okwuchukwu Anthony, Caroline & Nwamaka – Training Women Farmers On Organic Alley Farming

In rural Omor, Nigeria, women carry out majority of the farm work. They are responsible for all crop production, harvesting, and marketing. These women are dependent on farming for their families’ livelihood, because too often men are attracted to urban centers for white collar jobs. As a result of the rural-urban migration by men, women take on this great responsibility. This responsibility comes with risk as the yield of crops are on a steady decline due to loss of soil fertility caused by over cultivation of land. While shift cultivation was previously practiced, population growth has led to over cultivation of the land, leading to an over use of the natural resources, reflecting in the loss of genetic diversity, erosion, and soil degradation.

Okwuchukwu Anthony, Caroline & Nwamaka will train 25 women farmers from Ezeora Women Farmers Association on organic agriculture, which is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity, and adaptive cycles adapted to local conditions.

The training will focus on the principles and techniques of ecological farming, including growing various arable crops yam, cassava, maize, and melon in between alley. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation, and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved. The grant from The Pollination Project will be used to purchase the planting materials, workshop materials for the project.

Patricia Luhanga – Chitetezo Mbaula Stove

Looking at the alarming rate at which forest degradation is undergoing in Hewe area of Rumphi, Malawi as a result of fuel wood, Patricia Luhanga was concerned that if nothing is done to counteract the situation, then future generations are at the verge of paying for today’s “environmental sins”. She thus identified an innovative intervention of Chitetezo Mbaula stoves. The stoves use little fuel wood, which in the process reduce deforestation.

The project will be spearheaded by women because they are the primary people who use firewood. The project will empower women with skills of making Chitetezo Mbaula stoves so that they can use in their homes and sell to others thereby reducing deforestation and generating income. The Mbaula reduces the release of smoke thereby protecting women from respiratory problems that would arise due to exposure to smoke.

WaterEase Africa – WaterEase

WaterEase is working to provide access to clean water for poor families across Nigeria, especially for women and girls who spend endless hours fetching water over long distances – affecting their health, education and livelihoods; using advocacy, technology and grassroots mobilization.

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