Ecology
Borderlands Restoration
USA
Borderlands Restoration in Arizona is both an NGO and a network of organizations along the USA-Mexico border working to build a regional economy based on ecological restoration. Its initiatives include a native plant nursery, landscape planning and watershed restoration projects, paid restoration internships and leadership experiences for local youth, and a permaculture farm. Visit their website for more information about the network’s activities and members.
https://www.borderlandsrestoration.org/
Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Community Trust
Zimbabwe
In just two decades, the Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Community Trust has transformed six villages in Eastern Zimbabwe from a state of chronic food insecurity and severe environmental degradation to one of food sufficiency, community self-reliance, and ecological regeneration. The organization’s training programs in permaculture have been complemented by other capacity-building initiatives focused on conflict resolution, women’s empowerment, health issues, local education, specialized skill development, and more. Visit their website to learn all about it!
Digo Bikas Institute (DBI)
Nepal
Based in Kathmandu, Digo Bikas Institute (DBI) is a research and advocacy organization devoted to promoting ecological sustainability and social equity at both the policy and the community level. A lot of their work revolves around climate justice, and highlights the fact that economic growth and increased technology and “development” from the Global North — even supposedly “green” development — will only increase Nepal’s carbon footprint and contribute to the breakdown of its remaining communities and social fabric. Meanwhile, the local knowledge that, for generations, has allowed Nepalis to live sustainably is being lost. DBI is interested in the ways that this knowledge can not only benefit people in the Global South, but can also contribute to systemic change in the North. To learn more, visit http://www.digobikas.org.
Photo by DFID (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Earthlore (Mupo Foundation) and Dzomo la Mupo
South Africa
In a region targeted for plantation expansion, coal mining, and tourist industry development, these two partner organizations – run by the local Venda people – are fighting for food sovereignty, women’s and youth empowerment, and a spirituality rooted in the soil. To learn more, visit http://earthlorefoundation.org, and read this article in Truthout: African Women Organize to Reclaim Agriculture Against Corporate Takeover.
http://earthlorefoundation.org
Maasai Center for Regenerative Pastoralism
Kenya
When a drought wiped out nearly all the livestock in Dalmas Tiampati’s Maasai community in Kenya, and predatory businesses moved in to try selling food at exorbitant prices, Dalmas made a promise to protect his people from disasters both ecological and economic. So he founded the Maasai Center for Regenerative Pastoralism, which addresses the root causes of vulnerability by promoting holistic grassland management, ensuring water security, and preserving the traditional pastoral way of life. Read more at the Maasai Center for Regenerative Pastoralism website or on our Medium article, “Rising from Disaster”.
http://www.maasaiactionfordevelopment.org/