Seed’s Partnerships Support Channel worked with each 2005 Award Winner over a period of 12 months. These are the highlights of the support services delivered:

Agua Para Todos, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Further information

The municipal water company, a private consortium, the local community and a non-profit, micro-credit foundation are working together to create community-owned secondary water distributions in peri-urban areas of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

The project aims to give access to low cost water services to 85,000 people in poor peri-urban areas around the city of Cochabamba during the next five years.

Since their application to the Seed Awards in 2004, the partnership has expanded, and now includes the municipal government of Cochabamba and UNDP Bolivia. Over the last eighteen months, they have built three pilot projects, distributing water to approximately 1000 households, and hope to have a pilot sewerage facility completed by the end of 2006.

Highlights of Seed support

Seed Support has provided a number of services to the partnership.

Working with the Business Partnerships for Development Water and Sanitation Cluster (http://bpdws.org), Seed brought in a water and sanitation specialist to spend three weeks in Bolivia working closely with the partners to help develop their business strategy (including creating a funding proposal) and make recommendations for strengthening the partnership structure.

The partners were also able to enlist the consultancy services of a local engineer who has designed a pilot sewerage plant for the partnership thanks to Seed’s support. Construction of the plant should be completed by the end of this year and represents significant progress in the supply of water and sanitation services to the people of Cochabamba.

Seed has also provided funding towards the partnership’s resource centre in Cochabamba, which will be used as a focal point for the partners and their end users to coordinate future project developments.

Next Steps

The Agua Para Todos project is a shining example of an innovative partnership approach solving previously intractible problems. The programme has enjoyed considerable success in its pilot schemes and the next step is the securing of significant funding to allow the programme to expand. The model itself has great potential to be replicated widely.

Cows to Kilowatts, Nigeria

Further information

The Cows to Kilowatts partners are creating a biogas plant run on abattoir waste to create a cheap source of domestic energy, abate pollution and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from one of Nigeria’s largest slaughterhouses. The project was initiated by a Nigerian NGO, the Global Network for Environmental and Economic Development Research in conjunction with the Sustainable Ibadan Project (UN Habitat) and local community groups representing the abattoir workers. The biogas plant is being designed by a Thai technology research institute.

Since the partners' selection as a Seed Award winner, UNDP Nigeria and the Nigerian Federal Ministry for the Environment have become closely involved in the project. The Federal Ministry for the Environment has committed to providing full funding for the construction of the pilot plant in Ibadan and this is currently .

Highlights of Support Services

Seed Support has concentrated on two aspects: helping the programme with its business planning and creating opportunities and connections to assist with its development.

To this end, Seed Support engaged local experts to draw up the programme's business plan working closely with the partnership.

Seed Support also connected the programme with UNDP Nigeria who, seeing great synergies with their own programmes, became a partner in the venture. Through this connection, the Federal Ministry for the Environment has joined the partnership and is providing the funding for the biogas plant.

Seed Support has also sponsored the participation of the partnership at a number of major international conferences, to publicize the project and make useful connections.

Finally, Seed Support has provided some funding towards incorporating the partnership as a registered business in Nigeria, and on technical support.

Next Steps

The partnership has full funding to complete the pilot biogas plant and is already looking into options for building a second. They are confident that the plant will bring considerable benefits to the local community by improving sanitation and the disposal of abattoir waste and through the provision of cheaper household fuel.

Harvesting Seabuckthorn at the Top of the World, Nepal

Further information

An NGO, a hospital, and a Nepalese university have joined forces with local communities to grow and collect the Seabuckthorn berry, to research its medicinal and cosmetic purposes, and to sell Seabuckthorn products on national and international markets. In doing so, the partners hope to combat land degradation, protect biodiversity and secure income-generation for the local population in Mustang, Nepal.

Highlights of Support Services

Seed provided the partnership with an oil pressing machine and filter to extract high quality samples of oil with which to test the market. The partners have already begun to test it on last year’s seeds and are now awaiting this year’s harvest to begin production in earnest. Samples are being sent for testing and signs are good that the oil will be of exceptional quality to compete in international markets.

Seed Support also brought in a specialist trainer who spent three weeks training the gardeners at five nurseries in taking cuttings and sapling propagation. The partners hope that, if they can use these techniques successfully, they should be able to reduce the time it takes for Seabuckthorn bushes to mature from five to three years.

Next Steps

The project is progressing steadily, although an increase in political instability in Nepal over the past eighteen months has had an effect on the speed of development. The partnership has a number of excellent connections with potential international purchasers of Seabuckthorn products, and are already supplying products to a local hospital. The challenge is to scale up activity and create a sustainable supply chain to be able to service international markets.

Madagascar’s First Community-Run MPA, Madagascar

Further information

The partnership behind Madagascar’s first community-run MPA seeks to combat coral reef and marine life degradation in Andavadoaka, Madagascar, whilst sustaining the livelihood of the local fishing communities.

NGOs, research institutes, a fish export company, and local fishermen have come together to implement a regenerative no-take zone, to devise strategies for marine conservation, and to build the foundations for eco-tourism.

Highlights of Support Services

The programme has been incredibly successful, so much so that they are looking to scale up their activities around the region. For this, they require significant funding and this is the area where Seed Support has focussed most of its energies.

As well as assisting the programme with their applications on an ad hoc basis, Seed Support engaged an experienced fundraising consultant to work with the partners on their applications to a number of funding streams and international award schemes.

The partnership has enjoyed considerable success in a number of awards, including a Special Commendation in the 2005 Enterprising Young Brits competition and finalists in the both the Enterprising Solutions Award and the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards. However, none of these honours bring financial benefit and the programme is still awaiting news of a number of applications in the pipeline.

In addition, with Seed’s support, a socio-economic researcher conducted field research for three months in Madagascar on behalf of Blue Ventures conservation. She has created a socio-economic monitoring system designed to evaluate the impact of conservation measures on the local community and completed baseline measurements.

Next Steps

This programme is, and will continue to be a success, mainly due to the partners’ incredible personal commitment and energy. They have managed to achieve an enormous amount already with little funding. Their current programmes aim to scale up the MPA regionally and to create an eco-lodge to help diversify the local economy through tourism. There is no doubt that if they are able to get funding for these programmes, the impact on the region - and potentially through replication elsewhere - would be tremendous.

SRI Global Marketing Partnership, Cambodia, Madagascar and Sri Lanka

Further information

Farmer-based organizations in Cambodia, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, working with CIIFAD in the US, are combining their knowledge, experience and resources to collectively develop domestic and international markets for SRI (System of Rice Intensification) rice. In doing so, they aim to increase smallholder incomes, conserve rice biodiversity, promote human and environmental health, and empower rural households.

The System of Rice Intensification is an environmentally-friendly method for growing rice that reduces seed, water, and agrochemical input while increasing yield. The technique was first developed by farmers in Madagascar in the 1980s and is now used in 36 countries across the world.

Highlights of Support Services

Seed Support to the partners has focused on strengthening coordination at a global level to help develop links to international markets, and to a certain extent at the country level in terms of developing their supply chains.

An experienced management consultant worked with each of the country partners on the ground over a period of three months in 2005 to assess their needs and market readiness.

Seed Support provided financial assistantce and strategic planning support to the partnership’s global coordinator at CIIFAD. This has enabled the partners to bring in marketing and web designers to assist in the creation of an SRI branding image and website. They hope to develop this further once the supply chain is completed and they can begin international sales of rare varieties of rice. The partners have built up an excellent relationship with a speciality foods distributor in the United States and are currently exploring future possibilities for bringing SRI Rice to the Western market.

The programme has also been greatly assisted by Swiss Re (the sponsor of this Award) who have organized an SRI Rice day at their headquarters to help publicize SRI rice, as well as providing further direct financial support to the project.

Next Steps

The difficulties of breaking into Western markets are great. However, this programme already has many of the pieces in place in terms of a ready supply of rice and international market opportunities. An upcoming visit of the US speciality foods distributor to the partner in Madagascar may prove to be instrumental in taking this project forward.

 

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