Category Archives: Cornerstones

International Literacy Day: A Great Day to Read to Feed

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Heifer Honduras children studying English

Photo by Amy Davenport, courtesy of Heifer International

September 8 is International Literacy Day, and this year’s theme is Literacy and Peace.

From UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova:

Education brings sustainability to all the development goals, and literacy is the foundation of all learning. It provides individuals with the skills to understand the world and shape it, to participate in democratic processes and have a voice, and also to strengthen their cultural identity.

Literacy is an important part of the work we at Heifer International do in the field. Many of our project participants are illiterate when projects begin. Where illiteracy is widespread in project communities, we emphasize literacy trainings as part of the project design. A significant benefit of our work is families’ improved ability to send and keep their children in school, increasing literacy rates for the entire community.

Want to help Heifer International raise global literacy rates and improve literacy in your own home at the same time? Check out Read to Feed, our unique program that will get your kids reading and supporting Heifer in fun and exciting ways.

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World Humanitarian Day 2012 at Heifer International

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Today is World Humanitarian Day, and in honor of today, we at Heifer International celebrate the ordinary and extraordinary works of humanitarianism being conducted by its project participants, supporters and employees every day. With a mission to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth, Heifer thrives on the humanitarian spirit that is awakened with our Pass On the Gift concept.

Passing on the Gift Makes Everyone a Humanitarian

On Humanitarian Day, the world honors individuals who have shared their time and resources, and even braved danger and adversity, to help their fellow human beings. Heifer enables the poor and hungry to become humanitarians themselves with our model that capitalizes on the ability of livestock to reproduce. Each project participant passes on the gift of its animal’s first-born female offspring, along with training, to another family in the community.

Passing on the Gift in Nepal
Passing on the Gift ceremony in Nepal. Photo by Geoff Oliver Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International.

Donating Through Heifer Makes YOU a Humanitarian

Heifer also allows people who enjoy material security to become part of the humanitarian process when they donate an animal from Heifer’s catalog, and allows them to spread the joy of humanitarian action further by giving an animal gift in someone else’s honor.

Tanzanian Participant Jailed for Helping Community

In addition to its many humanitarian projects designed to bring families into self-reliance, Heifer International has seen remarkable examples of participants and workers who risk their own wellbeing to bring prosperity to others. For example, fish farmer Nicholas Mwakabelele was jailed for a period in Tanzania over his efforts to create fish hatcheries for his community. He took special time to help a blind man, Wailso Nzalayaluma, to create his own fish pond so that he would no longer have to beg for food.

Nicholas Mwakabelele in front of his tilapia pond.

Nicholas Mwakabelele in front of his tilapia pond. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

Heifer Cambodia Director Persevered to Become Humanitarian Leader

Heifer Cambodia Director Keo KeangHeifer Cambodia Country Director Keo Keang grew up under the Khmer Rouge regime, and her family struggled to send her to school without money for books, supplies and uniforms. She strived to become a leader and now works every day to bring basic resources to families, especially women, who are struggling to emerge from oppressive poverty.

Heifer Haiti Staff Aided Earthquake Victims

In the aftermath of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, Heifer employees who had seen damage to their own homes and families nonetheless worked tirelessly to help other distressed victims. As he worried about the fate of his missing sister, trapped under rubble for a week, Heifer employee Junior Lozama worked to aid other victims of the quake, thinking, “Maybe some stranger is helping my sister right now.”

It’s that spirit of generosity and common humanity that gives Heifer International hope that an end to hunger and poverty is truly possible. Heifer is proud to stand with the United Nations in its call for celebrants of World Humanitarian Day to help improve our world by doing something good for someone else.

World Humanitarian DayWhat Makes You a Humanitarian?

Tell us in the comments section below.

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Improved Stoves Empower Women

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Cooking smoke kills women

In many societies, women are in charge of cooking. Day after day, and often throughout their lives, women spend many hours in the kitchen, often near a fire. Smoke, which deposits soot in the lungs, is responsible for 511,000 of the 1.3 million annual deaths of women caused by obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the world.

Improved stoves bring many benefits

A mother and daughter using their improved stove in Peru (photo by Darcy Kiefel)

Building improved stoves in rural areas decreases the need for firewood and reduces pollution caused by smoke fumes. This has been proven to improve the health of women, prevent respiratory diseases and reduce deforestation. Additionally, the World Health Organization has developed an interesting analysis on the contribution of this technology toward the Millennium Development Goal of “promoting equality between the sexes and the empowerment of women.” Similarly, at Heifer Peru we asked the question:  “In Heifer Peru’s work, how has the strategy of building improved stoves improved gender relations and women’s empowerment?” 

Heifer Peru has been working in field of improved stoves for more than 15 years.  In 2008, a study was conducted to examine the impact of using improved stoves in our projects. A “Systemization of Experiences” was developed to document Heifer Peru’s extensive experience in various regions and in various contexts throughout the country.

Women must be the decision makers

At first, field visits revealed that very sophisticated and perfectly built kitchens in Heifer Projects were simply not being used. In households where the improved stoves were being used, it became clear that those households were where the women were originally consulted prior to constructing the new stoves.  They were consulted throughout the entire process:  Did they want a new kitchen?  Where did they want it built?  Were they willing to attend training to understand stove handling and maintenance?  Involving the women from start to finish was a key aspect to the success of the project.  The women felt valued to know that their voice and decision had been taken into account. For Heifer Peru, this helped confirm a key component: the active participation of women in decision-making.

Improved stoves give women more time outside the kitchen

Given the gender perspective, it was initially discussed and assumed that the presence of improved stoves would reinforce the unique role of women in the home and make the women more comfortable in their own kitchen. In the testimonies we captured, many women noted the value that the improved stove brought for them was that they were more comfortable in their kitchen, and that they could cook more quickly and more efficiently, which freed the women up for other activities in the home and for themselves.  The latter point was noted as being most significant:  The women had more time for themselves.  It allowed them to have more time to leave their home and participate in life – community and family activities. This last was an indirect effect and revealed that the new stoves addressed a strategic necessity for many women: their own time management.

Petronila Valdez and her daughter in their improved kitchen in Morropon, Piura.

The third aspect analyzed was the approach of the technical field work.  Having to construct the new and improved stoves meant that field technicians had to enter the homes of the women to determine dimensions and to build the stoves. Entering the home, a private space, for an extended period of time to construct the stoves offered the technician the opportunity to understand the sensitivities around gender and observe the real behaviors and exercises of power that occurred in the local rural households.  The technicians had to understand the complexity of gender relations within these rural families.  This approach facilitated the technicians and families learning from each other. After multiple visits and exchanges, the women’s behavior and activities began to slowly change. The women became more involved in project activities but also went through personal change, the family dynamics began to change and the women became more involved in social roles. This meant that the women were not just passive recipients, but active agents of change.  This dynamic resulted in women and their homes serving a public role in the community.

Using these reflections, we can recognize the relationship between improved stoves and women’s empowerment. Strategies and processes for women’s empowerment are not framed in a single space, or with a single player.  In this case, it involved not only women, but also other members in the home, and even the technical officer and the organization. The kitchen ceased to be perceived as the sole domain of women and became a place for family decision-making and empowerment.  Empowerment was one of the indirect results, though. Over time, there was a steady improvement of gender relations at home.  This allowed women to actively participate in the community and receive education and training on issues of leadership, citizenship and organizational development, all of which provided them a new level of empowerment beyond the domestic sphere.

With all these reflections, we are reminded of the real dimension of Heifer’s and Heifer Peru’s work.  Stoves were improved for better food and health, but the stoves were also used to develop our strategy to improve gender relations, family power dynamics and the position of women to facilitate their active participation in family and communal decision making.

Improved stoves must be incorporated into healthy home and healthy family strategies

There were areas where the presence of new, improved stoves did not have the same impact – mostly where women were not part of the decision making and design. It was often the case that when the men of the community were the primary participants involved in the project, arguing that success for the project was the actual construction of the stoves, the masonry work, and the number of stoves built without seeing the profound impact that the stove’s footprint could have in changing attitudes and family values, especially for women. From this we were convinced that to achieve the most effective impact, the strategy of using improved stoves should be integrated into a larger strategy of healthy housing. This would create improvements in the rest of their home environment (cleanliness and order) but above all, the improved gender relations within the home and among the family fosters a healthy family.

Heifer invests in women

It is important to recognize that gender equity is embedded in every activity and component of our work, and its presence will typically determine the success of a project.  Initially, with the improved stoves projects, we did not have the explicit intention of generating changes in the lives of women.  We must continue to seek to alleviate the heavy workload of women in the home and consider how much better off we and the women are when they are fully participating, fully informed and recognize their capacity to decide, enabling the development of further participation for them outside the home.

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Investment in Women Farmers IS Priority for Heifer

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I recently read an article from the World Watch Institute that said there are “low investments in women farmers, despite their important contributions to global food security.”

Dharam Shila Panday is member of Lakshmi Women'€™s group.

Photograph by Geoff Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International

I’m familiar with the general facts –

Women have limited access to land.

Women have limited access to credit.

Women have limited access to education.

And yet, “[women] produce as much as 50 percent of the agricultural output,” according to World Watch Institute.

Heifer has continually recognized the importance of empowering women, especially women working in agriculture. In a previous post, The Role of Social Capital in Heifer’s Work, I mentioned Heifer’s Theory of Change, which is a process that Heifer developed to support families and individuals move from vulnerability to sustainability.

A Nepal project participant shares her story.

Photograph by Geoff Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International

Our Theory of Change recognizes that in order for women farmers to fully maximize their capacity to feed the world, we need to ensure that we provide them with opportunities to empower them. Women need access to and control over their income and assets, they need to participate in the decision making at household and community levels (this is one of our 12 Cornerstones), and they need to hold roles of leadership.

To achieve these objectives, Heifer has developed measures implemented in ALL of our projects.

But it isn’t just about saying what we are going to do; it’s about seeing that work in action. In Nepal, the Women Group Coordination Committee (WGCC) is an organization that has been working with Heifer. In 1993, before the WGCC was formed, 25 women came together and approached a bank for a loan. Not surprisingly, they were denied. These women had the desire and the drive, but they lacked support. Through connections, they were introduced to Heifer. Fast forward, and the WGCC established themself as a non-governmental organization and serve as an implementing project

Documenting project progress.

Photograph by Geoff Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International

partner with Heifer. To date, WGCC has helped implement more than eight projects and assisted more than 7,000 families and continues to play a key role in Heifer’s work. These advances have been possible because we are working with incredibly energetic women (and men) and because we have developed monitoring and measuring tools that open a pathway for women project participants to make decisions and define the outcomes they want for themselves and their families.

I met with many women during my last trip to Nepal and spoke about empowering women from within in a previous blog post. These women are incredible, and they understand how they are capable of transformation. It is my conversations with these women that have helped Heifer use our model to increase our impact, which you can read about in Heifer Nepal: How Far Can We Go to End Hunger and Poverty.

Heifer International's CEO Pierre Ferrari listens to a group meeting of the Pooja women's group.

Photography by Geoff Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International

There is still much work to be done, but as I read this article from World Watch Institute, I know that Heifer is making the investment – with excellent results.

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Heifer Cornerstones for All Ages in Vietnam

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Children Learn Cornerstones in Vietnam

Children learn Cornerstones in Vietnam

Story and photos by: Phan Nguyen Khanh Trang, Program Officer, Heifer Vietnam

Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development are the key values and principles of Heifer’s work to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers and build communities holistically. Over the past few years, the Cornerstones have been the compass that guides project activities to achieve the greatest possible impact.

On July 22, Heifer Vietnam and its project partners held a Cornerstones introduction in Vietnam’s Tan Long village, Vinh Long province. The audience consisted of children ages 4-12, who attend local primary and secondary schools. “Our children enjoy learning about the 12 Cornerstones,” said course instructor Mr. Hai. “This is a useful activity for the children, especially during the summer.”

At 90 minutes, the introduction was brief enough for the children to understand the Cornerstones. They learned how to practice and apply the values in their everyday lives. Specifically, they were taught that they can study hard, assist their parents with chores, help friends in need and contribute to keeping their homes and environment clean.

The training included many games, giving the children an opportunity to play and practice the Cornerstones. They enjoyed drawing and coloring, solving jigsaw puzzles, and question and answer sessions. “I love the puzzle game,” said Chi, a student. “This is the first time I’ve played it. I will improve the environment by sweeping our house and growing more flowers regularly.”

The children’s eyes shined with eagerness when they talked about their plans. Seven-year-old Cuong said, “I would like to be a good person. I’ll help elder people cross the street and give my friends a lift when they have to walk to school.” Twelve-year-old Dinh Phat Loc added, “I would like to become a doctor to help cure as many sick people as possible.”

Tuyet Nga, the father of a project participant, used to think the 12 Cornerstones were reserved for project members. “Now I know that the 12 Cornerstones are applicable and practical for people of all ages,” he said. “Thank you, Heifer, for caring not only for our physical lives, but our spiritual lives, as well. I hope Heifer will have more meaningful activities for us in the future.”

 

 

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Nutrition and Hygiene Training in India

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In order to complete Cornerstone Training, groups involved with Heifer International must first receive several mandatory trainings. India’s office has recently added “Nutrition and Hygiene Training” to its existing set, and luckily for me it was debuted during my field visit.

Avni Malhotra, India’s Country Director, visited a women’s group in the state of Bihar. They talked about water safety and discussed techniques for washing foods and utensils hygienically. The class was a success and everyone had a good time. I probably had the best time of all, so much so in fact, that I was too busy to get photos of the finished product: the amazing home-cooked meal!

Nutrition and Hygene Training 1 from Maggie Carroll on Vimeo.

 

 

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The Role of Social Capital in Heifer’s Work

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This past week I traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development’s (AIARD) Annual Conference. The theme for the 2012 conference was “Priorities for Inclusive Agricultural and Rural Development.”

I was asked to serve as a panelist and was delighted to contribute my thoughts and provide examples of the progress Heifer has made on this topic.  As I prepared my speech, I began to think about what information I wanted to share. I decided to focus on the importance of developing social capital for the poorest communities.

So, what does this mean, and how is Heifer incorporating it into our work?

Community meeting in India

Sumitra Devi, 28 years old, talks during a meeting of community members on Thursday March 10, 2011 at the Koirganwa village in India. Photo by Russell Powell, Courtesy of Heifer International

The World Bank defines social capital as “institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions.” Through the impact of social capital, Heifer project participants are able to have sustainable development and prosper economically.

Social capital is an important aspect of Heifer’s Theory of Change, which is that the most vulnerable smallholder farmers, including women, can produce adequate food and surplus to feed their families, communities and the world, if their capacity is enhanced with the right inputs. Through social capital, Heifer project participants are able to organize and strengthen their existing groups/co-ops/alliances and enhance their values through Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones. Social capital builds trust and hope and brings communities together. It connects similar people and then helps them understand and connect with other diverse groups.

So how does Heifer measure this in our projects? Our project indicators provide information on two types of social capital – structural and cognitive. Structural social capital  is the composition and practice of formal and informal local-level institutions that serve as instruments of community development. Measuring structural social capital involves evaluating how effective these institutions are at helping communities make the changes they desire to improve their lives. Cognitive social capital includes shared norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs that predispose people toward mutually beneficial, collective action. Cognitive social capital is specifically measured through participants’ perception.

Within the our projects, social capital can be seen by participants’ participation in the community organizations and networks (formal and informal) and their inclusion of diverse groups and access to services. It is also evident through commitment to Passing on the Gift and Sharing and Caring – two of our Cornerstones.

To help and engage the poorest communities, we need to develop social capital, beginning where they are along the development spectrum. It’s not crazy science – it is a demonstration of the connection humans need with each other.

Heifer has always been about working together and incorporating the values of a community. This is what has made us successful in the past and what will allow us to help even more families.

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Heifer Inspires Traditional Symbol of Happiness in India

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By Avni Malhotra, Country Director, Heifer India

Courtesy of Heifer International

A rangoli is a colorful geometric pattern made inside the front door of a house to symbolize happiness in Indian culture. In the southern part of India, rangolis are made with white chalk powder every morning at dawn in front of every home. The only time they are not made is during periods of mourning. On special days, like festivals and weddings, rangolis are larger and more colorful.

On my recent trip to Odisha (Orissa), there was a very large and colorful rangoli at the meeting place where I was greeted by the villagers. There were grains of rice and a pot decorated with mango leaves and flowers in the center of the rangoli. It was circular, with 12 points on the outside of the circle. The women of the village introduced themselves,

Courtesy of Heifer International

and then some of the women shared Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. Each woman who shared stood and lit a small lamp to symbolize the Cornerstone and placed it at one of the 12 points.

To me, this symbolized that they value the Cornerstones, and that like the rangoli, they have become an intricate part of their lives.

 

 

 

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In India, a Mother and Daughter Learn Mutual Respect

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Story and photos by Katya Cengel

Suman Kumari was in 5th grade when her parents pulled her out of school. Her father told her she had studied enough for this lifetime.

Moti Meena, right, and her eldest daughter, Suman Kumari, in their home.

“At rebirth from the womb of some other mother, then you can study whatever you want, or to whatever standard [grade] you want,” Laxman Meena told his eldest daughter.

Suman’s mother didn’t argue. She never went to school and cannot read or write. Like her husband, Moti Meena felt it was not important for their daughters to be educated.

Then, three years ago, Moti sent Suman back to school, telling her to study hard so she could help Moti with the family’s finances. Suman adjusted well despite having been out of the classroom for four years. She is now 17 years old and in the 8th grade. Her mother relies on her to read road signs when they travel. Moti herself can now sign her name, but it was not her daughter who taught her this skill, it was the women in her self-help group. The group has transformed Moti’s future and just as importantly the future of her daughter Suman.

Female-centered self-help groups are the basis of Heifer International’s work in India, said Abhinav Gaurav, technical liaison officer for Heifer India.

“The idea is to better the situation for women in a country that does not value them in the same way it values males,” Gaurav said.

Groups of 20 to 25 women meet once or twice a month and are offered various social, educational and economic trainings in addition to a savings and loan program and the support of their peers. While Heifer does supply goats in the region, Gaurav said that development here is not so much about livestock distribution as “transforming people and producing a deeper level impact.”

Moti’s family lives in a one-room thatch-sided home with a dirt floor in the hamlet of Moradi, where Heifer has been working since 2009. Of the 25 families in the settlement, 10 are associated with Heifer. In three years she has become more accepting of the different castes and tribes that populate the region and has saved 3,500 rupees ($70), which she plans to put toward replacing her home’s walls with concrete. Although she cannot remove her savings until she leaves the group, a condition that enables the group to lend money, she can borrow money at low interest rates. It was Heifer’s training on gender issues that convinced Moti and Laxman to put Suman back in school.

“After we received the gender training the whole community put pressure on us to put our daughter back in school,” Laxman said.

Both Laxman and Moti now want their eldest daughter to complete 10th grade. Moti already believes that her daughter is more knowledgeable than she was at her age. But despite all she has learned, Suman remains impressed with her mother’s wisdom.

“I see mother as a role model nowadays because she has gained knowledge and skills,” Suman said. “I want to be like her.”

Moti Meena in her kitchen.

This Mother’s Day, celebrate your mom by helping provide for another mother in need.

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Thrift Ensures Security in Honduras

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Following a recent Heifer Study Tour to Honduras, Virginia Tech students were given an assignment: Choose one photograph from the trip and explain why you chose it and which of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development it embodies. Over the course of this week, we’ll share these images and words to give you a look at how much of an impact seeing Heifer’s work in the field can have. Read other posts in the series here.

Thrift ensures security

Nate Foust-Meyer, Crops, Soils & Environmental Sciences, VA Tech: The difference between ingenuity and necessity became blurry during my time in Honduras. The bio-digester we helped install was built gracefully. Pieced together with old tires, pvc , plastic sleeves, and a coke bottle it was effective, rustic and beautiful. It was seldom clean cut, but always worked and always used materials efficiently. In this image a heifer is feeding on corn stalks. The red apparatus in front of it is used to remove the outer fruit from the coffee beans. Since the picture was taken in March, the end of the coffee season and therefore the time when income begins to shrink, families whose only source of income or sustenance is coffee will likely begin to grow hungry–but others, like the one that this cow belongs to will do better. The education, training, and sense of empowerment that comes with a heifer project also brings a sense of security; knowing that their food is available and not unaffordable  has freed the people in this community from the bondage of worry and fear. The sense of constant thrift and inventiveness is necessary to the people of rural Honduras. They use the supplies they have to feed those they love as best they can. It is their thrift that ensures their security.

Food Sovereignty on Horseback

Rial Tombes, Enviromental Policy & Planning, VA Tech: This picture was taken on the first day that we arrived in Trinidad de Copan. It was Tuesday evening, around 5:00, and one of the first things we did was walk down the dirt road from our hostel to visit the town boot maker. The Boot shop was small. A few people in our group decided to buy a pair. Those not getting their feet sized were milling around outside. It started to drizzle. We were still getting used to our surroundings and because of that felt like it was ok to look over walls into people’s backyard and look at their chickens, goats, pigs, etc.

In the distance, the group started to see a man riding down the road atop his horse carrying a bundle of corn. I can only imagine that he was on his way home from a long day of work in the fields. This man provided us all with a reminder that we were in Honduras, where having goats in your backyard, riding to and from work on horseback, and waking up to the crowing of multiple town rooster was normal. After our long journey from Tegucigalpa to Trinidad, it was this moment where I understood that I was not in Virginia anymore. I believe the CAFS cornerstone, Food Security and Food Sovereignty is showcased beautifully in this picture. This man is living his life with the hope of providing for his family and contributing to a strong local economy. Also the Heifer cornerstone, Sustainability and Self Reliance, is represented here because somebody had to harvest to corn and bring it to market or to the family table.

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