National Office Blog

Summer 2009 Projects

Hey everyone!

We’re happy to announce our partner organizations for the summer of 2009!  Below you can find information about each of our partners, the projects we’re supporting, and which Nourish Chapters are involved with each.  Also, if you feel so inclined, you can click here to donate directly to a Nourish Project.  And now, without any further ado:

Partner: Kigezi Community Project
Project: Cycle for Health Initiative
Chapter(s): Boston College

The Kigezi Community Project works in Kabale, Uganda, a region where hilly terrain, a lack of paved roads, and an inability to access motorized transportation make it difficult to mobilize people, goods, and basic resources.  The Cycle for Health Initiative addresses this problem by working with community health care organizations to effectively distribute donated bicycles and train employees in their maintenance to increase access to health care.

Partner: African Sky
Project: Organic Cotton Scrub Tailor Shops
Chapter(s): Emory University

African Sky is a community development organization that works with individuals and communities in Mali to confront the devastating effects of endemic poverty and inequality.  Emory University will be working to support the Organic Cotton Scrub Tailor Shops project, which facilitates local tailor shops in creating organic cotton scrubs.  The sale of refined products (scrubs) rather than raw materials provides farmers and tailors with a direct revenue stream and fair wages.

Partner: Seva Mandir
Project: Community Leadership Program
Chapter(s): UNC-Chapel Hill

Seva Mandir is an organization working for the development of the rural and tribal populations in India. Nourish students will document the formation of Seva Mandir’s community leadership program for women in Udaipur, Rajastan.  This program is intended to empower women as they help their communities to improve linkages to their local governments and to strengthen their political voice.

Partner: Talamancan Association of Ecotourism and Conservation (ATEC)
Project: Rebuilding Yorkin
Chapter(s): University of Georgia

ATEC works to promote culturally and ecologically sound tourism, small-scale locally-owned businesses, and to stimulate conservation through education.  The University of Georgia is partnering with ATEC to support rebuilding efforts focused on improving water sanitation and rebuilding infrastructure following the devastating effects of recent flooding in Talamancan, Costa Rica.

Partner: Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), University del Valle of Guatemala Chapter
Project: IMAGINA (Incorporating Women to Generate Income Through New Action)
Chapter(s): University of Texas at Austin & University of California at Los Angeles

The University del Valle of Guatemala chapter of SIFE seeks to give women who are "economically inactive" a chance to contribute to their family income.  The IMAGINA project works to give women the sales, marketing and financial skills necessary to sell a product and manage their revenues.  20 women are currently producing disinfectants and shampoos in the communities in which Nourish will be working, and there are plans for expansion into neighboring communities.

Partner: Triple Salto
Project: Organic Urban Agriculture
Chapter(s): University of California at Davis, Washington University at St. Louis, North Carolina State University, University of Virginia, American University, Wesley College, Stanford University

Triple Salto is an organization that works to promote the triple bottom line in the private and public sectors.  Nourish chapters are supporting the Organic Urban Agriculture project, a joint venture involving  public and private sector organizations that seeks to battle poverty through the construction of greenhouses, building capacity in community members, and the creation of a microbusiness incubator.

Partner: Mobilizing Opportunities through Community Heritage Empowerment (MOCHE)
Project: Health and Sanitation Campaign
Chapter(s): UNC-Chapel Hill

UNC-Chapel Hill is partnering for a second consecutive summer with MOCHE, and organization which is dedicated to protecting, teaching, and studying the rich cultural heritage of Peru by creating partnerships with rural communities.  Students will be initiating a Health and Sanitation campaign, which will consist of a latrine construction project and a health assessment to prepare for the construction of a free clinic in the summer of 2010.

Partner: Fundación para la Investigación Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras (FIPAH)
Project: Youth Engagement
Chapter(s): UNC-Chapel Hill

Nourish will work for a second summer with FIPAH, a foundation that cultivates and supports a network of farmer cooperatives in some of the most marginalized regions of Honduras.  Nourish students will work with FIPAH’s youth engagement program and create a video documentary that captures FIPAH's unique model of food security.

Update: New Partners!

Partner: Global Gallery
Project: Bolivia Orphanage Project
Chapter(s): Ohio State University & University of California at Berkeley

Ohio State University and the University of California at Berkeley are teaming up to support the Bolivia Orphanage Project in Bolivia this summer. Working with Global Gallery, this project will help construct a large scale orphanage, which will create safe living conditions for 2 families, including 12-20 children.  In the future, this orphanage will be expanded to incorporate 8 families and 60-100 children, along with job training facilities, community development space, gardens and living quarters.

Project Cancellation:

Unfortunately our projects in Mexico will no longer be happening due to recent increases potential health risks in Mexico.  We wish our partners in Mexico the best of luck during this time, and hope to have the chance to work with them next summer.  Below is a description of the project.

Partner: Fundación Comunitaria del Bajío (FCB)
Project:  Arts and Culture Training Center
Chapter(s): Duke University & Yale University

FCB is a Mexican non-profit which works to help create local opportunities in communities with high migration rates to the United States.  Duke and Yale Universities are teaming up to work with FCB to support the Arts and Culture Training Center project in Mineral de Pozos.  Mineral de Pozos is dealing with rapid foreign investment and immigration as the town has become popular to artists and photographers.  This project will build an Arts and Cultural Center in the town to provide integrated training for local residents to enable them to both promote the area as a cultural tourism destination as well as to benefit from the tourism development that is occurring.

Click here to donate directly to a Nourish Project

Logan Couce is the Chapter Coordinator for Nourish International.