Viewpoint Photo: Fiji
By Maggie Farrand
Seen here: A group of men transport ripe pineapples to their village. As part of the Regional Nutrition Action project, the Foundation for the South Pacific (FSP) worked alongside villages to increase their agricultural production in order to provide easily accessible, nutritious food.
In the 1970s, the Regional Nutrition Action project increased the availability of and access to nutritious food throughout the Namosi village of Fiji and introduce innovative community development activities.
Counterpart International, then the Foundation for the South Pacific (FSP), began its work in Fiji in the 1960s with a farming co-op and village remodeling project. For the next 30 years, FSP would continue working in Fiji, focusing on nutrition programs that brought new and improved fishing techniques, education about proper nutrition practices and practical ways to alleviate malnourishment among pregnant women.
The Regional Nutrition Action project, a 5 year program, worked closely with the Fiji Department of Health to initiate widespread education campaigns and provide nutritious food to mothers and their children. FSP designed a Nutrition Newsletter, targeting medical personnel, social workers and civil servants, on proper nutrition and health practices. The project also introduced community development activities to promote local businesses and income-generation for the villagers.
Learn more about our history on our website.
*This photograph is part of a series on Counterpart's blog called Viewpoint Photos. Each Viewpoint post highlights Counterpart's work in a country through the use of a single still image.
October 1st, 2010 | Tags: agriculture, Fiji, FSP, nutrition, pineapple, Regional Nutrition Action Project, Viewpoint | Category: Viewpoint | Leave a comment
Viewpoint Photo: Ethiopia
By Maggie Farrand
Seen here: a young boy returns from a fishing trip in southwestern Ethiopia.
Counterpart International’s Ethiopian Sustainable Tourism Alliance enhances environmental protection and economic development through the development of sustainable tourism.
Alternative livelihoods
In the rural areas of southern Ethiopia, Counterpart addresses growing environmental degradation and natural resource depletion.
For these communities, the main form of livelihood generation is agriculture based, dominated by rain fed crops, livestock rearing and fishing. However, unlimited access to resources such as fish, forests and community land has caused serious and rapid depletion. These challenges, combined with periods of untimely rainfall, have increased crop failure and created a growing trend toward poverty.
Sustainability
Our initiatives engage resource users – including fishermen, farmers and pastoralists, and the tourism industry – in identifying market-led conservation strategies and alternative livelihoods in an effort to reduce pressure on natural resources and support a developing tourism industry.
Engaged communities take on a sense of ownership, leading to an empowered constituency that can advocate for resource management and build sustainable livelihoods that contribute greatly to the national economy.
Read more about the Ethiopian Sustainable Tourism Alliance on our website.
*This marks the beginning of a new series on Counterpart’s blog called Viewpoint Photos. Each Viewpoint post will highlight Counterpart’s work in a country through the use of a single still image.
April 28th, 2010 | Tags: degradation, environment, Ethiopia, farmers, fishermen | Category: Viewpoint | Leave a comment
