Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Sep05

Nourishing the Planet TV: Aqua Shops

In this week’s episode, Nourishing the Planet discusses FARM-Africa’s aquacultural initiative in western Kenya, which has established an Aqua Shop franchise that provides farmers with technical advice about aquaculture practices and give them the necessary materials to set up and maintain healthy fish ponds.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOR8RJC9BSk&feature=plcp

To purchase your own copy of State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet, please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Development, Diet, Education, Environment, Farmers, Fish, Food, Income, Nourishing the Planet TV, Sustainable, Water

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug31

Challenges Exist Using Video to Spread Farmer Knowledge

Pin It

By Angela Kim

By the end of 2011, there were 6 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions in the world. Most of this growth was driven by developing countries, which accounted for 80 percent of new mobile-cellular subscriptions. Although this rapid expansion of technology has created advantages for rural farmers, including linking farmers to markets, improving transportation logistics, and greater access to videos via cellular devices, substantial challenges still exist in the use of video to teach and learn sustainable agricultural practices.

Videos can be used as a teaching method to share experiences in sustainable farming. (Photo credit: Naimul Haq/IPS)

Video has become an alternative medium for helping farmers learn to integrate crop and pest management. Instructional videos can overcome the problem of illiteracy among rural farmers—according to United Nations data, approximately 80 percent of those living in developing countries can’t read. Women in rural farming communities, in particular, who more often lack access to education, land, and capital, have benefited from video-based training, which has helped them to become rural entrepreneurs.

Despite several benefits of using videos to spread farmer knowledge, the quality of content has a major influence on farmers’ interest in participating. Digital Green, an India-based project that uses video to advance existing agricultural extension systems, has demonstrated that videos of classroom-style lectures were perceived by farmers to be monotonous. Instead, they like more intimate, diversified-content types that include concrete demonstrations, testimonials, and even entertainment. And according to Digital Green, the degree to which farmers trust the content of a video depends on the language, clothing, and mannerisms featured in the film. Farmers involved with Digital Green were more inclined to trust information in videos that featured their neighbors than those which featured government experts.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Culture, Development, Economy, Education, Food, Income, Innovation, Local, Media, Poverty, Training, Videos, Women

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug26

In Case You Missed It: This Week in Review

Pin It

In just over a month, the Women’s Congress for Future Generations will convene in Moab, Utah. From September 27 to 30, the Congress will engage in meaningful, productive conversations about the challenges facing current and future generations. The Congress is actively seeking women of all ages, cultures, colors, and backgrounds to attend. Click here to learn more and register.

Photo Credit: Bernard Pollack

This week, we interview Patrick Odoyo, Program Coordinator at the Dago Dala Hera Orphanage of Kenya. Odoyo discusses what it is like to provide education, skills training, and room and board for children affected with HIV/AIDS, and the benefits of teaching sustainable farming to children. And in our innovation of the week post, we discuss Scale up Nutrition (SUN), a United Nations program working to meet the Millennium Development Goals concerning poverty and malnutrition. SUN helps various organizations coordinate efforts to combat malnutrition in women and children—particularly malnutrition in children under two years old—by helping to maximize efficiency.

Our Citywatch post examines the drought currently affecting the American Midwest, and how government departments could avoid future devastation caused by climatic variation. In the post, guest blogger Wayne Roberts writes, “It’s almost impossible to think of a crisis of the scope of this year’s worldwide drought, which arises from such predictable factors, yet has been subject to so little oversight or preparation by public authorities.”

We highlight First Peoples Worldwide, an Indigenous-led advocacy organization that recently surpassed the milestone of awarding US$1 million in grants to Indigenous communities. The grants awarded by FPW have funded innovative projects in countries like Botswana, Bolivia, Ghana, and Sri Lanka, and have focused on topics as diverse as land reclamation, water development, and traditional medicine. Click here to learn more about First Peoples Worldwide.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Drought, Education, Food, Sustainable, Women

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug24

Innovations to Make School Food Healthier in London

Pin It

Check out our latest op-ed published in the London Free Press of Ontario, Canada. The op-ed discusses school food programs in the area that are helping to improve child health and nutrition.

Unequal access to healthy foods is a serious issue in London—obesity disproportionately impacts poor families who can afford only cheap, processed foods. Thankfully, a number of organizations, like London Food Bank and Community Harvest Ontario, are helping low-income children gain access to healthy foods.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Children, Culture, Diet, disease, Education, Food, Health, Nourishing the Planet in the News, School, Sustainable, Youth

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug24

A Home of Love: An Interview with Patrick Odoyo

Pin It

By Ronica Lu

Organic farming work being done on the Dago Dala Hera orphanage property.
(Photo Credit: Patrick Odoyo)

Name: Patrick Odoyo

Affiliation: Program Coordinator, Dago Dala Hera Orphanage of Kenya

Biography: Patrick Odoyo is the program director and coordinator for Dago Dala Hera Orphanage in Dago Kaminasuo, Kenya, a children’s center and home offering the services of education, skills training, and room and board for children affected with HIV/AIDS. He is also a guest lecturer on African studies and his life experiences at the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and the University of Michigan.

What are the day-to-day operations like at Dago Dala Hera?

There are 114 children who attend the day school at the orphanage and 36 girls who permanently reside there during the day and night. The day is a mixture of residential activities centered on the main component of education and schooling for the children.

How successful have your fundraising events in the U.S. been?

Fundraising in the U.S. has been difficult but we have been active in organizing church meetings and creative fundraisers. Due to donor fatigue and the fact that we are not yet a 501k organization, it has been difficult to get people to donate. But our soccer tournament has been very successful—it started in 2008 from the planning efforts of village volunteers. The annual Kick it with Kenya soccer tournament held in rural villages all across Western Kenya, brings vital public health education on HIV/AIDS to its youth, and earns proceeds that benefit the orphanage operations.

How does intensive organic farming benefit the Dago Dala Hera?

Through organic farming we teach ways in which students can be self-sustaining. Planting Moringa trees benefits residents because the trees provide immense medicinal and nutritional value in addition to water purification properties the seeds provide. Our vegetable nurseries provide nutrition and nourishment while at the same time saving the residents money. Instead of buying produce from vendors or the market, residents of the orphanage can grow them out of their small garden, sell the excess, and make money at the same time. The money is also used to pay for their schooling beyond the 8^th grade, which comes at a fee for children in Kenya.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Education, Farmers, Food, Kenya, organic, Poverty, Soil

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug23

Register for the Women’s Congress for Future Generations!

Pin It

By Ioulia Fenton

The Women’s Congress for Future Generations (WCFFG) will convene in Moab, Utah on September 27 to 30, 2012. The objective: to make a united stand for future generations. “We seek solidarity with those working for environmental justice, for Climate Justice, for indigenous sovereignty, for the health of women and children, and with those living on the frontlines of the struggle against industrial pollution and climate change,” according to the WCFFG.

The Women’s Congress for Future Generations will convene in Moab, Utah September 27-30, 2012 (Photo Credit: WCFFG)

The Congress is actively seeking women participants of all ages, cultures, colors, and backgrounds. While recognizing the centrality of women as life givers and caretakers to the environmental movement, the congress is also pursuing the input and guidance of men. “Men too have great responsibilities in this journey of protecting the Earth and we invite them to partner with us at this Congress in an unusual way, as Sacred Witnesses. With men acting as sacred partners and observers, they will have a rare opportunity to serve the common good by bearing witness to women fulfilling their responsibilities to Future Generations,” say the organizers.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Climate Change, Culture, Education, Environment, Hunger, Uncategorized, Women

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug21

The Hunger Shames: Schools Can Set Children on Lifetime Path of Healthy Eating

Pin It

Check out our latest op-ed about school meals and student health, published in The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Indiana gets a bad grade for childhood obesity and malnutrition. In 2011, 15 percent of Indiana high school students were considered obese, meaning their body mass index was at or above the 95th percentile. Fortunately, schools can play a key role to reverse this trend and reinforce healthy eating behaviors. By emphasizing hands-on nutrition education, such as school garden projects and classroom cooking demonstrations, and by providing fresh, local fruits and vegetables in cafeterias, schools can encourage students to improve their diets.

Read the full article here.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Children, Culture, Diet, Disease Prevention, Education, Food, Health, Nourishing the Planet in the News, Nutrition, Press, School, Sustainable, Youth

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug21

Five food guides that are combating malnourishment

Pin It

By Jenna Banning

If you are what you eat, our world is certainly unhealthy. People across the globe are not getting the nutrients that they need, resulting in high levels of both hunger and obesity. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 925 million people were undernourished in 2010. At the same time, the World Health Organization estimates that over 1 billion people are overweight, and at least 300 million obese. (Such estimates are based on Body Mass Index measurements, which compare one’s height and weight. Individuals with BMI’s over 25 are considered overweight, and over 30 are obese).

Eating a healthy, balanced diet can prevent obesity and malnutrition (Photo Credit: Carol Lee)

In order to tackle this issue, food pyramids and other guides have been used by organizations and governments to suggest better nutrition for the needs of their populations for many years. Today, Nourishing the Planet shares visual food guides from five countries (and one organization) being used across the world.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Diet, disease, Education, Food, Hunger, Nutrition

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug20

At Back-to-School Time, Let’s Press for Healthy Eating

Pin It

Check out our latest op-ed about improving school meals and students’ eating habits, published in The Montreal Gazette. The Gazette is the largest English language daily in the province of Quebec, and has a weekly print circulation of 1,094,653.

It’s almost time for kids to go back to school. But for many children in Montreal, this means a return to unhealthy school lunches that jeopardize their health and well-being. Schools can play a key role in reversing this trend and reinforcing healthy eating behaviors.

Read the full article here.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Children, Culture, Diet, Disease Prevention, Education, Food, Health, Infrastructure, Nourishing the Planet in the News, Nutrition, Press, School, Youth

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

Aug15

New Evidence Shows That School Food Policy Matters When It Comes to Kids’ Health

Pin It

By Ioulia Fenton

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. According to the 2011 F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens Americas’ Future report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Trust for America’s Health, nearly one-third of all American kids ages 10 to 17 are either obese or overweight. This puts them at risk of more than 20 major diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Typical competitive foods available in schools include highly processed snacks and drinks (Photo Credit: Health.com)

One proposed way of dealing with this phenomenon is through state and national level legislation to regulate the type of foods available at schools. This is done in two ways. The first is to set nutritional standards for school meals provided free of charge or at reduced prices by the government. The other is to also set standards for and limit the availability of competitive foods—foods sold outside of federal meal programs, such as snacks and soft drinks.

(more…)

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Children, Diet, Education, Nutrition, Policy, Research, School, Youth

0 Comments

Keep Reading →

← Previous Next →