Now available for download: CATP Newsletter - Green Harvest Posted on : January 2009 The Community Agricultural Technology Program (CATP) transfers agriculture technology and knowledge from university research centers to indigenous farmer groups in order to improve their productivity, farm income and overall economic well-being. Technical assistance is transferred through trainings, seminars and workshops on topics such as forage management and feed production, soil sampling, corn research, cattle fattening and parasite control. A crucial component of the technology transfer process is the exchange visits among farmers from different villages in the project area. The visits facilitate the exchange of ideas, skills and technical know-how between farmers, encouraging them to work on improving agricultural practices by adopting technologies best suited to meet local needs and conditions and which require minimal capital expenditure. Learn more about the CATP program or download the Green Harvest newsletter. Click the image to view / download the e-copy of the CATP Newsletter - Green Harvest) - (Adobe PDF file: 2.74 MB)

Now available for download: September 2008 International Sharing Posted on : October 2008 Pastoralist Education Project Continues to Spur Enrollment Across the northern stretches of Kenya, from the border of Uganda to the south of Ethiopia, pastoralists move their livestock and camels in a continuous, year-round search for water and grazing lands. Formal models of education are incompatible with their nomadic lifestyle and, unsurprisingly, school enrollment is extremely low. In Kenya and Ethiopia, the national gross enrollment rates are 91% and 90%, respectively, compared to 40% and 35% in pastoralist communities. IIRR is helping to address this educational enrollment gap through its Pastoralist Education Program (PEP). PEP facilitates the enrollment of pastoralist children and adult learners in "learning centers" or non-formal schools in what has become a successful cross-border learning endeavor in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Read more this article in the September 2008 International Sharing newsletter

New IIRR Publications Posted on : July 2008 IIRR is pleased to announce the availability of two new publications. Trading up: Building cooperation between farmers and traders in Africa This book is jointly published by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and IIRR. KIT will be handling orders for the book from Europe and North America. Price: Africa: € 12 (Africa)/Kshs 1200 Asia: € 17adation. Europe: € 25 North America: $ 40 Click here for the book’s information on KIT’s website Click here for the book’s information on the IIRR online bookstore Bio-intensive Approach to Small-scale Household Food Production,3rd re-print This is the 3rd re-print of the original information kit titled Bio-intensive Approach to Family Food Gardens printed in 1993 and 1998. It presents low-cost strategies for small-scale household gardening which aims to improve the nutritional status of rural and peri-urban households, as well as supplementing their income through the sale of vegetables. The kit focuses on both humid and semi-arid tropical conditions. The 3rd re-print (hard bound) is available for sale in the Philippines at Php 500.00. It will be made available at the IIRR Online Bookstore soon. Visit the IIRR online bookstore to view other IIRR publications

Report about IIRR Program in the Philippines Awarded at Columbia University's 2008 Commencement Rites Posted on : June 2008 Since 2001, IIRR has been implementing its Building Initiatives for Community Opportunities and Livelihood (BICOL) Program in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. Through this program, IIRR utilizes a participatory community-based integrated watershed management (CBIWM) approach to combat poverty and environmental degradation. Between November 2007 and April 2008, a team of five graduate students of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) conducted a participatory and consultative evaluation of the BICOL Program’s activities in two of the three watersheds where IIRR works. Located in Mt. Masaraga- Quinale A and Lagonoy watersheds, the specific project evaluated is entitled "Institutionalizing Community- Based Integrated Watershed Management Within Local Government Units in the Bicol Region, Philippines: Scaling Up and Sustaining Capacity-Building Outcomes at Local Level." The final evaluation report of these five graduate students was awarded the 2008 Award for Progressive Sustainability from the Earth Institute, Columbia University at the 2008 SIPA Commencement Exercises. View full report (Adobe PDF file: 520 KB)

Now available for download: IIRR Annual Report 2007 & March 2008 International Sharing Posted on : June 2008

Interview with Washington SyCip Posted on : May 2008 An article published in a leading Philippine newspaper (Philippine Daily Inquirer) featuring Washington Sycip on Philippine Education. Mr Sycip - trustee emeritus of IIRR - mentions the IIRR Yen Center Project with the Sisters of Mary Schools Boystown and Girlstown Sustainable Agriculture Technology Vocational  Education is built on bio-intensive gardening (BIG), a purely organic method of growing vegetables, legumes and other food crops in small areas suitable for poor households and schools. Read the full article: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/education/view/20080409-129346/Washington-SyCip-puts-his-money-where-his-mouth-is

New Director for IIRR's US Office Posted on : March 2008 The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) has a new Director for its US office in the person of Leslie Enright.. Learn more

A Journey of Faith and Courage: Celebrating 10 years of IIRR in Ethiopia Article by Isaac Bekalo, IIRR Africa Regional Center Director Posted on : December 2007 "...another IIRR office outside the Philippines?" a high-ranking IIRR officer exclaimed in disbelief. This was in 1990 when I had just joined the institute. I was a time when IIRR did not have the policy, strategy or resources to operate a regional office much less a country office. The IIRR strategy in the 70s and 80s was to spread the Rural Reconstruction approach through autonomous national movements and not to operate regional or country offices. It took a leap of faith, enormous amount of courage and persistence for IIRR-Ethiopia to go on record as the first IIRR country office in the world. Learn more