Host Highlight: Universidad ISA (Dominican Republic)

By -
Source: ISA


As part of the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program in the Caribbean basin, the Agriculture & Food Security (AFS) team at Partners of the Americas has been leading a project to increase climate change resilience across several vulnerable communities in the Dominican Republic. In order to carry out these efforts, Partners works with a wide array of host organizations ranging from agricultural cooperatives, nonprofits, as well as local universities. Among the multiple Dominican institutions of higher learning with which we work is worth highlighting one: Universidad ISA. In 1962, this institution was founded as the Instituto Superior de Agricultura or ISA. ISA was established by a partnership between USAID, the Asociación para el Desarrollo, Inc. (APEDI) and the national government of the Dominican Republic. The university is located in a large rural campus just outside of Santiago de Caballeros, the country’s second largest metropolitan area. Universidad ISA is nationally-recognized vocation school that specializes in agriculture and natural resource management. Currently, ISA University has more than 2,000 students spread over eight programs in two distinct schools: 1) Food & Environmental Sciences, and 2) Social & Administrative Sciences. The university also boasts a series of graduate certificate and Master’s programs, ranging from agronomy and food technology to plant protection and microbiology.

In the last three years, the Farmer-to-Farmer program has sent numerous volunteers to Universidad ISA, in order to assist the school and their commitment to mitigate the complex risks brought forward by climate change.  For example, in November 2014, Dr. Usha Rani Palaniswamy—a Plant Science specialist from the University of Connecticut—traveled to Santiago in order to help ISA faculty and university administrators develop and integrate a more comprehensive environmentally-focused curriculum for the school. In December 2015, F2F volunteer Rhonda L. Sherman—an extension agent and waste management specialist from North Carolina State University—traveled to ISA where she worked alongside students and faculty to assess the solid waste management system of the municipality of Jarabacoa.  In October 2016, Dr. Keith Moore—a rural sociologist from Virginia Tech University—led numerous workshops to ISA students. Many of these technical trainings were focused on alternating and adapting human behaviors in order to improve forest management and preventing soil erosion in the central highlands of the country.

F2F Volunteer Keith Moore leads a forest management workshop with ISA students 

The previously mentioned agricultural and environmental specialists are just some of the long list of F2F volunteers that have assisted Universidad ISA in its efforts to mitigate the impacts of impending climate change.  In the coming months, the F2F program at Partners of the Americas plans to send several other volunteers to strengthen the university’s technical capacity in this strategic field.  Among these are a diverse array of agro-foresters, landscapers, and waste management specialist. In the coming months and years, we hope to continue this ongoing partnership with Universidad ISA in order to advance the climate adaptation of vulnerable communities across the central highlands of the country and the Dominican Republic at-large. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Better Marketing and Communications to Showcase the Work of our Hosts in Colombia

By -
Image
Salva Terra Foundation has focused on supporting vulnerable communities through sustainable agriculture. They work with impoverished populations and victims of violence in Medellin and aim to promote farming and develop local skills to work in the agricultural industry in an ecological manner. This process of bringing together concepts such as social impact, sustainable development, environmental protection, and food security requires excellent outreach and promotion. Therefore, they requested a F2F volunteer to help them develop a communication and marketing plan. The chosen volunteer for this assignment was Dr. Sindy Chapa. She has a B.A. in Mass Media Communications, with a Minor in Television and Art Design, an MBA, and Ph.D. in International Business/Marketing. She is the Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University and has won several communications awards. Dr. Chapa decided to use Salva Terra as one of the case
Read more

My First Goat: A Professor, Students, and some Goats Tackle Food Insecurity in Rural Guatemala

By -
Image
Two Worlds Come Together to Build New Solutions against Malnutrition What does a USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) expert volunteer group from the island of Puerto Rico have to do with combatting food insecurity in Guatemala? Everything.  F2F volunteer Gabriela Colón Rios trains Mam Indigenous women to better care for their goats which will improve food security and reduce high malnourishment rates. Chiantla, Guatemala. Photo Credit: Monica Gonzalez In March 2023, a group of five eager F2F volunteers arrived in Huehuetenango (Huehue), Guatemala, with hearts and minds set on combatting food insecurity in a part of the world unknown to them.  Over the next 10 days, this team of experts would consider Huehue, in Guatemala’s Western Highland region, their new home and office. Accompanying them on their mission would be faithful companions and mighty conduits of change: goats.  Communities in this region live at altitudes reaching 10,000 feet above sea level nestled by captivating mountai
Read more

Digital Marketing in Colombia

By -
Image
Digital Marketing is one way that entrepreneurs and producers across the globe can reach new markets and increase sales. But what is digital marketing and how can a small Colombian business use it to maximize the number of people who come across its brand? These are the questions that Zen Naturals was asking itself. Zen Naturals is a natural cosmetic manufacturing company based in Cali, Colombia. Zen Naturals develops natural cosmetics made from exotic ingredients from Colombia’s outstanding biodiversity. Through ethical manufacturing and fair trade practices, they are also taking a leadership role in re-investing in the communities that grow the ingredients used in their products. Currently, Zen Naturals supports more than 95 Colombian quinoa farming communities through Fair-Trade Practices and technical assistance on their production. Zen Naturals is preparing to launch their quinoa facial care products in Whole Foods Markets in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. in 2017.
Read more