Watershed Work in the Dominican Republic: Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte

By -
Since it's founding in 2015, the Yaque del Norte River Basin (YNRB), Fondo Agua Yaque del Norte,  has been working to promote the conservation and restoration of the watershed of the Yaque del Norte River, Rio Yaque del Norte, the most important river in the Dominican Republic. Their work consists of increasing and managing their financial trust that finances their organization and provides funding to watershed-focused groups in the region. The Yaque del Norte River Basin also includes an educational and promotional arm known as the Development Association, Association para el Dessarollo Inc. 

 Kent Reid, Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Volunteer, traveled to the Dominican Republic in May 2019 on assignment to work and review overall operating activities with the YNW Fund. This was Kent's second F2F assignment with the YNW Fund, having worked with the Development Association partner, ISA University, in October.

The two main goals of the F2F assignment were to review the strategic goals of the YNW Fund and to work with the Development Association to produce an appropriate monitoring and evaluation plan. During the two-week assignment, the first week included visits to currently funded projects and assessments of problem areas and the second week focused on office procedure and monitoring activities. Kent provided guidance on developing the strategic plan for the YNW Fund along with their teams at the Development Association and their Cultivating Good Water, Cultivando Agua Bueno, program team. During the assignment, the Santiago region experienced an unexpected drought which provided an opportunity for conversations on drought management for the YNW Fund and members of the Dominican Republic Presidential Commission, Comission Presidencial, that manages the Yaque River.

"The work of the Development Association and the Yaque del Norte Water Fund is being carried out as it should be by a group of dedicated, talented, motivated individuals. Their work is a good mix of social concerns and outreach, direct support, and technical advice and intervention."

Kent Reid noted the organization activities range from implementing headwaters protection to developing tree plantations to treating soil-erosion-causing water runoff with sustainable engineering techniques like humedales artifiales, artificial wetlands.

As Director of the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute and involved in the New Mexico-based Rio Grande Water Fund, Kent is engaged in similar work in New Mexico. Noting similarities between New Mexico and the Santiago Dominican Republic region, Kent notes several differing technical approaches. Primarily the uniqueness of their funding sources and their respective technical practices, but similarities in their local processes of proposal submission by small groups and proposal review by a local technical committee with the best proposals receiving funding.

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