July 2014
Today, July 30, the United Nations marks the first ever World Day Against Trafficking-in-Persons. Winrock is proud to help raise awareness for this global issue and to highlight our work to assist trafficking survivors, as well as efforts to eliminate this plight around the world.
The USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) project, implemented by Winrock, launched its “Ridges-to-Reef” training this month as an approach to managing Madang Province’s vital natural resources.
Next month, the 2014 ARK Challenge will kick off in Fayetteville, Ark. Check out this Q&A with Director Jeannette Balleza Collins, as the third installment of the northwest Arkansas startup accelerator gears up.
On July 14–18, Winrock participated with other Farmer-to-Farmer program partners in the #AgBlogCarnival from USAID Agrilinks. Find all the great blogs and stories from that week on the blog carnival’s landing page.
The Wallace Center at Winrock International will co-host a webinar with the National Farm to School Network on Aug. 12 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Regional Food Hubs: Strengthening Farm to School Procurement will focus on regional food hubs and their role in bridging the gap between local farms and school systems. Register today.
The Malawi Labor Minister recently praised the Achieving Reduction of Child Labor in Support of Education (ARISE) program for its impact in reducing child labor. ARISE is funded by Japan Tobacco International and implemented by Winrock and the International Labor Organization. Read more in the Malawi Voice.
Join Winrock’s American Carbon Registry, a supporting partner, for the Argus California Carbon Summit in Napa Valley, Calif., Sept. 30–Oct. 2. Learn more and register here.
With assistance from the USDA-funded Pakistan Agricultural and Cold Chain Development Project, implemented by Winrock International, a new company was recently formed to support cold chain development in Pakistan.
Are you interested in working at Winrock? Search current openings and post your resume. Would you like to volunteer with Winrock? Learn more about new opportunities for volunteers.
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USAID-funded ACT empowers trafficking survivors to improve livelihoods
 On a bright, sunny morning in March, 19-year-old Soheli is grinning as she sorts through an assortment of fabric spread throughout the small room at her home in Vacutia, Jessore in Bangladesh.
A youthful, easy laugh escapes her mouth during a conversation with some of the village women who have stopped by the home she shares with her mother, Sufia. Her neighbors are there to buy some of the striking, colorful fabric that Soheli carefully unfolds and holds up by the corners for closer inspection. As the sunlight streams through Soheli’s window, the sheer cloth in her hands acts as a filter, casting an array of radiant colors across the room.
The scene stands in stark contrast to Soheli’s life just a few years before. Watching her on this morning, operating a successful clothing business, one would probably pick up no indication that Soheli is a survivor of human trafficking. The USAID-funded Actions for Combating Trafficking-in-Persons (ACT) program, implemented by Winrock International, is working so that this all too common problem will be eliminated from the country’s narrative.
One of the details that makes Soheli’s story all the more gut wrenching is not uncommon either. It was someone who Soheli trusted, a neighbor, who betrayed her. She enjoyed visiting her neighbor’s house and talking with her two boys — even though her mother didn’t approve, and asked Soheli to stop visiting them. Soheli’s neighbor lured her with the promise of a job that would bring her income and the freedom to live without interference. Instead, Soheli was taken from her home and ended up in India, where she was handed over to two men who sold her to a brothel in Mumbai. Continue reading. 
Winrock's Winsten proposes winning idea to address nutrient pollution in waterways
 Agricultural and environmental economist Jon Winsten, a program officer at Winrock International, recently provided one of three winning solutions to a White House-sponsored challenge to address nutrient pollution through creative solutions. Nutrient pollution can lead to harmful algal blooms, the death of some aquatic species, contaminated drinking water, and reduced recreational uses of many waterways.
Although productive agriculture is crucially important to domestic and global food security, it is also the single largest source of nutrient pollution in the U.S. Last fall, a public-private partnership of federal agencies and stakeholders announced a competition, called “Challenging Nutrients: Transformative Strategies for Reducing Excess Nutrients in Waterways,” inviting participants to develop strategies to address nutrient pollution – specifically nitrogen and phosphorus. Winsten proposed an approach called “Pay-for-Performance Conservation,” an incentive-based approach to reward farmers based on the amount of nutrients lost from their farm.
According to Winsten, “Attaching the incentive to the outcome gets the farmers to seek out and implement the most appropriate and cost-effective actions to reduce nutrient losses from their specific fields. Environmental management becomes incorporated into the farmers’ planning, which is the most efficient place for it to be.” His work uses information from science-based simulation models to quantify nutrient losses at the field- and farm-level, and information from in-stream water quality monitoring at the watershed-level to design an incentive system that motivates farmers to deliver greater water quality to downstream users.
“This award has brought greater attention to pay-for-performance conservation, which is now being considered by USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an approach that can deliver greater bang for the buck in our efforts to improve U.S. water quality,” Winsten said.
To learn more about the competition and all three winning ideas, read this EPA blog. 
Pond dikes: An untapped source of income for rural farmers in Bangladesh
 Like many farmers in Bangladesh, Mizanur “Mizan” Rahman of Gouripur (Mymensingh District), carefully tended to the fish he was raising in his pond but left the land that made up the pond dike fallow and untended. Now, for the first time, Mizan is reaping the benefits of using that land to grow vegetables.
After receiving training on pond-dike horticulture from the Winrock-implemented Rural Enterprises for Alleviating Poverty project (REAP II), Mizan decided to grow bottle gourd, and collected 25 grams of seed for a high-yield variety with the assistance of the project. In Bangladesh, demand is high for bottle gourd and it fetches a good price in local markets. By using nutrient-rich debris from the bottom of his pond as fertilizer — collected from de-silting the waterbed — Mizan was able to transform the 0.1-acre dike into an extremely fertile garden. He and his family have seen immediate results.
Over a five-month crop cycle, Mizan produced more than 1,400 bottle gourds and earned $388 (USD) after an initial investment of only $41 (USD) in management costs. He also had plenty left over to feed his family the fresh and nutritious vegetable.
“It has opened a new source of additional income and … I can provide a better living for my children,” says Mizan. “I will continue this cultivation practice.”
More importantly, perhaps, Mizan’s success will have an impact on his neighbors and fellow group members who keenly watched the results of his efforts and have become convinced to adopt the technology for their own pond dikes.
REAP II is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and works to reduce poverty and increase incomes and employment among rural horticulture, aquaculture and livestock producers. |
