News
Grants for grassroot development in Colombia
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) awarded $17,068,000 in 2008 toward grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean. This investment funded 76 new grants, lasting from one to five years, in 19 countries Three of the successful proposals were submitted by Colombian organizations:
Fundación para el Etnodesarrollo de los Llanos Orientales de Colombia (ETNOLLANO) will work with craftswomen from Sikuani, Amorua and Piaroa resguardos, in Vichada, to increase their income by improving their production of baskets, wood carvings, ceramics and woven handbags.
Empresa Cooperativa del Sur del Cauca (COSURCA) will provide technical and financial services to 1,560 coffee and fruit farmers from 13 of its affiliates in the southern provinces of the Cauca region to help them renovate their farms, industrialize the processing of their crops, and market their products.
Fundacion Hogar Juvenil (FHJ) will improve employment opportunities for recyclers of glass, paper, cardboard and plastic, and improve environmental conditions for 6,000 households in Cartagena. It will support the recyclers and their organizations with technical assistance, training and educational campaigns targeting young students as well as with the equipment and transport necessary to collect solid waste effectively.
IAF grants to Colombian organizations now number 312; the IAF’s investment in Colombia has totaled $42,667,000 over 36 years.
The Inter-American Foundation, a foreign assistance agency of the United States government, responds to proposals for self-help development projects from grassroots groups in Latin America and the Caribbean and the organizations that support them. Since beginning operations in 1972, the IAF has made 4,773 grants for more than $631 million. Together, the IAF and its grantees have worked to improve the conditions of hundreds of thousands of poor families in communities throughout the hemisphere.
For more on the IAF, log onto www.iaf.gov.
Bogotá D.C., January 29, 2009