Project Description
Residents in the Gran Chaco face displacement and environmental degradation due to one of the world’s highest rates of deforestation. Cooperativa de Trabajo COOPSOL Ltda. (COOPSOL) demonstrates that certified organic honey production can generate income for these communities and protect their natural resources, working with beekeepers from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay to launch a regional network to share good practices and collaborate. At the IAF, we support community-led solutions to expand economic opportunity in Latin America and the Caribbean. COOPSOL’s activities promote smallholder agriculture and food production to ensure meaningful opportunities for communities to thrive.
| Project: | Location: | Years active: | IAF grant funding: | Counterpart commitment: | Direct beneficiaries: | Indirect beneficiaries: | Program areas: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developing Niche Markets for Latin American Organic Honey | Argentina | 2016 – 2019 | $309,050 | $894,840 | 500 individuals | 1,000 individuals | agriculture and food security leadership and education job skills and enterprise development natural resource management inclusion |
Talk about community-led development!
Engaging Youth in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond: Insights from Mike McCabe, USAID’s Senior Advisor on Youth
A former IAF foundation representative shares how the pandemic is affecting youth and how funders can help youth reach their potential.
Inter-American Foundation & Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Partnership a Finalist for Prestigious 2020 Concordia P3 Impact Award
We and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation are honored to be selected as a 2020 Finalist for Concordia’s prestigious P3 Impact Award in recognition of our public-private partnership (P3) fostering a strong community foundation sector in Mexico.
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With funds from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), grantees Ñepi Behña and Ya Montsi Behña have developed Corazon Verde, a jointly-owned enterprise that markets products both domestically and internationally, such as bath sponges, jams, jellies and soaps, all derived from the maguey cactus, which is native to the Valle de Mezquital region of Hidalgo state in Mexico. While she waits to deliver her finished bath sponges, a coop member winds amorphous treated fibers of the maguey cactus into a single thread using a hand spindle. The thread will later be used to knit products for the cooperative Ya Montsi Behña.
Grassroots Businesses: A Virtual Artisan Fair
Over the past 50 years, the IAF has supported an incredible number of innovative and entrepreneurial groups with a common dream: transforming their lives and communities. Join us as we travel north to south through the region to see how agricultural producers and artisan groups have conquered the world with small IAF investments to grow their businesses.