Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

BOX 2.1 LESSONS FROM THE EQUATOR INITIATIVESUCCESSFUL ECOSYSTEM-BASED ENTERPRISES: SELECTED EQUATOR PRIZE FINALISTSEcosystem-BasedEnterpriseProduct orService ProvidedDescriptionBenefitsA F R I C APole Pole FoundationDemocratic Republicof the CongoFounded: 19922006 Equator Prize FinalistCrafts, carvings, treenursery, timber, nontimberforest products,construction projects,crop harvestingBased in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, PolePole Foundation provides capacity-buildingin local communities, including those ofdisplaced pygmies, through wood-carvingprograms called “poachers to artisans,”environmental education, farming andbreeding, and reforestation.Since 1997, Pole Pole has planted more than426,000 trees, which communities use for timber,firewood, and construction projects. Pygmy womenharvest crops and have started at least 140 smallbusinesses. More than 135 children have beensupported for three years at a school built bythe organization.Honey Care Africa, Ltd.KenyaFounded: 20002002 Equator Prize FinalistHoneyHoney Care supplies hives and apiculturetraining to communities, farmers, and organizationsand assures them that it will purchaseall the honey they produce for a competitiveprice. Foundations support the initiative byproviding start-up funds to the farmers.Some 2,000 households care for 10,000 hives andearn $200–250 per year in supplemental income.ShompoleCommunity TrustKenyaFounded: 20012006 Equator Prize Winnerhttp://www.shompole.com/TourismThis Maasai Community enterprise includesa community-owned and -managed 10,000ha conservation area that is patrolled bytrained local game scouts. The conservationarea strategy is designed to decreasepoaching and improve environmental conditions,including reforestation and wetlandrestoration. The community collectivelyowns 30 percent of an eco-lodge they havehelped to establish.The trust has more than 2,000 registered members.The lodge offers 70 percent of its permanent jobs tocommunity members, with priority given to thepoorest. In addition, it provides the community withUS$2000–5000 per month in profits, which are usedto pay for health care, water, and teacher salaries.Wildlife numbers on the reserve tripled between 2001and 2004, and small enterprises have spun off fromthe tourism venture.A S I A - P A C I F I CNgata Toro CommunityIndonesiaFounded: 19932004 Equator Prize FinalistTourism, artisanalcrafts, furniture makingThe indigenous Masyarakat Adat of NgataToro village live within Lore Lindu NationalPark. After being granted resource use rightsin the park in 2000, the Ngata Toro communityestablished an ecotourism enterpriseand complementary agriculture and handicraftsenterprises.Ngata Toro has revived and implemented customarylaws to ensure sustainable extraction of naturalresources. They have established duck, pig, and fishfarming, implemented organic farming practices, anddeveloped value-added rattan, bamboo, and tree-barkproduct enterprises. They now host other indigenouscommunities to share knowledge.Genetic Resource, Energy,Ecology and Nutrition(GREEN) FoundationIndiaFounded: 19922004 Equator Prize WinnerSeeds, garden produceDeveloped to increase food security amongfarmers in the state of Karnataka, GREENfacilitates the creation of seed and genebanks of indigenous varieties of millet, rice,and various vegetables and leads farmerknowledge exchanges and agriculturaleducation programs.GREEN established 31 community seed banksmanaged by women farmers, who earn an average ofUS$52 per year from their work with the seeds. Thenumber of farmers participating in the seed conservationprogram has grown from 10 in 1992 to morethan 1,500 farmers across Karnataka.58