Learn
more about EW’s Unique:
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A Catalyst for Community-led Social Action EW's 7 stage sustainable development strategy empowers diverse communities to use their unique human and natural resources to resolve the issues that affect them most, while building sustainable livelihoods for a healthier future. 1. Identify and engage Partners In Empowerment™(local and global): community members, collaborating organizations, socially conscious businesses & other stakeholders dedicated to resolving critical threats to human and environmental security. 2. Assess local assets (cultural and natural resources) that can be promoted and invested in to create economic opportunities. 3. Develop comprehensive community based plan of action, where long-term responsibility is shared between stakeholders. 4. Promote skill development, other practical education and organizational capacity building of local partners to foster sustainable livelihoods, and healthy living. * 5. Transfer of best practices and appropriate technologies in health, renewable energies, sustainable agriculture, and other tools to build a secure future. 6. Assist development & marketing of products and services that value & protect indigenous cultural heritage and natural resources. 7. Build creative partnerships between the public and private sectors that improve local businesses' access to domestic and global markets for long-term success. **To maximize the efforts of local stakeholders/ project managers, EW provides technical assistance in project management. From project design to budget management, organizational skills are built so that over time, dependence on EW is reduced, while social benefits increase. * Learn More about "Local Assets Based Development" One
example of EW’s approach is “Julia’s Home of
Happy Colors” orphan care program in Zimbabwe:
Stage 1) EW partnered with a local child advocate and social entrepreneur Julia Kunzekwenyika, and Artist who was actively addressing the needs of vulnerable children and raising awareness of AIDS. 2) They identified local assets/ economic opportunities including hand painted textiles, stone sculptures, and art work. T&J Designs- a textile painting cooperative became a fundamental income generating focus with its demonstrated commitment to providing jobs to widows and sponsoring orphans school fees. 3) Together they co-created a plan to establish a community based orphan care program (which was more efficient than that of institutional care and without the stigma of orphanages). EW & the local partners further developed an educational curriculum honoring tradition as well as emphasizing current life-skills. 4) EW assists in program design, and supported Julia’s Home with training in accounting, and other capacity building skills to better manage local services and engaged outside experts in child development to support the special needs of orphans in program. 5) EW connects Julia’s Home to Perma-culture (sustainable agriculture) education group who conduct workshops w/ Julia’s Home staff - promoting food security. 6) local marketing and regional craft exporters are introduced to T&J and begin test marketing of samples to international markets. Stage 7) Julia’s Home partners with community conscious company T&J textile design, which creates livelihoods for widows and funding for orphan care, building long-term local self-reliance. EW continues to assure a thriving T&J by exploring market opportunities in the US promoting conomic sustainability and community based orphan care. VISIT EW ZIMBABWE |
7 Stages of Building Local
Assets
