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When Life Gives You Saltwater, Make Shrimp Ponds

Eve Troeh

February 03, 2015 |

New Orleans Public Radio (WWNO) |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Vietnam, Lang Tram

When the Vietnamese government built a gate in the 1990s to block saltwater from entering a key canal, they hoped it would lead to flourishing, year-round rice crops. Without community buy-in and engagement, the government didn’t have a clear understanding of the needs of local residents. By the time the gate was built, farmers had turned their fields into saltwater ponds to farm shrimp, demonstrating the need for ground-up solutions and deep community listening.

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When Life Gives You Rainwater, Make Shrimp Ponds

Eve Troeh

January 29, 2015 |

New Orleans Public Radio (WWNO) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City

Farmers in Vietnam face rising sea levels but rejected the city's water engineering projects. They prefer gradual measures to cope with climate change so scientists have allowed the farmers to steer the conversation.

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In Bangladesh, 'Floating Farms' Overcome Monsoon Rains

Amy Yee

November 21, 2014 |

Voice of America (VOA) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

During rain seasons in Bangladesh, rivers flooded villages and their agriculture so that local economies and food supplies were in jeopardy. A Bangladeshi non-profit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha introduced small floating farms designed to be run by women. Consequently, the organization has initiated 40 floating farms that serve 300 rural women and save local agriculture.

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MIT D-Lab promotes rural community innovations in Guatemala with Soluciones Comunitarias

Nancy Adams

October 10, 2014 |

MIT News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Santa Maria Nebaj, El Quiché

MIT's D-Lab is supporting individuals in impoverished, rural areas invent low-cost technologies to address the needs of their communities. In 2009, the D-Lab paired with SolCom, a Guatemalan community organizing enterprise, and an international development fund to bring this model to the isolated area of Nebaj, assisting locals in creating a Makerspace for microentrepreneurs. The collaboration has fostered an environment for sustainable grassroots change, in which the social and intellectual capital needed to create the needed innovations and inventions originates in the community itself.

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Even rural America can have good public transportation

Ben Adler

July 23, 2014 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aspen, Colorado

Rural areas are known for requiring tourists to rent a car in order to move around, which can be a significant added expense. But Aspen has developed a bus system that can bring residents or tourists from Aspen to suburban areas and back, and the area is also well geared to bicycle use.

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Refurbished Wind Turbines to Power the Developing World at a Profit

Mary Mazzoni

January 30, 2014 |

Triple Pundit |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Emirate of Abu Dhabi

The commercially-based Wind for Prosperity initiative may have devised a solution to meet growing demands for electricity in developing economies, where fossil fuels are expensive, difficult to access, and take a toll on environmental and human health. The venture works to refurbish wind turbines from Europe and re-deploy them in the developing world, providing clean and affordable power where it’s needed most.

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Bill Gates Can't Build a Toilet

Jason Kass

November 18, 2013 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Peru

Ecological toilets that use natural composting to break down waste are simple to construct, waterless and are easy to fix. But as philanthropists are finding, getting these to those that need it most is harder than anticipated.

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When entrepreneurship is only way forward

Laura Baverman

July 21, 2013 |

USA Today |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Antigua

Development work is evolving beyond short-term mission trips and one-off donations into a more comprehensive, in-depth model that addresses long-term sustainability of a solution paired with empowerment of those being served. MicroConsignment is a unique branch of micro-enterprise being implemented by non-profit SolCom in Guatemala that provides individuals in rural villages the skills and resources needed to start sustainable businesses.

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Making Adult Literacy Learning Sustainable in Rural Communities

Sarah Hasaba

May 08, 2013 |

United Nations University |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Many of the issues facing underdeveloped rural communities stem from low rates of literacy. Researchers have found that cooperation between "formal and non-formal education systems" is an effective method in strengthening literacy programs in countries such as Kenya, Vietnam and Uganda. Collaboration between government and NGOs has led to increased and sustainable literacy progress in many rural communities where international development agencies, such as UNESCO, have intervened.

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India's rice revolution

John Vidal

February 16, 2013 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Bihar

The System of Root Intensification (SRI) method resulted in dramatically high yields from one Indian village. The system centers on a "less is more" approach and results in higher yields—without the use of GMOs. The idea has faced barriers in spreading, as scientists are wary of it, even as villagers embrace the empirically successful approach.

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