Congratulations to Greengrants grantee Titikaveka Growers Association!
Titikaveka, based in the Cook Islands, received the Local Entrepreneurship award, one of the 2009 SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development. Competition for the 2009 SEED Awards was extremely difficult; over 1,000 applications from 100 different countries were submitted.
The awards ceremony was held in early May in New York City at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and was attended by high-level delegates from government, civil society and the business community.
The SEED Awards are a flagship program of the SEED Initiative, a global partnership that supports promising, locally-driven, start-up enterprises working in partnership in developing countries to improve livelihoods through natural resource management and addressing poverty and marginalization, founded by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
A $4,000 grant to Titikaveka Growers Association assisted them in holding a series of workshops on organic farming techniques; the first six workshops were led by the organization and the second six were led by the workshop participants. Titikaveka works to promote sustainable fisheries and organic farming in the Takitumu District. Te Tika Mataiapo, a member of the Pacific Islands Advisory Board, selected the organization for funding because of their important work on organic farming and aquaculture.
More information about the SEED Initiative and Awards can be found here.