A SIMPLE HALLOWEEN FREEBIE!!!!

Do you think that studying grammar is important in early literacy???  

I think it definitely has a place. For my own grade two class, which is highly ESL, I find that these kinds of exercises are really good for them.  They are old enough, and have 2 years of English schooling, in order to understand the grammar concepts.  It’s really good to sit down and analyze the grammar skills at this level, as they don’t get very much modelling of proper English grammar at home.  Also, for native English speakers, grammar lessons will help them when they learn a second language in school, as most formal second language instruction starts with vocabulary and grammar lessons and if they don’t know how to explain the rules in English, how are they supposed to understand them in French or Spanish?  I have just put up a little Halloween package that has a grammar component.  You can download it for free!!  Scroll down for more information.

You can download this little lesson here.  This little download inlcudes a colour version of the poem to project, or print out for your lesson, a blackline master for the students, a grammar worksheet which goes over some basic grammar concepts, and of course, the answer key!

Soil Fertility Management in the tropics

The clip is an executive summary of a 95 minutes film we made on participatory soil fertility management in Africa. It is a fiction film based on real life stories of African farmers trying to realize their dreams. Improving the ways of managing their soil, but also collective storage and marketing of agricultural produce and negotiation for inputs and credit are part of farmers' strategies to be competitive. The film makes clear that interactive learning is the drive for local innovation and adaptation, and for realizing farmers' dreams.

Global Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture

Alain Ange of FARA

24-26 October. Ede, The Netherlands. “Scientists and technology have a critical role to play if we are to achieve food security in the context of climate change,” said Sir John Beddington, Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change at the opening of the Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Ede, The Netherlands. He urged the participating agricultural experts from governments, international agencies, and universities to think about smart ways for farmers to produce enough food while managing and adapting to climate change.

The talk included a foretaste of the soon to be launched recommendations from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change. The Commission, made up of thirteen experts from around the world, has been collecting evidence to synthesizing the evidence to develop practical actions to support sustainable agriculture in the context of climate change. The summary will be aimed for policy makers and launched in time to be fed into the discussions in Durban.

COP 17 - a unique opportunity to put agriculture on the climate change agenda

Sir John urged scientists to contribute to the global challenge of moving the world into a ‘safe operating space’ in which agriculture can meet global food needs while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. He highlighted how the scientific evidence base can contribute to policy action. Beddington also proclaimed COP17 in Durban in December as a unique opportunity to put agriculture on the climate change agenda.

Sir John said that the agricultural potential in Africa is substantial and existing technologies can be used to create the necessary transformations. Farmers need to produce more food without further encroaching on sensitive ecosystems in order to contribute to a food system that is sustainable and climate safe. Climate-smart agriculture, he said, has to both appeal to and benefit the rural farmer while not undermining livelihoods. Sir John will deliver the Commission's full recommendations at Agriculture and Rural Development Day on 3 December, in Durban.

Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO of FANRPAN attended
the Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in
Wageningen 24-26 October. Photo: C. Schubert (CCAFS)

Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), and member of the International Science Panel of the CGIAR climate program (CCAFS), said that Africa, a vulnerable continent to climate change, needs to improve its productivity in a climate smart manner. And this is where climate-smart agriculture becomes imperative, since CSA puts people and food first. Sibanda underlined that women are driving agriculture in Africa, which is why “we need to follow women – in everything”.

The 2011 meeting was co-organized by the World Bank and supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). [Press Release on Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture] [Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture Website] [The Wageningen Statement] 

PAEPARD: ARD funding opportunities

A G R I C U L T U R E

FP7 KBBE 2012.

The European Commission invites research proposals in the theme of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology. All topics are open to third-country (non-EU) participation, including with International Cooperation Partner Countries. Cooperation with developing countries is foreseen for research on zoonotic diseases, biowaste, insect protein, global food safety, etc. (Identifier: FP7-KBBE-2012-6-singlestage.) The closing date for applications is 15 November 2011.

Africa specific slides, aim to provide researchers working in Africa with a brief overview of the content of the FP7 2012 work programme and the current calls, and highlight some specific topics which may be of particular interest.

West African Agricultural Productivity Research and Development (WAAPRD)
Dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies across countries in West Africa (DATWA). The World Bank, within the framework of its Action Plan for “Scaling-up Support for African Agriculture” is supporting the ECOWAS conceived West Africa Agriculture Productivity Program (WAAPP). This competitive grant call therefore calls for project concept notes that innovatively link research and development in order to accelerate the dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies and innovations across countries in West Africa. Submission of Project Concept Notes (PCN): Deadline is 13th November, 2011 See call in FRENCH and ENGLISH

Nutrition Third World
The present call aims at supporting research to optimize local food sources. This could be applying conservation techniques and developing new food items that can be used to improve the diet. The objective is to find ways to improve overall dietary quality. Deadline: 25 January 2012


EC - Food Security, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The European Commission invites proposals for its food security program in the DRC, organized into three components. The program aims to: (i) build capacity of local production and marketing of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries to supply urban markets; (ii) improve the nutritional status of children; and (iii) develop and expand agroforestry for charcoal production, carbon sequestration, and other environmental benefits. Eligibility extends to non-governmental organizations in the EU, its candidate countries, the European Economic Area, and DRC and other developing countries -- and to inter-governmental organizations. Projects will range from €1.5 million to €10 million (variable by component). Reference EuropeAid/131530/L/ACT/CD. The application deadline is 17 November 2011.

EC - Food Security, Madagascar.
The European Commission is open to proposals for its food security program in Madagascar. The main objective is to improve agricultural productivity and diversification, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations. Eligibility extends to non-governmental organizations in the EU; its candidate countries; the European Economic Area; and Madagascar and other developing countries -- and to inter-governmental organizations. Projects will range from €800 thousand to €1.5 million. Reference EuropeAid/131530/L/ACT/CD. The application deadline is 15 November 2011.

Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)
PEER is a joint program of USAID and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to support scientists in developing countries in research and capacity-building. Topics of interest include food security (agriculture, fisheries, and plant genomics), and environment (e.g., water sustainability, hydrology, ocean acidification, climate process and modeling, environmental engineering, disaster mitigation, biodiversity, and renewable energy). In addition to these thematic programs, PEER has country programs for Indonesia, Lebanon, and the Philippines. PEER is open to institutions in developing countries that partner with an NSF-funded collaborator at a U.S. institution. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2011.

BREAD 2012.
The National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partners in BREAD (Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development). Projects in BREAD must connect the outcomes of the research and its relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. Especially encouraged are proposals that address constraints to the productivity of crops important to smallholder farmers, or on the development of novel and efficient production practices. Full proposals are due 22 November 2011.

African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)
Three Active Funding Windows. The AECF offers grants and loans to support businesses in Africa working in agriculture, financial services, renewable energy, and technologies for adapting to climate change. AECF announces three current funding competitions: (i) Agribusiness Africa; (ii) Renewable Energy and Adapting to Climate Technologies (REACT) -- Round 2; and (iii) South Sudan. Eligibility extends to for-profit businesses anywhere in the world if their activities are carried out in Africa (specifically South Sudan in the third case). The application deadline for each of the funding windows is 15 December 2011.

Partnerships in Higher Education & Research for Development 2012.
The Austrian Partnership Program in Higher Education & Research for Development (APPEAR) aims to strengthen institutional capacities in higher education, research, and management. Thematic areas include water supply and sanitation, rural development, energy, environment, and natural resources (among others). Partnerships are prepared collaboratively between institutions in Austria with institutions in Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palestinian Territories, Senegal, and Uganda. Partnerships are for up to two years. The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2011.

International Foundation for Science -- Re-Opens for Applications.
The IFS has re-opened for applications, following a period of programmatic review. IFS makes grants of up to US$12 thousand for research projects of 1-3 years in the sustainable management of biological resources (e.g., agriculture, soil science, forestry, biodiversity, environmental chemistry, natural products, food science, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, aquaculture, and marine resources). Applications are invited from citizens of developing countries who are less than age 40 (with some exceptions, by world regions); at the beginning of their research careers; and who have at least a university master's degree. The next deadline is 29 January 2012.
Awards, Courses, and Training 2012-2013.
The French-language universities of Belgium will award 150 scholarships and 70 training grants in 2012-2013 to applicants from developing countries through Belgium's University Commission for Development (CUD -- Commission universitaire pour le Développement). Subjects include aquaculture; tropical animal and plant resources; environmental management; management of natural hazards; and others. Eligibility requirements are defined by age, previous education, and nationality. The application deadline is 13 February 2012.

B I O D I V E R S I T Y 
FP7 ENVIRONMENT 2012.
The European Commission invites research proposals in the theme of Environment (including Climate Change). The emphasis is on research to improve the protection and management of natural resources (land, water, air, and marine resources). All topics are open to third-country (non-EU) participation, including with International Cooperation Partner Countries. The closing date for applications is 15 November 2011


Bioversity International -- Fellowships in Agricultural Genetic Resources 2012.
The Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships support young researchers in themes of conserving and using genetic resources in agriculture. Applicants are researchers in low and middle-income countries who are under age 35. Funding is up to US$20 thousand for research projects lasting up to one year. The closing date for applications (English, French, or Spanish) is 06 November 2011.

Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI)
Call for Applications 2011-2012. The LDPI offers small grants to carry out original field research, provide follow-up to ongoing initiatives, and write papers on subjects related to the "global land grab." The research should be original, relevant to policy, and be based on detailed and case-specific field studies. Grants are up to US$3 thousand. The application deadline is 15 December 2011.

2011 Young Environmental Journalist Award for Africa.
UNEP makes awards to young African journalists who provide new insights, challenge established thinking, and enhance public understanding of the environment in Africa. The competition is open to African journalists -- between 21 and 35 years old -- who are based in Africa. The winner receives a trip to the USA to meet other journalists, environmental organizations, scientists, and others. Applications are due 16 December 2011.

New England Biolabs Foundation -- Grassroots Conservation.
The Foundation makes grants to grassroots and charitable organizations to support conservation of biological diversity; ecosystem services; community food security; and marine environment. The geographical scope focuses on selected countries of the Gulf of Honduras; the Andean region; and West Africa (in addition to Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and El Salvador). Maximum grant size is US$10 thousand, but most grants are smaller. The next deadline for letters of inquiry is 15 February 2012.

C L I M A T E   C H A N G E

New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships in Livestock Emissions Research
The Fund is aimed at accelerating global research into mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral livestock farming. The Fund is open to international scientists, and it is hoped that multi-stakeholder/country consortia bids will be put forward. Deadline for Expressions of Interest: 7 November 2011.

Research on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock.
The New Zealand Fund for Global Partnerships in Livestock Emissions Research is an international research fund set up by New Zealand to support the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Gases. Project leaders can be from New Zealand or another country of the Global Research Alliance; projects should include at least one researcher from New Zealand. The international participants need to contribute co-funding. Specific themes of the research are outlined in the grants announcement. In Round 1, projects are expected to be in the range of NZ$1-4 million over four years. Expressions of interest should be submitted by 07 November 2011.

Climate Change Research 2012.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offers International Climate Protection Fellowships for one-year research projects in Germany on climate protection and resource conservation. The program is open to prospective future leaders in academia, business, and administration in non-European threshold and developing countries (listed in the announcement). The Foundation aims to make 20 grants per year. In the current cycle, the closing date for applications is 15 December 2011.

Development Research 2012.
Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs funds research on climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries (among other themes). Research projects are managed by collaborations of Danish and South-based research institutions, with a priority on institutions in Africa. Applications must be submitted by organizations based in Denmark. Grants will range from 5-10 million DKK per project. The deadline for Phase I applications is 12 December 2011.

International Climate Initiative.
Germany's BMU (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety) funds the International Climate Initiative (ICI) to support international projects on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity projects with climate relevance. Projects target carbon sinks with high levels of biodiversity (e.g., Amazon region, Congo Basin, and South-East Asia). Outlines for projects beginning in 2012 may be submitted to the Programme Office until 9 January 2012.

Echoing Green
Echoing Green helps emerging social entrepreneurs with grants of seed capital and technical assistance to support their start-up organizations. Past grants include several that address renewable energy, waste management, smallholder farming, and other societal challenges of developing countries. Applicants can be citizens of any nationality, and their organizations can be based in any country. The fellowships are US$60 thousand for individuals (and US$90 thousand for 2-person partnerships) over two years. Applications are submitted between 05 December 2011 and 09 January 2012.

2nd Joint Stakeholder Conference of the EDULINK and the ACP Science and Technology (ACP S&T) programmes

From 26 to 28 October 2011, the 2^nd Joint Stakeholders Conference of the ACP-EU EDULINK and Science & Technology Programmes is organised in Brussels. As the 1^st Joint Stakeholders Conference in October 2010, the event is being held in the ACP House, Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.

The conference topics are related to the two programmes and of interest to primarily participants from granted projects of these programmes, but also to other interested parties. The event is set up in three days and covers various thematic sessions, in an interactive way, with presentations from project participants and invited speakers followed by open discussions:   

• the first day is dedicated to EDULINK themes.
• the second day addresses common themes shared by the two programmes.
• the third day focuses on specific ACP Science and Technology Programme issues.

Bilateral meetings between the Management Units of the two programmes, the European Commission and the representatives of the beneficiary projects is arranged during the whole conference. The conference allows project participants from the ACP-EU collaborative programmes EDULINK and the ACP Science and Technology Programme to meet each other and to exchange experiences and information. 

Le COLEACP-PIP et la FAO signent un accord de collaboration

Le 20 octobre 2011, l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'Alimentation et l'Agriculture (FAO) et le COLEACP-PIP ont signé un accord de collaboration qui permettra de développer des actions et stratégies conjointes et/ou complémentaires dans des domaines d'intérêt commun relevant de leurs compétences, objectifs et mandats respectifs.

Par l'action du PIP auprès de la filière horticole des pays d'Afrique, des Caraîbes et du Pacifique, le COLEACP fait en sorte que les importants progrès réalisés par l'horticulture d'exportation bénéficient aux productions destinées aux marchés locaux et régionaux, contribuant ainsi aux Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement (OMD), parmi lesquels l'allègement de la pauvreté, la sécurité alimentaire et la protection de l'environnement.

Par ce nouveau partenariat, le COLEACP-PIP et la FAO affirment leur volonté d'inscrire leurs actions dans une perspective de plus grande efficience en :

• évitant toute duplication
• réalisant des économies d'échelles grâce au partage et à la mise en commun des ressources et du savoir-faire

Pour des programmes de courte durée tels que le PIP, ajoutons enfin que collaborer avec des organisations telles que la FAO ou d'autres organisations internationales permet d'élargir les publics cibles initiaux et ce, à un coût marginal. Dans les prochains mois, le COLEACP-PIP continuera à oeuvrer pour le rapprochement d'autres programmes, organisations ou institutions afin de partager son expertise et rendre accessibles au plus grand nombre les outils développés en faveur de l'industrie horticole des pays ACP.

Haunted Silhouettes

I happen to work in a fabulous school.  I feel very lucky to not only  have a fantastic group of kids to work with, but also a phenomenal staff to work with.  I work in a wing that has four classrooms and this year we have two grade one classes and two grade two classes.  The four teachers all work together fantastically. 

 I was walking down the hallway a few days ago, and came upon this...

The whole board was so visually stunning with the blues and blacks popping off the paper.  I had to stop by and have a closer look at what my neighbour had done.  This display was created by Rozana McFarland who teaches grade one in the class next to mine.  She comes up with the most fabulous art ideas.  This idea is one she saw on another teacher's art blog, but she could not remember who the source was.  So if any of you could tell me whose idea this is, please let me know as I really like to cite my sources.  It sends good Blog Karma all around  :)

This idea is easy to do with first graders.  First the children were told to paint a white circle in the top left corner.  They needed to try and paint it away from the edge of the paper a bit. 

Now as far as I can tell, you could manage this lesson a few ways.  The first way would be for the teacher to mix the paint to get the various hues of blue by gradually adding blue paint to white paint.  You could pre-mix it and have all the little cups with the various shades of blue all lined up and the kids make a larger circle and then move to the next darker blue, and make another circle...

  ...and then move to the next shade of blue and paint again, etc. etc.  Or, with older children, the kids could mix their own paint.  Start with the white on a pallette board and then gradually add more blue, and have the children mix the colour and paint the next ring, then mix the next colour themselves, and then paint it, etc. etc.

 These little haunted houses are foam stickers from a craft store.  The children glued them on the dry painting and then coloured in the windows with a white pencil crayon.    The ground and the trees were added with a black sharpie.  The children were told not to make the trees taller than the house.

Being the amazing and experienced teacher that she is, Rozana added a Language Arts component by adding the traditional poem "In a Dark, Dark Wood" to the display.  You could take this and make some writing, or reading activities to go with the poem.

I hope you enjoyed this idea.  Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

hugs!
Sandra

The when and where of research in agricultural innovation trajectories

The when and where of research in agricultural innovation trajectories : evidence and implications from RIU's South ASIA PROJECTS

Vamsidhar Reddy, T.S.; Hall, Andy; Sulaiman V., Rasheed


This paper examines the efforts of the DFID‐funded Research Into Use (RIU) programme that sought to explore the agricultural research‐into‐use question empirically.

Two key analytical principles are used to find how research is actually put into use: (1) the configurations of organisations and their relationships associated with innovation; (2) understanding innovation as a path-dependent, contextually shaped trajectory unfolding over time.


The paper suggests new modes of financing to support the undertaking of research AND use together and not as sequential steps. It also confirms the importance of roles played by different types of agencies in the innovation process, which requires adopting capacity building agendas in a system sense rather than technology transfer agendas.

The paper then highlights the important roles played by the pivotal agencies of the innovation process —that have pro‐poor agendas — to steer innovation trajectories in order to achieve poverty reduction objectives.

From here on, the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 presents a framework for exploring the location of research in agricultural innovation. Section 3 presents the case studies that are then discussed in Section 4 to bring out key issues regarding the nature of agricultural innovation trajectories and the use of research within these. The paper ends with policy implications for putting research into use in Section 5.

Financing agricultural value chains in Africa : a synthesis of four country case studies

This 87 pages report Financing agricultural value chains in Africa : a synthesis of four country case studies represents the synthesis of a series of studies into agricultural finance in Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso, with a view to identifying strategies and tactics which would improve such access for commercially oriented agricultural value chains.

The policy recommendations will represent the African voice in the international community as a primary input for the international G20 policy paper on agricultural finance. In order to ensure this programme is realised in time for the G20 summit in Cannes in November 2011, African representatives, G20 members and development partners are stepping up their collaborative effort in order to reach consensus on the best policy recommendations in agricultural fi nance, both in Africa and internationally.

It represents the synthesis of a series of studies into agricultural finance in Africa sponsored by German development cooperation. The aim was to examine access to finance for agriculture in Africa, with a view to identifying strategies and tactics which would improve such access for commercially oriented agricultural value chains. These recommendations will be used as input
for the pan-African and G20 task forces and to inform policy development by government and development agencies, both at country level and for the continent as a whole.

Outcome of the Call for Concept notes of PAEPARD

PAEPARD launched on 31^st May, 2011 a second call for applications for support to the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships that promote demand-driven agricultural innovation and research. PAEPARD partners were asked to disseminate as much as possible the call through their respective channels.

• Per 15/07/2011, 69 Concept Notes (CNs) were submitted, 
• 18 Applications did not fulfill the set criteria
• There were 55 New Applicants and 14 CNs are re-submission
• There were 55 Anglophone Applications against 14 Francophone Applications
• 2 Applications were led by European stakeholders: one by Italy and another one by Switzerland
• In the second call 65 % are led by non researchers while in the first call 49%
• 51 Concept Notes (CNs) were evaluated.

During its Management Team Meeting of 7th October 2011 in Accra, PAEPARD ranked the priority list.

Selected concept notes:

African Applicant Country	Title of the proposal
Ghana	Control of Angular leaf spot disease of Citrus in Ghana
Burundi	Développement participatif des technologies  de la culture pomme de terre et promotion  des innovations sensibles au genre et à la conservation de l’environnement au Burundi
Uganda	Extensive Collection and Characterization of African Solanaceae Plants
Mauritius	Micro propagation and cultivation of in vitro breadfruit plants and development of novel products from Breadfruit as an alternative source of carbohydrates  in Mauritius
Uganda	Enhancing soybean and cowpea value chains for increased productivity, incomes and nutritional security of smallholder farmers in East and Central Africa
Burkina Faso	BIOPROTECT-B, un groupement d’intérêt économique pour la  protection biologique des cultures et la fertilisation organique des sols pour une agriculture saine et durable au sahel
Benin	Appui a la sécurité économique des ménages ruraux par la production, la commercialisation et la transformation du Soja au Benin
Nigeria	Low cost and high quality livestock feed production knowledge delivery to Nigerian poultry industry (NIPOFERD)
Cote d'Ivoire	Agriculture pour l’éducation (A.P.E) des enfants en âge scolaire (5 – 15 ans) en milieux rural et périurbain
Cameroon	Innover pour l’intensification, la diversification et la transformation de l’agriculture familiale en Afrique Centrale à travers la recherche – action en partenariat : cas de CNOP-CAM dans la région du Centre Cameroun

The support of PAEPARD to new partnerships consists of:

1. [A] sponsored participation of key partners in Partnership Inception (PI ) workshops
2. [B] subsidized participation of some of the key partners together with administrative staff of their organizations in Write-shops.
3. [C] Follow up with the funding opportunities

A) Partnership Inception workshop: 
A workshop of about 5 days of the key partners:
Expected results of the Partnership Inception workshop:

• Result 1: Demand-driven, balanced ARD consortia are consolidated with clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the non-research and research partners and African and European partners and with a clear agreement on the principles of African-led joint governance. Where relevant, missing actors and their required contributions have been identified.
• Result 2: Each ARD consortium has developed an action plan defining the complementary development activities to address the common challenge/ theme around which each consortium is mobilized and the main elements of a research proposal to be further elaborated at a write-shop.
• Result 3: Memoranda of Agreement have been signed between the partners in each partnership, between each partnership and its AI-facilitator and between each AI-facilitator and the PAEPARD Work Package 4 [Capacity Building] leaders.
• Result 4: The collective and individual capacities of all consortium members to function as a team, taking stock of specific needs of non-research partners and mobilising their specific complementary contributions to the innovation process, have been strengthened.

Between the Partnership Inception workshop and write-shops, the AI-facilitators, with help from PAEPARD, assist their partnerships to formulate a first rough draft of a research proposal based on the main elements defined during the PI-workshop.

B) Write shops. 
Expected results of the Write shop

• Result 1: Consortium members are aware of the procedures and formats required by the identified funding source to which their research proposal will be submitted and are able to use these formats and apply these procedures.
• Result 2: Each consortium has fully developed its proposal following the specified format by the identified funding source

C) Follow up with the funding opportunities
Expected results of the follow up on the funding opportunities

• Research proposals from different consortia that participated in the process of inception workshop and write-shop are submitted to the targeted funding sources

Facilitating pro-poor business

Facilitating pro-poor business

Why advice goes further when it’s backed by investment

M. J. Boomsma
Anna Laven
Bart de Steenhuijsen Piters eds.
In development cooperation there is a trend that the private sector is seen as an integral part of the solution to reduce poverty. As a result pro-poor businesses emerge, involving actors such as private businesses, the public sector, farmer organizations and NGOs. There are some challenges in bringing these different actors together in a social enterprise.

Generally, there is a need for a facilitator to align interests, bridge cultural differences, fill in gaps in skills, and deal with power differences, wrong expectations and prejudice.

The five cases in this bulletin (ginger in Sierra Leone, tuna in Ghana, organic cocoa on the Dominican Republic, biodiesel in Mali and a trade house in Mali) illustrate that each type of facilitating role has its advantages and disadvantages, and that there are many factors a good facilitator needs to take into account when bringing together the public and private sector and civil society to form a pro-poor business.

Spooktacular Song and Poems

Oh yeah, I've been a busy girl let me tell you. I'm proud to announce another new product that I have posted up on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Click here or on the photo to go and get your own copy.  This fabulous package is full of songs and poems with a Halloween Theme.  Of course these are great for Language Arts in the Early Primary or ESL classroom.  I have used these over the years with children from K to grade 2.  They LOVE chanting poems, changing up the words, and singing songs with familiar tunes and halloween words. 

Have a Haunting Birthday

This project is a resurrected flash from the past.  I originally made this little album 2 years ago but could never find the perfect time to use it.  As I was rummaging through my old projects box today I came across this.  Click here for my original post on my papercrafting blog "stamperontheshore".  It has some directions on how to make it.  You can sure see how my photography has really improved in 2 years eh?  Anyway, today is my nephew's birthday party, and here we are a week from Halloween.  Connor has been sucking up everthing about reading and writing now that he's in Kindergarten.  So I though, "why not turn this into a story book".  So I let the kids draw and colour pictures and then I wrote some text which they traced over.  They signed their names at the end and voila!! A Haunting Birthday was born.  The supplies are mostly from K&Co, not Stampn' Up!  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think - I might put up a tutorial, or at least a quick one on how I made that woodgrain on the cover.

My First Download - and it's FREE!!!!

Well I've gotten myself organized and I'm posting my first freebie download.  I'm using the Teachers Pay Teachers service.

 This first download is FREE - my favourite four letter word!!!!!!  Yup, it's FREE.  Click on the photo above or click here for the link

This little download has 4 mini books about falling leaves and signs of fall.  It's perfect for your 4 levels of guided reading in a grade 1 class.  The skills and objectives range from fine motor and tracing, to comprehension and higher level thinking skills.  I hope you enjoy this little "puppy".  Please, please, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.  I've been busy working on a few other units which I hope to post up tomorrow. 

Halloween Banner Facebook project and a Freebie!!

Here's a great simple banner that Im going to make with my kids this week.  What follows is a post from my papercrafting blog - stamperontheshore.
 I was pleasantly surprised last week to receive a phone call from Stampin' Up!    Because I am an Artisan Award Winner, they asked me to create a Halloween project for their Facebook page.  Click here to go there.

 I decided to make a project that was easily reproduced.  I really wanted to make a banner, but I don't have any Halloween paper.  So again, My Digital Studio to the rescue!!!  I decided to make a banner and print it out.  You can scroll down to the bottom of this post for freebie jpegs.  Simply left click on the photos and save them.   

Then cut them out and assemble the banner.  I used the fabulous Simply Scored to make the pinwheels.  The letters are a FONT, not a stamp brush for MDS.  Scroll down for the supply list and the freebie jpegs!!

Stampin Up! Products

Traditional products:
119684: Cajun Craze Card Stock
100730: Whisper White Card Stock
101179: Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Pad
121045: Basic Black Card Stock
102023: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
100425: 2-Way Glue Pen
119261: Basic Black 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon
117285: Basic Black 5/8” Satin Ribbon
115615: Basic Black 1-1/4” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
124105: Cherry Cobbler 3/8” Quilted Satin Ribbon
108362: Crop-A-Dile
101610: Stampin Sponges
122334: Simply Scored

Digital products:
118108: My Digital Studio
123144: Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper
127352: Petite Pennants Punch

Filing and a Freebie

Today I wanted to talk about all those loose worksheets that seem to accumulate over time.  I believe that there's no point in sending each page home as they are done because they get lost, and parents get a bit overwhelmed with all the little pieces of paper that come their way.

 Way back in the dark ages, when I started teaching, photocopiers were common, but money to buy resources was not.  So I got used to photogopying a lot (I mean A LOT) of worksheets etc.  This meant a lot of loose paper to deal with.

  So what I started to do was to make little folders and 'file' the worksheets by subject.  This makes them very accesible if I need them for assessment, and it organizes the paper into little packages, that are easy for parents to look through with their child and see what is going on in my class.  When I started teaching I didn't have a lot of money, so I made the folders out of sheets of 12 x 18 inch construction paper.  I fold the paper in half on the long side (hamburger style for those of you 'in the know')  I write the child's name and subject on the front. and keep them all in a box.

 

 I still store them in little cardboard boxes. The ones that the notebooks come in are perfect for this. Below is a photo of my filing system. I know it's not perfectly pretty, but it works great. I'd like to offer up my filing covers as a freebie!  Feel free to grab copies of my filing system photos.  

In this photo you can see the folders and the worksheet in the box in front.  Once in a while, when the papers pile up we do a class sort.  I pass out all the folders in one box and the kids put them on their desks.  Then I start passing out the papers and the kids take them and put them on their desks too.  It takes 5 minutes to do a box.  I don't do all the boxes at once, but I do 2 or 3 at once. 

Policy briefs on how to manage food price instability.

3 policy briefs from CIRAD on how to manage food price instability.

The first one shows that the problem of food price instability calls for different responses depending on whether it concerns domestic markets in developing countries, domestic markets in developed countries, or international markets.

Download the note: Perspective_10_English.pdf

The second note analyzes what the international community can do to help developing countries manage food price instability. This topic is more than ever in the international agenda thanks to the discussions taking place this year in the G20 and in the FAO's Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

Download the note: Note_IC_English.pdf

The third note considers the case of developing countries. It shows that food security and modernization of agriculture require setting up price stabilization policies for staple food products.

Download the note: Perspective_2_English.pdf

FAO and IFPRI reports for the World Food Day 08/10

The State of Food Insecurity in theWorld 2011, FAO, October 2011

This year’s report focuses on the costs of food price volatility, as well as the dangers and opportunities presented by high food prices. Climate change and an increased frequency of weather shocks, increased linkages between energy and agricultural markets due to growing demand for biofuels, and increased financialization of food and agricultural commodities all suggest that price volatility is here to stay.

See also: UN says Food Prices to Remain High, Financial Times, October 10
The jump in prices for grain and other staples led to riots during the 2007-08 food crisis and more recently central banks in Asia have tightened monetary policy to combat food inflation.

The International Food Price Research Institute (IFPRI) has released a report titled "2011 Global Hunger Index: The challenge of hunger: Taming price spikes and excessive food prices volatility."


The report underscores that, though global hunger has declined since 1990, it remains at a serious level, with the highest hunger scores in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The report describes progress in Angola, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger and Viet Nam.

See also [IFPRI Press Release] It notes the negative impacts of rising and volatile prices attributing the price changes to increasing use of food crops for biofuels, extreme weather and climate change, and increased volume of trading in commodity futures markets. In particular, it underlines that concentrated export markets leaves food importing countries dependent on just a few countries. The report suggests addressing price spikes and volatility by revising biofuel policies, regulating financial activity on food markets, and adapting to and mitigating climate change.