What does it take to economically empower women and girls from the Dalit caste, historically one of the most marginalized and under-resourced groups in Nepal? “Women’s savings and credit groups are the entry point,” says Chris Sacco, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Groundswell. Men often leave the community to find economic opportunities outside of the […]
After completion of our first year of graduate school in the Master’s in Development Practice program at Emory University, my classmates and I departed for all corners of the Global South to conduct our first summer field practicum. We collectively flew to more than twenty countries to join a host of humanitarian NGOs engaged in […]
Just over a year ago, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. Dozens of aftershocks followed, including a second earthquake on May 12th. Over 9,000 people were killed and villages across the countryside were leveled. Much of the damage was in the district of Sindhupalchowk, an area Groundswell International has been working in since 2013. More […]
The following blogpost was written by Kathy Colverson, one of Groundswell International’s Board members. Kathy is the Associate Director of International Agricultural Programs at the University of Florida, and she has worked abroad in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Haiti, and Ecuador. During her latest visit to Nepal, Kathy spent a day with Groundswell’s partner […]
In 2013, Groundswell International partnered with the Nepalese NGO BBP-Pariwar to improve farmers’ livelihoods and food security by spreading ecological agriculture, strengthening community organizations, and building networks among farmers to facilitate the creation of savings and credit groups and farming cooperatives. Today, Groundswell and BBP Pariwar work together in 23 villages located in the mostly […]
We are excited to announce the release of Groundswell International’s 2014 Annual Report! In 2014, we worked in partnership – with farmers, with local organizations, and our supporters – to continue to create a transition to agroecological farming that is better for people and the planet. We invested nearly $1.3 million in strengthening rural communities […]
The following post is written by Christopher Sacco, Groundswell International’s Director of Operations and co-founder. He has more than 15 years experience designing, managing, and evaluating community development and disaster response and recovery projects, and provided strategic support to our partner in Haiti after the earthquake of January 2010. Chris recently traveled to Nepal to visit […]
We are excited to announce that Groundswell International is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy’s Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership! The grant will be used to improve the food security and rural livelihoods of marginalized women and their families in the Kavre, Ramechhap, and Sindhupalchowk districts of central […]
A second earthquake hit earlier today, May 12th, in Nepal, just east of the capital of Kathmandu. The people of Nepal are still struggling to recover from the earthquake that hit on April 25 that killed over 8,000 people and leveled villages across the countryside, leaving thousands homeless in the midst of the coming rainy […]
Dear Friend of Groundswell, I am writing to you today from the Groundswell International coordination office in Asheville, North Carolina where I am surrounded by open-pollinated, GMO-free seed packets. We have already mailed out hundreds of seeds across the country as part of our Annual Spring Seed Campaign. This year’s campaign, in collaboration with our […]