Project: Community health, women’s rights, environmental preservation: Strengthening indigenous capacity in the Miskito rainforest of Honduras
Partner: Alianza Verde
Indigenous communities in Honduras – like indigenous communities around the world – are among the most poor and marginalized. Working with CFCA’s local partner Alianza Verde, this project works with indigenous women’s associations to build capacity, develop a strong network amongst indigenous communities, educate about women’s rights and engage communities in national level policy dialogue.
Despite the immense natural wealth of their traditional territory, the indigenous peoples of Honduras that inhabitant the incredibly bio-diverse Miskito rainforest, face alarming rates of poverty, lack of access to education and health care, high rates of domestic violence, and environmental degradation. In the midst of these crises, women’s voices are not being heard at the community level and they are being left out of the development process.
While community organizations do exist in this region, they lack training and capacity to become engaged in active dialogue and strategic planning for their communities’ development – the women’s group are very new and exist with no material or financial support . It is incredibly important that local indigenous capacity be developed to participate in critical dialogues about land use and sustainable and economic development in the protected rainforest area in which they live. It is also necessary that issues of discrimination against women, domestic violence and women shouldering the burden of the worst forms of poverty and exclusion be addressed by supporting these women themselves.
This project, therefore, proposes to develop a strong network among indigenous communities, educate community members about women’s rights and engage communities in national level policy dialogue. CFCA’s local partner in Honduras, Alianza Verde,itself an internationally respected indigenous NGO from the Miskito rainforest with excellent project management experience and intimate local knowledge will lead the project.
The project goals are to:
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