Current Programs

TwoWings supports impactful projects that empower local populations.

Previous Programs

Programs

In 1974, the Foundation for the Application and Teaching of Science (FUNDAEC), was established as a Colombian NGO by the efforts of Dr. Farzam Arbab and associates from the University del Valle in Cali. For over four decades, FUNDAEC focused on knowledge improvement in fields such as education, agriculture, local economy, etc. The organization combines traditional wisdom of local people with modern science to conduct research, provide training, and promote its "transforming environment" programs. FUNDAEC mainly targets young people and empowers them with leadership skills, environmental awareness, and literacy to improve social, cultural, and economic conditions of their local communities. The ultimate goal of these educational and training programs is to impact the lives of the regional population positively. You can find information about the current project (2024-2026) that TwoWings is supporting, Fostering business and climate action, here:

FUNDAEC

The Foundation for the Application and Teaching of Science (FUNDAEC) is a non-governmental organization, founded in Cali, Colombia, in 1974.&nbsp;Learn more about the current project that TwoWings is supporting...

With the financial support of several foundations and organizations, including the Two Wings Foundation, the “Transforming Environment” project has reached its goal of planting 14,810 trees by December 2023. These trees were planted and cared for by the participants, tutors and coordination of the PAS program, as well as their families, leaders, educational institutions and community organizations in eight departments of the country. The PAS program was developed by FUNDAEC and is a training for development. It is offered as non-formal education. FUNDAEC understands the term “education for development” as a process that enables young people to generate and apply knowledge as protagonists of progress in their communities. PSA is a program that equips young people with the necessary skills to become promoters of community well-being. For FUNDAEC, a promoter of the common good is an identity that the program seeks to promote and that can improve collaboration between people, regardless of their profession. Goals of the project The “Transforming the Environment” project aims to achieve several interlinked goals: 1. promoting reforestation and improving the ecological well-being of a region bythrough the planting of trees, with a focus on the restoration of native species. 2. improving the food security of rural communities by promoting the planting of fruit trees as part of the community's diet. 3. facilitation of the PSA program in the implementation of collective projects that go beyond individual initiatives and a more organized and comprehensive approach to community projects. 4. to encourage communities to take systematic and collective action as part of a joint project, to promote the participation of several generations of community members and to encourage cooperation with a variety of groups and organizations. 5. establishing nurseries in communities to grow trees for local use, which will become both a resource for providing trees and a potential small business model for community members The project, which was carried out in 85 communities in 8 departments of Colombia, involved 100 PAS groups with a total of 2186 people responsible for caring for the trees, most of whom are women. In addition, 58 organizations participated and collaborated, including community action boards, educational and governmental institutions. Support from TwoWings in the north of Cali One region that FUNDAEC focused on for financial support through Two Wings was the region north of Cali, which forms the central part of the Valle del Cauca department. In this process, FUNDAEC has built relationships with community leaders, educational institutions and municipal administrations to work on various service projects, and more recently the Transforming the Environment project. In 2023, the project conducted training workshops for about 40 people involved in the program to raise awareness about environmental conservation, tree planting, native species conservation and biodiversity. During the year, 15 planting actions were organized in eight communities near Tuluá and Río Frio, where 367 trees were planted and cared for by 66 individuals and members of the Community Action Boards.

Transforming the Environment 2023 (Completed)

Tree nursery in Cauca

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Transforming the EnvironmentFind out more about the aims of the project and the pleasing results, which include the planting of over 14,000 trees...

Transforming the Environment

Based on the years of experience FUNDAEC has developed a three-year project whose main aims are to 1) contribute to food security by granting communities access to fruit trees;2) promoting soil recuperation through the establishment of local compost spaces; and3) enhancing the economic viability of small businesses—which can further support the previous two aspects at the local level. The project is situated in the interplay between a number of broad issues: climate change, food security, plant species recuperation and income generation through the creation of small businesses. The business centers are around the two specific needs for which there is a demand of products: tree saplings and organic material to recuperate soil nutrition. The project is organized to be developed in two communities within the first year, two additional communities during the second year, and a final two communities in the last year. This incremental growth will allow for the lessons learnt in the first years of the project to be incorporated into the second and third year and to also not saturate the market in the available products (nurseries and compost centers) all at once. In addition, during the first year FUNDAEC will strengthen its existing nursery at its Education Center in Perico Negro, Cauca so that it can serve as a central sorting space for all of the smaller and satelite nurseries.It is expected that these nurseries will be a sources of income and set in motion small businessesin the region in addition to supporting climate change mitigating activities. The project will take place in six (6) communities in the Norte de Cauca Region. These are, potentially, Perico Negro, Puerto Tejada, Alegrias, Mingo, Villa Rica, and Agua Azul. The beneficiaries of the project include the people trained to establish the nurseries and compost centers (aproximately 20 individuals trained), the families who run the businesses (12 families), the community members who will be able to have access to the nurseries and compost centers, (roughly 12,000 individuals), and the participants from FUNDAEC’s other programs which will indirectly participate and benefit from these projects (200 individuals). Project Goals Year 1During the first year of the proejct, a demonstrative nursery will be set up in the Education Centero FUNDAEC has in the village of Perico Negro. This nursery will serve as the main nursery for the region and will be used to help start the offshoot nurseries. Additionally, the educational materials which are needd to train individuals will be revised and the first two communities where the proejct will begin will be choosen and the nurseries and compost centerswill be established. • Establish a demonstartive nursery in Perico Negro, Cauca• Refine the educational materials for establishing nurseries in order to train people• Establish the first offshoot nursery associated with this main nursery in Community 1.• Refine the educational materials for creating compost production sitesin order to trainpeople• Establish a compost production site (business) in Community 1.• Establish a second offshoot nursery in Community 2.• Establish a second compost production site (business) in Community 2. Year 2At the ofset of Year 2 we will conduct a simple economic viability study to ensure that the the business model tried during the first year is viable before expanding to communities 3 and 4 during the year. • Develop a viability study based on the businesses established during the first year.• Establish the third offshoot nursery in Community 3.• Establish a third compost production site (business) in Community 3.• Establish the fourth offshoot nursery in the village of Community 4.• Establish a fourth compost production site (business) in Community 4. Year 3In the final year of the project the efforts will spread to communities 5 and 6 and the entire project will be summarized in a final project report. • Establish the fifth offshoot nursery in the village of Community 5.• Establish a fifth compost production site (business) in Community 5.• Establish the sixth offshoot nursery in the village of Community 6.• Establish a sixth compost production site (business) in Community 6.• Final economic viability study and end of Year 3 report.

Current Project: Fostering business and climate action

Nursery

After working, with the support of Two Wings Foundation, in the area of climate changemitigation, specifically through reforestation, planting trees, and the recuperation of nativespecies—often endangered—in conjunction with concerns around food security, FUNDAEC hasidentified two crucial elements in the chain of food security and soil restoration: the availabilityof trees to be purchased through local high-quality nuseries and the abudnace of nutrient richsoil. Together, these elements can have a significant impact in regions like Norte del Caucawhere FUNDAEC is actively involved.

2024-2026

Abstract&nbsp;This&nbsp;note will&nbsp;discuss the need to support&nbsp;FUNDAEC&nbsp;programs in Colombia. For this purpose, it will briefly look into the situation of Colombia and the available opportunities for progress. FUNDAEC Foundation has years of experiences in developing&nbsp;education&nbsp;programs and&nbsp;also experiences&nbsp;in the field of planting trees and contribution&nbsp;to the betterment of the Colombians’ lives and sustainable development of their communities. To multiply the number of people involved and serve more population, additional financial resources are required.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Current&nbsp;Situation&nbsp;in Colombia&nbsp;Colombia with about 50 million population, is endowed with rich natural resources such as petroleum, coal, gold, coffee and a fertile soil (<a href="https://www.azomining.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1</a>).&nbsp;It is the second most biodiverse country in the world with 52% of its territory&nbsp;covered by forests&nbsp;(<a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/12/colombias-forests-lurch-between-deforestation-and-the-hope-for-a-sustainable-future/#:~:text=High-altitude%20Andean%20forests%2C%20low,home%20to%2058%2C312%20known%20species." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2</a>).&nbsp;It is a regret that despite all these potentials, Colombia loses more than 2,000 km2 of its forests annually to deforestation&nbsp;(<a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20colombia.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">3</a>). Besides, 4.5&nbsp;million&nbsp;Colombians are severely food insecure (<a href="https://www.fao.org/emergencies/countries/detail/en/c/168689" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">4</a>). The combination of these two factors, create a vicious cycle&nbsp;in&nbsp;which&nbsp;deforestation triggers climate change which in turn declines&nbsp;the food production of existing farmlands and finally forces farmers to cut more trees (<a href="https://sites.psu.edu/foodsustainability/2018/03/19/deforestation-and-food/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">5</a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;Program Objectives&nbsp;Sustainable development programs that focus on participation of local communities in Colombia, have been successful in environmental protection and reduction of hunger crisis.&nbsp;FUNDAEC has developed the SAT program which&nbsp;has&nbsp;educated practical services to communities in Colombia and enabled&nbsp;them to improve their well-being and financial resources.&nbsp;FUNDAEC’s “Planting Tree” program is focused on reforestation&nbsp;(agroforestry)&nbsp;and&nbsp;food sovereignty within the country. Local farmers are motivated to participate in the program to socially respond&nbsp;to environment, enhance productivity and food security, increase income, strengthen the bonds in community (especially by exchanging crops and ideas), and get support with saplings, seed banks, labors, fertilizer and nurseries.&nbsp;To facilitate the process,&nbsp;TwoWings&nbsp;will financially support the tree planting and local food production program to multiply the number of trees and plots planted. The aim is&nbsp;specifically&nbsp;to increase the number of small projects - not their sizes - to avoid mono-cultures that have multiple disadvantages for&nbsp;the&nbsp;environment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Urban Gardening and&nbsp;Agroforestry&nbsp;in&nbsp;Colombia&nbsp;The program&nbsp;includes two parts: Urban Gardening and Small Agroforestry. In urban gardening, people use public spaces or their balconies, yards, or mini-farms to produce diverse crops to meet the needs of themselves and the local population, and sell or exchange them with others. The&nbsp;TwoWings&nbsp;Fund for Agroforestry will support the purchase of seeds and supply fertilizers and pest controls to help with growth and maintenance of the seedlings&nbsp;in Colombia.&nbsp;Likewise,&nbsp;the&nbsp;small agroforestry program&nbsp;in Colombia&nbsp;includes providing saplings of regional fruit and&nbsp;non-fruit&nbsp;trees&nbsp;for&nbsp;food and income generation purposes and also preserving the natural environment. In addition, the participants are educated&nbsp;on&nbsp;how to plant saplings and care for the trees within their house gardens or mini-farms.&nbsp;Workshops for the knowledge and skills&nbsp;of&nbsp;growing crops and trees are offered&nbsp;also to&nbsp;families. In addition, their precious experiences are shared with others in workshops and discussion groups.&nbsp;&nbsp;Colombia&nbsp;Can Have&nbsp;a&nbsp;More Promising Future&nbsp;Due to the fertile soil and encouraging results achieved through this program, expanding the number of urban gardens and small agroforests seem highly attainable. By donating €30&nbsp;per tree, anyone can join us in making a&nbsp;positive change&nbsp;in Colombia&nbsp;because the “Planting Trees” program provides&nbsp;not only&nbsp;food security, financial support and several job opportunities, but&nbsp;it&nbsp;also helps solving environmental challenges and protecting natural resources of the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.” Jim FowlerThis note was prepared by&nbsp;a protagonist&nbsp;team of&nbsp;TwoWings&nbsp;Foundation for agroforestry supporting the prosperity of communities in November 2021.

Agroforestry, Food Sovereignty & Reforestation (Completed)

Agroforestry, Food Sovereignty & Reforestation

Agroforestry program focuses on sustainable food production, employment, and education in Colombia to improve people’s living conditions and economy.

Colombia

July to December 2021This project began in January 2021, in the commune 20 of the city of Cali, Colombia with the purpose of strengthening small vegetable garden initiatives for 100 families to overcome negative impact of the economic recession during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was linked to programs offered by the Créalo Foundation, a local organization that works in partnership with FUNDAEC.&nbsp;&nbsp;Project Objectives&nbsp;<ol><li>Providing financial support to 100 small productive initiatives with seed funds and basic infrastructure to develop and apply food marketing and exchange models.&nbsp;</li><li>Designing four training workshops on the following topics and offering them to 100 participants:&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Introductory concepts: Food security and sovereignty, health and nutrition, leadership&nbsp;</li><li>Organic fertilizers&nbsp;</li><li>Small-scale production&nbsp;</li><li>Marketing&nbsp;</li><li>Strengthening the infrastructure of Créalo in the Siloé neighborhood to provide 1,500 packages of basic food products to lactating and pregnant mothers, 30,000 lunch rations to 150 families and building a terrace that can house a nursery for distributing seedlings among the productive initiatives.&nbsp;</li></ol>Learnings and Challenges&nbsp;The systematization of the experience which began during the project to record learnings and challenges of the process itself generated many new things to learn itself.&nbsp;&nbsp;Challenges&nbsp;<ul><li>Lack of electronic devices for people to connect to the training offered.&nbsp;</li><li>Little knowledge of virtual platforms by the project beneficiaries.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Social unrest as a result of the national strike since April of 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Lack of spaces of common interest in the neighborhood.&nbsp;</li></ul>Learnings about the progress of the project&nbsp;<ul><li>The need to carry out the training workshops in person and face-to-face for small groups of people (between 5 and 10 per session) to reach more people.&nbsp;</li><li>The importance of families' awareness about food production in their homes after the social unrest due to the national strike since April of 2021.&nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Identifying which foods are most consumed in homes (tomatoes, coriander, chilis and aromatic herbs), and which foods grow best in the community.&nbsp;</li><li>The necessity of a community fund to support initiatives contributing to neighborhood development.&nbsp;</li></ul> January to June 2021Building Culture&nbsp;Everyone can contribute to strengthen local food systems&nbsp;In&nbsp;Siloé, the neighborhood of Cali in Colombia, which has a highly defenseless society and economy, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are devastating and fatal. Additionally, the inhabitants experience national strikes resulting in challenges such as insecurity, violence, and social instability. However, many people, local organizations, and companies are joining together to improve the living conditions of these people.&nbsp;FUNDAEC, in collaboration with the&nbsp;Creálo&nbsp;Foundation, trains promoters of community well-being despite the difficulties. They help to distribute groceries to&nbsp;people&nbsp;in the neighborhood who are unable to work and support their families. Mayor's Office and the Archdiocese of Cali supported&nbsp;the&nbsp;foundations to continue providing food for families, so they distribute buckets with seedlings to families that intend to produce food in their own&nbsp;homes.&nbsp;The most important aim of the learning and development programs is to create independent people who can build their community on their own. The inhabitants are trained by FUNDAEC programs to be responsible for their lives. They will be encouraged to plant beans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, carrots, paprika, corn, broccoli, and herbs such as basil, coriander, oregano, lippia alba, lemon balm, mint, and parsley to improve their lives.&nbsp;Program Objectives and Challenges&nbsp;&nbsp;The program has three objectives as well as some challenges to tackle, but the&nbsp;encouraging&nbsp;acceptance by the community members motivated them to train more people.&nbsp;“The First Objective&nbsp;is providing financial support to small productive initiatives with seed funds and basic infrastructure,&nbsp;to&nbsp;develop&nbsp;and&nbsp;apply food marketing, and exchange models. The main activities focus on identification of families that would participate in the process, delivery of supplies to the families for establishing productive initiatives, follow-up of each productive initiative, and the establishment of spaces for evaluation and consultation on the project.”&nbsp;“The Second Objective&nbsp;is to organize training workshops on the topics of food security and sovereignty, health and nutrition, organic fertilizers, small-scale production, and marketing.” The workshops are often online but due to the difficulties of internet connections or technological device accessibilities, sometimes small groups were invited to&nbsp;gather in person and&nbsp;express their experiences and progress.&nbsp;“The Third Objective&nbsp;is strengthening&nbsp;Créalo's&nbsp;infrastructure to provide packages of basic food products to nursing and pregnant mothers, and constructing terraces&nbsp;to shelter plant nurseries&nbsp;to distribute seedlings to the productive initiatives.”&nbsp;Just as any other significant program, this&nbsp;program also has its challenges and shortcomings.&nbsp;For example, although families gain adequate knowledge, they have limited or no planting areas which&nbsp;is&nbsp;resolved&nbsp;by financial support and delivery of already planted containers. This solution in turn extends&nbsp;the diversity of the plants grown by each family. Moreover, social disturbances, lack of electronic devices&nbsp;and&nbsp;online platform&nbsp;experiences, and problems with internet connectivity were and are still major&nbsp;hindering factors that need permanent solutions.&nbsp;The results are found in adjustments to the initiative and with the financial support of the&nbsp;TwoWings&nbsp;Foundation, the program&nbsp;has&nbsp;developed.&nbsp;TwoWings&nbsp;owes contributors and donors&nbsp;who&nbsp;support programs&nbsp;as this&nbsp;has allowed continuity of learning and training in an urban neighborhood&nbsp;such as&nbsp;Siloé.&nbsp;

Strengthening Local Food Systems (Completed)

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People get trained to improve their living conditions, plant food and get informed on health, nutrition, production, and marketing issues.

Cali

Final Report 2021&nbsp;This project is located in the rural area of the municipality of Puerto Tejada, Cauca, Colombia, in the premises of the University Center for Rural Wellbeing. The project focused on the conversion of 2 hectares of land into productive plots, involving a variety of crops and the production of organic fertilizers in response to the adverse social and economic conditions caused by the pandemic. The project contributed to the healthy and nutritious diet of families and a food marketing network was established for 70 families.&nbsp;Project Objectives&nbsp;<ul><li>Establishment of Diversified High-Efficiency plots on 2 hectares&nbsp;</li><li>Establishing a food network for marketing organic products&nbsp;</li><li>Systematization and dissemination of knowledge generated based on experience.&nbsp;</li></ul>Achievements of Activities&nbsp;<ul><li>Identification and diversifying two hectares of land with plantain mounds, banana mounds, lemon trees, orange trees, tangerine trees, casava and pumpkin plants&nbsp;</li><li>2 compost bins were built and 92 bags of bokashi were produced as organic fertilizer to improve the soil of the two hectares of land.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Establishment of Diversified High-Efficiency plots, maintenance, and fertilizing in optimal conditions&nbsp;</li><li>Construction of structures for fertilizer production&nbsp;</li><li>Selection of species to plant in plots.&nbsp;</li><li>Identification of 70 families interested in organic products.&nbsp;</li><li>Creation of a marketing network for natural products and fruits benefits 70 regular users per month.&nbsp;</li><li>The quality of products harvested was very popular among consumers and was marketed throughout the year very well.&nbsp;</li><li>Identifying products regularly consumed in homes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Evaluation of the marketing methods.&nbsp;</li><li>Knowledge, learning, and actions were systematized and disseminated.&nbsp;</li><li>4 workshops were held and 5 bulletins prepared for the general public had a positive influence on them and raised awareness on the dignity of farmers, food security, and strengthening the local economy through productive initiatives by families.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>Learnings&nbsp;<ul><li>Regular meetings held to plan the weekly work allowed each member to be involved and fulfill the goals. Community volunteers helped with planned tasks on community work days.&nbsp;</li><li>Weekly consultation meetings with the team helped to identify the highest priority issues.&nbsp;</li><li>Organic products were marketed to more than 70 families and 2,400 kilograms of food was produced.&nbsp;</li><li>Learning about using fertilizers such as guano and production of Bokashi. 92 bags of excellent quality Bokashi were produced.&nbsp;</li><li>Contacting El Mirador agroecological farm to learn about the different vegetable and fruit tree production processes, the importance of having space for producing organic fertilizer, the marketing methods implementation and the promotion strategies they use.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Learnings from the simple weekly cycle established in product marketing including: Supply-Demand-Harvest-Distribution, to monitor and follow up on sales.&nbsp;</li><li>Setting up a simple accounting system in Excel to consolidate financial information and ensure transparency.&nbsp;</li></ul>Challenges&nbsp;<ul><li>Bad weather and intense rainfall which affected the crops due to excess moisture; efforts have now been made to cut back tree branches to provide greater access to sunlight.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Obtaining a greater variety of agricultural products, since not all the plants adapted well to the environmental conditions.&nbsp;</li><li>Further progress is needed to identify and encourage farmers in village of Perico Negro in Puerto Tejada to join the marketing network because the participation of small producers in the village is needed to increase the diversity of products.</li></ul>

Bananen

This program pursues converting 2 hectares of land into high-efficiency plots to harvest organic products and establish a food network.

FUNDAECColombia

Donation Goal ForFUNDAEC

Transforming the Environment 2023 (Completed)

Current Project: Fostering business and climate action

Agroforestry, Food Sovereignty & Reforestation (Completed)

Strengthening Local Food Systems (Completed)

Strengthening Local Food Systems (Completed)

FUNDAEC
Colombia