Sustainable Development
CURRENT PROJECTS
Namlo's Development Programs are based on building the capacity of members of the community to work together to help themselves.
Adult Literacy: Adult education is the first step towards poverty alleviation. Namlo helps provide adult literacy classes so that the communities are better prepared to develop and manage their own sustainable development projects.
Community Training: Namlo helps communities learn how to organize, plan and run profitable, self-sustaining and environmentally friendly programs that support their school and improve their q uality of life.
Women's Empowerment: Educating women has a positive impact on a community's economic productivity. Namlo provides women with the tools to become effective leaders for change in their families and communities.
Income generating projects. The goal of self-sustaining schools is fundamental to how Namlo works with communities after they construct a school building. By starting cottage industries, communities can raise the funds necessary to insure that their school will be kept in good condition (repair, painting, cleaning). These funds can also be used to supplement or update supplies and learning materials, pay for an additional private teacher, make improvements, or pay for any project that the community sees as benefiting its school.
Infrastructure and health projects. In a number of our remote villages in both Nepal and Nicaragua, Namlo is working to implement water and sanitation projects. Namlo is partnering with Rotary, Engineers Without Borders and with other local and international organizations accomplish this goal, so critical in our efforts to improve the quality of life for the families in these communities.
Women's group in Dhuskun, Nepal, after signing a contract to donate 20% of their proceeds to the local school.
How you can help with these programs:
Volunteer: Namlo seeks expert volunteers willing to consult or work directly with villages in need of community building.
We need volunteers with expertise in small business operations, fair trade, and crafts. An interest in agriculture, weaving, or other handicrafts would match current projects. Contact us for a list of income generating projects needing support.
Donate: To our community development grant fund to help jumpstart income generating projects.
Volunteer or Partner: Namlo seeks volunteers and NGO's with expertise in potable water, engineering, renewable energy, and healthcare. Contact us for a list of needs.
Be a Travel Volunteer. Travel to villages and work directly with community members on any of our community development projects. Contact us for current projects, and for dates and costs of travel.
COMPLETED/ONGOING PROJECTS
Income generating projects.
Graduates of Namlo’s adult literacy classes are able to take the next step toward empowerment and self-sufficiency, through their participation in income generating projects. Namlo has helped train dozens of women in skills such as Dhaka-weaving and sewing, alternative agricultural programs, paper making and goat raising. Namlo also provides assistance with the business training needed to set up successful small businesses. Women who were once illiterate are now able to create and market a product, calculate profits, and then use those profits to improve their own lives as well as their overall community.
Two of the women weavers from Sabhung working hard to create beautiful traditional Nepali dhakas.
Infrastructure and Health.
One of the biggest challenges in remote villages is lack of access to water. Namlo believes in partnerships with other organizations to address this crucial need. In 2010 Namlo partnered with Rotary to bring water and sanitation to 64 families in Los Pinares, Nicaragua and is currently working with Rotary on a water and sanitation project in Barrio Nuevo, Nicaragua. Engineers Without Borders will be partnering with Namlo to assess current water and sanitation needs in Sabhung, Nepal, and craft a plan to bring much-needed clean water into the village. Health clinics have also been conducted to address general health, vision and dental health issues faced by the children in our schools.
The new water system in Los Pinares, Nicaragua.
Yarmasing, Nepal.
As our longest running collaboration, the Yarmasing community reached self-sufficiency in 2009. Namlo’s first community carried out several economic development projects, including greeting cards, made by the Youth Group using handmade paper and local materials (dried flowers), and a Women’s Unity Group raising medicinal herbs and goats. The profits from these efforts have been shared by the school, individuals, and community.
Los Pinares, Nicaragua.
Namlo trained women in sewing and cutting and they learn to make basic clothing and school uniforms. Namlo set them up with sewing machines and a large cutting table. They sell their products in nearby communities and get orders from the local people. With proceeds from this income generating program they support the needs of their school.
With the support of three very motivated youngsters from Colorado who travelled with their families to volunteer in Nicaragua, Namlo helped the community of Los Pinares build a school kitchen and lunch room. Mothers take turns preparing school lunch and used to carry the food to the school. Now they can prepare it on site and the children can have a hot meal.
© 2008 NAMLO International
