BALTIMORE – Lutheran World Relief has been named a winner in the Global Resilience Partnership’s Innovation Challenge for its initiative to expand women-led climate smart agricultural entrepreneurship models in Nepal.
The recognition for Lutheran World Relief, one of 16 winners in the Innovation Challenge, builds on a grant it received two years ago as part of the Water Window Challenge, a global competition initiated by the Z Zurich Foundation and the Global Resilience Partnership. That grant funded the scale-up of LWR’s Transboundary Resilience Project, a cross-border initiative that helps river basin communities in Nepal and India to better prepare for, respond to and recover from deadly annual monsoon flooding. The project collaborated with local partners in the two countries, bringing together communities across the border to establish their own early warning systems to communicate news of impending flooding.
The Innovation Challenge winners will receive mentorship support, technical advice, and media coverage support. They will also participate in a workshop focused on peer-to-peer learning, leadership skills and fine-tuning their pitches to be held in November in London.
The Innovation Challenge award will support the Narsahi Women’s Cooperative formalize and expand its business operations. With the Global Resilience Partnership’s support, the cooperative leadership will develop a business model and marketing plans demonstrating the benefits of purchasing climate resilient seed varieties and inputs.
“Promoting climate smart farming through entrepreneurial models will ensure sustainability and has the potential to more quickly scale the practices because of the profit potential.” says Garrett Schiche, Director for Program Quality at Lutheran World Relief.
With the support from Lutheran World Relief, the model will be rigorously documented and tested. Upon successful demonstration, it may be replicated with other women’s enterprises in 100 communities where Lutheran World Relief runs the Transboundary Resilience Project.
# # #
About Lutheran World Relief and IMA World Health:
Lutheran World Relief and IMA World Health have joined forces to increase our impact on breaking the cycle of poverty and promoting healthier families and communities. The two international humanitarian nonprofits are integrating IMA World Health's global health expertise and Lutheran World Relief’s work in rural economies and emergency response, creating a unified organization that will help millions more enjoy a healthier, more prosperous tomorrow.