Recognizing the importance of rural institutions to socio-economic development: 2012 The International Year of Cooperatives.

2012 has been declared by the United Nations (UN) as the International Year of Cooperatives. However, it all starts today on the 31st October, when the year is officially launched at the UN Headquarters in New York.

At the launch the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will host a side event that focuses on agricultural cooperatives and their importance for food security. The event will be webcast and you can tune in at 1.15 pm (GMT -4).

Cooperatives are business enterprises owned and controlled by the members they serve. The difference between cooperatives and other types of businesses lies in the importance of keeping the balance between pursuing profit and meeting the interests of the community and their members. According to ILO cooperatives provide 100 million jobs worldwide. Agricultural cooperatives are important in supporting small agricultural producers and marginalized groups because they create sustainable rural employment, and they facilitate access to markets, food and productive assets. They also help them influence policy and decision making.

For the International Year of Cooperatives and beyond, the three Rome-based United Nations agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP) will continue to raise awareness and support rural institutions, farmer and producer associations, and cooperatives.

For more information: Agricultural Cooperatives: Paving the way for Food Security and Rural Development.

Photo credit: ©IFAD/Radhika Chalasani

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Tesco management understandably wanted to

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The following report is written by staff at the EIU and is carried in its entirety by That's Business for the benefit of our readers:- 

The Economist Intelligence Unit has reduced its 2012 GDP forecast for the euro zone. We now expect the economy to contract by 0.3% compared with our previous forecast of growth of 0.8%. The debt crisis in the euro zone periphery shows little sign of prompt

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French Catholic Resistance to Jesus-Mocking 'Theatre' Doubling Each Day

"It started with a dozen or so Catholics from Renouveau Francais. Then more came along to replace those who had been arrested. By Tuesday night there were more than 150. Last night there were more than 300. The riot police treat the French Catholics with brutality, and arrest everyone in sight including priests, but every night the number of protesters has doubled. Doubtless there will be an even larger number tonight."

Each is liable, under Article 431-1 of the French Criminal Code, for penalties ranging from one to three years in prison for defending the image of Jesus from feces. Had they been defending the Talmud or the gas chambers they would be lauded as heroes. What is now most sacred in the West, Christ or Antichrist?

Please support these brave souls:

http://www.soutienauxmilitants.com/

Also see:

"Notre Dame is Not a Synagogue"

Hypocrites!

Africa's small farmers - a change of thinking

by Mohamed Beavogui

As an African but also a development practitioner, I've seen a lot of good ideas and best intentions left broken and long forgotten in farmers' fields.

In so many cases, the reason is simple. One idea, one piece of technology on its own seldom addresses the multiplicity of problems facing the average smallholder farmer struggling to make a living on a small patch of land in a remote corner of his or her country. Yet too often, that's exactly what people look for - an easy fix or a single solution.

In my experience, both in the field and now as the Director of the Western and Central Africa Division at IFAD, what makes a real difference is something more fundamental - it's how we look at Africa's smallholder farmers.

Do we see them as victims - poverty stricken women and men trapped in cycles of subsistence farming - or as potential entrepreneurs struggling to run small businesses in places were basic tools such as finance, technology, training and access to markets are unavailable? It's my belief that we need a paradigm shift in the way we think - one that takes us away from old ideas of African agriculture which rely on basic farming practices and on government and donor handouts and, instead, focuses on creating a vibrant rural economy built on establishing the right business environment for small farmers.

A woman I know in Ghana is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Her name is Faustina Sayki. She runs a successful cassava processing centre in a small rural town. She employs 34 women and produces about 30 tonnes of cassava flour, known as gari, a week. Her customers are in the US, UK, Nigeria and Mali. She also extracts starch from cassava and sells it to local textile and pharmaceutical factories. Many describe her as a national success story.

So how did a poor cassava farmer in a remote community build a successful cassava-processing factory? A business environment was created that gave her a chance, that's how.

Through the IFAD-supported Roots and Tubers Project Improvement and Marketing Programme she received support she needed to respond directly to market opportunities. For example, she received training that helped her strengthen her entrepreneurial skills and business savvy; and she had access to expert research and adapted technologies that helped her improve her factory's efficiency and produce a higher quality and quantity of gari.

With a sound business plan and a savings history, she was able to access private equity from a rural bank. Together, these things enabled Faustina to enter the market with a well-priced, reliable, high-quality product that is now in demand. Her story suggests what's possible once we put away old notions and start looking at small farming in Africa as a business opportunity.

Originally posted on World Challenge blog

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Betting on llamas

In Bolivia’s cold and harsh altiplano, llamas, alpacas and vicuñas are big business. Through the IFAD-funded Camelid Valorization Programme (better known to locals as Proyecto VALE), ranchers are increasing their incomes, protecting the environment and transforming their lives thanks to improved management practices of these loveable little creatures.

Videos
Learn more with videos from project participants (en español).

Viceministro de Desarrollo Rural de Bolivia Víctor Hugo Vásquez - Proyecto VALE
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Testimonios Directos – Ide Fatima de Ayllu Mimani (Proyecto VALE Bolivia)
Ide Fatima de Ayllu Mimani es usuaria del Proyecto de Apoyo a la Valorización de la Economía Campesina de Camélidos (VALE). En este testimonio directo, ella explica su emprendimiento de llamas.

Testimonios Directos - Gervasio Mimani (Proyecto VALE Bolivia)
Gervasio Mimani es usuario del Proyecto de Apoyo a la Valorización de la Economía Campesina de Camélidos (VALE). En este testimonio directo explica su emprendimiento de llamas y sus esperanzas para el futuro.

Testimonios Directos – Calzados Arriba (Proyecto VALE Bolivia)
En este testimonio, un usuario del Proyecto de Apoyo a la Valorización de la Economía Campesina de Camélidos (VALE), nos explica como los calzados se han convertido en mecanismo para salir de la pobreza.

Testimonios Directos - Patricia Ramírez Nuñez, 23 (Proyecto VALE Bolivia)
Patricia Ramírez Nuñez es usuaria del Proyecto de Apoyo a la Valorización de la Economía Campesina de Camélidos (VALE). En este testimonio directo, ella explica su emprendimiento de turismo y destaca los cambios en términos de equidad de género que han visto en los últimos años en Bolivia.

Testimonios Directos - Marcos Sebastian Ramírez Nuñez (Turismo Sostenible en Bolivia)
Marcos Sebastian Ramírez Nuñez es usuario del Proyecto de Apoyo a la Valorización de la Economía Campesina de Camélidos (VALE). En este testimonio directo, el universitario explica su emprendimiento de turismo.

All photos and videos ©IFAD/Greg Benchwick

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The Kvetching Pope, Abe Foxman has issued another of his kvetching edicts, this one titled, "ADL Deeply Disturbed by Archbishop's Remarks Likening Politicians in Trinidad and Tobago to Jews":

... Port of Spain Archbishop Edward Gilbert was reported to have [likened Trinidad and Tobago politicians to Jews] during a Jubilee Mass held October 24 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church in San Fernando to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Roman Catholic mission there.

"The Jews were compassionate and caring for their own, they were compassionate and caring to the people of their nation, to the people of their race, to the people of their ethnic communities. However, that wasn't enough for Jesus. Jesus took that teaching and universalized it," Archbishop Gilbert told his congregation, according to a news report. "In many cases in this country, there are people who love one another, who are compassionate, but they have the mindset of the original Jewish people. They are good to their own ... but they have not universalized the concept of love."

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said the archbishop's statements as reported were "a disturbing repackaging of ancient anti-Jewish canards and supersessionist beliefs."

"Archbishop Gilbert devalues Judaism over and against Christianity," said Mr. Foxman. "The false notion that Jews only care about themselves and don't care enough about others is one of the major pillars of classical anti-Semitism."

"While the Catholic Church has made tremendous strides in countering anti-Jewish notions such as the belief that the advent of Christianity superseded Judaism, Archbishop Gilbert's statements show that he has not internalized the important reforms of Vatican II."

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/6145_13.htm

I agree that Pope Foxman is deeply disturbed and I would be happy to illustrate one of the many reasons why.

Above we see Pope Foxman in his edict to the Goyim proclaim that it's a damnable "major pillar of classical anti-Semitism" to recognize the fact that Judaism is not a universal religion but a tribal religion which teaches its adherents to favor the tribe over outsiders.

But over here, in Foxman's inter-office memo to the tribe not meant for Goy eyes to see, Foxman admonishes the tribe to not love universally because to do so is "Judaism lite" which "brushes past the theological significance of acting on behalf of Jews."

“What I’ve been critical of is those who have sold Judaism as, ‘All you have to do is love universally and that’s Judaism,’ ” Foxman said. “It’s not—it’s ersatz Judaism. It’s Judaism lite.” It also, Foxman added pointedly, has the potential to elevate political action on behalf of others while brushing past the theological significance of acting on behalf of Jews.

Tikkun Olam is a Tribal, not Universal, Concept

Evidently, Pope Foxman is deeply disturbed because he wants to enforce his tribal racket while defining it a damnable heresy for any outsider to recognize that fact. To paraphrase St. Augustine, by doing so, his madness, not innocence, is manifest.

I have often marveled at the word-magic I've read in pseudo-scholarly post-graduate volumes as they circle around the white elephant of Judaic tribalism (euphemized as "particularism") for hundreds of pages dedicated to mesmerizing the reader into the false belief that Judaism is a universal, progressive, enlightened religion.

The deeply disturbing part of it is the deception and browbeating of observers into not acknowledging what is plain before their eyes--that Judaism is the most un-universal religion in existence, if not in history. Every sane person knows it. Everyone who has lived among followers of the rabbis has experienced it. There are individual exceptions among "Jews," but as Foxman says in his inter-office memo, they are not really living according to true Judaism.

That this even has to be decoded is a testament to the state of degradation we've descended to. Of course Judaism is tribal; the word plainly means tribe-of-Judah-ism. It's about sustaining the tribe of counterfeit Judah at all costs. It's not about loving and serving God; loving ones non-Judaic neighbor as oneself or any such universal value.

Pray for Pope Foxman that God will relieve him of his deeply disturbed state and that he will cease his attempts to inculcate the same in us. Until he is miraculously healed, tell your friends, family and clergy to ignore the disturbed ravings of the self-chosen Pope Foxman.

Lila Downs – Reverence, Hope, Change

Mexico’s favourite singer-songwriter dishes on development, gender, indigenous issues, peace and music
Lila Downs is a Grammy-award winner, Academy Award nominee, singer, songwriter and activist. Her songs tap the heart of indigenous Mexican traditions, also looking to world beats and pop to create an effervescence message of reverence, hope and change.

In this videocast, we interview Lila Downs on indigenous issues, violence, music and culture in Latin America. Her frank and incisive answers provide a unique glimpse into contemporary trends in rural development, gender equality and indigenous rights. Learn more about Lila at www.liladowns.com.

Photos and music courtesy Lila Downs.
Photo credits:
Lila Downs Turquoise - ©Fernando Aceves
Lila Lagrima de Maiz - ©Luna Maran
Lila Pensando - ©Elena Pardo
Metate - ©Ricardo Trabulsi

All other photos ©IFAD/Greg Benchwick.

Pope Stern's Inquisition

Certainly, notorious anti-Semites[*] such as Bishop Williamson must not be granted a place in the Catholic Church,” [WJC Deputy Secretary-General Maram] Stern declared.

World Jewish Congress urges Rome to sideline opponents of Catholic-Jewish reconciliation

24 October 2011

Ahead of the interfaith meeting later this week in Assisi, Italy – hosted by Pope Benedict XVI and to be attended by 300 religious leaders from around the Globe – the World Jewish Congress (WJC) has urged the Vatican to forcefully oppose attempts to blame Jews collectively for the death of Jesus. Deputy Secretary-General Maram Stern, the WJC official in charge of inter-religious dialogue (pictured right at a meeting with the pope in 2010), said: “Last week, Catholics were treated to another despicable tractate by Bishop Richard Williamson whose point was to derail Catholic-Jewish reconciliation and to revive age-old anti-Semitic canards such as that of Jewish deicide. This was a timely reminder that there are still many clerics out there who vehemently oppose and actively undermine dialogue and reconciliation between Catholics and Jews.”

“Unfortunately, some Catholic splinter groups such as Williamson’s Society of St. Pius X continue to defend and propagate medieval anti-Jewish teachings. It is therefore important not to jeopardize the enormous achievements made in Catholic-Jewish dialogue over the past decades by allowing preachers of hate in again through the back door. Certainly, notorious anti-Semites such as Bishop Williamson must not be granted a place in the Catholic Church,” Stern declared.

Last week, Williamson – who in 2009 publicly denied the existence of gas chambers in Nazi death camps and was convicted by a German court earlier this year of Holocaust denial – wrote on his web blog: “Only the Jews (leaders and people) were the prime agents of the deicide” [of Jesus Christ], and not Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. Williamson also alleged “a continuity amongst Jews down the centuries”, indirectly blaming today’s Jews for Jesus’ death.

Maram Stern, who will represent the World Jewish Congress at the Assisi gathering, said Jews around the world valued that Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor John Paul II, “is sincerely committed to strengthening inter-faith dialogue.” Stern urged the Pope to reiterate statements he made earlier this year in his book on Jesus and turn them into an article of faith of the Church.

http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/10813/world_jewish_congress_urges_rome_to_sideline_opponents_of_catholic_jewish_reconciliation

* As Joseph Sobran aptly noted, "The word has no precise definition. An “anti-Semite” may or may not hate Jews. But he is certainly hated by Jews."

Also see:

WJC President Alexander Mashkevich

Papal Ambiguity has a Clear Trajectory

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Bishop Williamson Contra Mundum

Bishop Williamson Contra Mundum

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Pope Foxman Says SSPX Has No Place in the Church

"After Bishop's Latest Anti-Semitic Writings, ADL Says Pius X Society 'Has No Place' In Mainstream Church"

Rabbis Demand Papal Condemnation of Bishop Richard Williamson's Preaching of the Gospel

[The Pope] must clearly show that there is no room in the Catholic Church for purveyors of hate.

Translation: "We rabbis hate Jesus Christ and bishops who uphold the plain teaching of his Gospel. We will not bloody our hands in destroying these figures we hate. We demand that some third party do our dirty work. This is the tradition of our Pharisaic ancestors which we uphold. The Gospel warns the Goyim of this method of ours so we must destroy it, or at least make it impossible for its plain teaching to be understood. But among ourselves we revel in our vengeance against Jesus and all those we hate. We will continue to use this method, and others until our hate is completely unopposed."

Enough from these hypocritical commissars of hate! We also ask, when will the Pope condemn their Talmudic hatred and lies? The Pope should support Bp. Williamson's preaching of the Gospel.

Pope called on to condemn bishop’s new anti-Semitic slur

October 19, 2011

BERLIN (JTA) -- A group of European rabbis has called on the pope to condemn the latest anti-Semitic remarks by a Holocaust-denying Catholic bishop.

The Brussels-based Conference of European Rabbis slammed comments by Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson in which he allegedly blamed Jews for deicide. Williamson, a member of the radical Catholic Pius Brotherhood sect, reportedly made the comments in the latest issue of his newsletter, “The Eleison Comments." He has been living in London ...

[Conference of European Rabbis President, Chief Rabbi Pinchas] Goldschmidt called for the Church to "suspend negotiations with extremist Catholic tendencies until it is clear that these groups show a clear commitment to tackling anti-Semitism within their ranks."

In his newsletter, Williamson wrote that “only the Jews were the primary agents of the deicide because Pontius Pilate would never have condemned Jesus if the Jews had not asked for blood.”

Williamson was found guilty of Holocaust denial in Germany in 2010 and fined about $14,000. He has previously denied the existence of gas chambers and the murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication against Williamson, but the Vatican also reportedly declared that "in order to be admitted to episcopal functions within the Church, (he) will have to take his distance, in an absolutely unequivocal and public fashion, from his position on the Shoah, which the Holy Father was not aware of when the excommunication was lifted."

During meetings with Pope Benedict in Berlin last month, German Jewish leader Dieter Graumann said that one of the issues that troubled Jewish-Catholic relations was the Church's refusal to condemn Williamson.

In his statement Wednesday, Goldschmidt said the pope "has shown a commitment to fostering a spirit of positive dialogue with Jews both before and during his papacy. But he must clearly show that there is no room in the Catholic Church for purveyors of hate."

Full article:

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/10/19/3089896/controversial-catholic-bishop-makes-new-anti-semitic-remarks

KLM5 Takes Off at DA-BSWM Grounds

GAME ON! Gathered in the grounds through the bujong call, KLM5 opens with a bang with representatives from DA, DAR, DTI, UN Women, and IFAD.

The 5^th Knowledge and Learning Market (KLM5) officially opened on October 19, 2011, in the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) grounds, Quezon City. KLM5 is a two-day activity

DA Undersecretary Joel Rudinas and DAR Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong led the ribbon-cutting ceremony with IFAD-Philippines Country Programme Officer Yolando Arban. Also present in the ceremony are DAR-Region 10 Director Felix Aguhob, DAR-Region 13 Director Faisal Banduay, UN Women M&E Officer Loren Umali, RuMEPP Director Jerry Clavesillas, DAR-FAPSO Officer Susan Perez, and DAR Director Susan Leones.

Booths showcasing products and various information materials were opened to participants. Exhibitors are composed of government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and IFAD-funded projects such as the RaFPEP, CHARMP2, RUPES, CURE, NMCIREMP, and RuMePP.

Participants of the event expressed excitement over the event and to the products that exhibitors offer. Aside from the booths, entries for the photo and t-shirt design contests are displayed. A photo booth is also available for the participants to take quirky shots wearing different costumes. (Written by Sharleene Kay Alayan, RaFPEP/Photo courtesy of Patrick Depolio, CHARMP2)

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Pope John Paul II: Auschwitz "The Golgotha of the Modern World"

Rabbi-Blessed Pope John Paul II kneeling at "The Death Wall" at Auschwitz, June 1, 1979

"Auschwitz, along with so many other concentration camps, remains the horribly eloquent symbol of the effects of totalitarianism. It is our duty to make a pilgrimage to these places, in mind and heart, on this 50th anniversary. As I said at the Mass celebrated in 1979 at Brzezinka near Auschwitz: 'I kneel at this Golgotha of the modern world.'"(Message of John Paul II on 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe, May 8, 1995)

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1995/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_08051995_50th-end-war-europe_en.html

In this outrageous statement the Pope was reaffirming the earlier proclamation of Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum who said, "The Golgotha of modern man is Auschwitz."

Also see:

“Every denial of the Holocaust must be punished harshly.”

"It's absolutely clear that a Holocaust denier can't have a room, a space in the Catholic church"

"Being a Catholic is Radically Incompatible With Denying the Holocaust"

"It is clear that one cannot be Catholic if he denies the Shoah."

"Someone who denies the Holocaust, the Shoah, can not be restored to church office"

“To forget ['The Holocaust'] is disastrous, dangerous, and heretical."

Cardinal Dolan's Secret to Worldly Success

Church Council Up for Discussion, Not "The Holocaust"

Bishop Mark Davies Considers "the Theological Significance of 'The Holocaust' to the Christian Mind"

Rabbi, "Holocaust Scholar" Kosher Stamps John Paul II Beatification

Gas chambers replaced Christian cross, says rabbi

"Auschwitz: Beginning of a New Era?"

Vatican II Peritus: Because of "The Holocaust," Church Must Reinterpret Gospel

"Holocaust' Central to New World Order"

"When each of us comes before the Six Million, we will be asked what we did with our lives."

Bad Advice From the Pope

Pontifical Household Preacher: A Revelation and Obfuscation

Benedict Once Again Bows to Holocaustolatry, Repents

Benedict at Auschwitz

More on Benedict's Holocaust Prostration, Repentance

Catholic Dogma Denier Hans Küng Clings Fast to "Holocaust" Dogma

Chief Rabbis Ask Pope for Holocaust Studies Requirement in Catholic Schools

'Holocaust' Liturgy for Catholic School Children

Pope makes Nazi atrocities part of Stations of the Cross

Priest, Rabbi Ask, “Did God Survive the Holocaust?”

Knowlege Products Lined up for KLM5

ALL SET. Creative juices can help a lot in decorating the sixteen (16) booths for the KLM5 to showcase knowledge products during the event.

Exhibitors flocked at the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) grounds, Quezon City, Philippines on October 18, 2011 to set up booths for the 5^th Knowledge and Learning Market (KLM5). The KLM5 will be held on October 19-20, 2011 at the BSWM Convention Hall.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organizes the KLM yearly. For this year, KLM5 adopts the theme “Gender and Youth: Innovative Waves in Rural Development,” which aims to rally the support of different sectors on gender equality and to involve youth in rural development.

Activities during the two-day activity are forums on gender and development, career-matching sessions for youth participants, photo and t-shirt design contests, and product exhibit booths.

Government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and IFAD-funded projects such as the RaFPEP, CHARMP2, RUPES, CURE, Philippines Farmers Forum, RTC-CIP, NMCIREMP, and RuMePP compose the exhibitors. They shall showcase not just products for selling but also information for sharing such as scholarships, career offerings and opportunities, and backgrounder of agencies involved in the event.

The ingress activity or setting up of booths was conducted at 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Exhibitors expressed enthusiasm on the main event.

“We’re vying for the best booth!,” Ms. Grace Aquillo of National Irrigation Administration said.

See more photos of KLM5: Ingress at IFAD Philippines Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.276230282409427.75188.116526121713178&type=1

That's Technology: Biomni joins Amazon Web Services Solution Provider...

That's Technology: Biomni joins Amazon Web Services Solution Provider...: Biomni is pleased to announce it has entered into a relationship with Amazon Web Services (AWS)...

Snapshot - Budding Talents

Nicaragua's PRODESEC project puts area youth in the drivers' seat

Heavenly Jester

I admit, I'm not up on the new tradition, or maybe there's something I'm missing that would make it virtuous or funny to intentionally deceive people as a setup for a self-serving 'teachable moment.' Evidently, I'm not alone. The implied lesson: believe the "New Catholic" who just deceived you, not Bp. Williamson.

But take "New Catholic's" word for it, "this is very humorous," even if it doesn't seem so. This internet-published claim comes in tandem with his/her admonishment to use discernment in encountering material published on the internet. Indeed! To which I add, be as conscious of what is omitted as what is published, particularly with the Fellay camp's P.R. outlet.

Opus Energy marks The Sunday Times Top Track listing with creation of 100 new jobs

Independent energy supplier to UK businesses, Northampton and Oxford based Opus Energy, has today announced the creation of 100 new jobs as it celebrates making The Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table of Britain's leading mid-market private companies.

Published on Sunday 16th October, the Top Track 250 league table ranks

Benedict XVI to Further Alter 1962 Missal

From Chiesa:

"The activity of the Holy See" is a hefty volume that gives a year-by-year account of the actions of the pope and the Roman curia. It is an "unofficial publication," as specified on the frontispiece, but in spite of this it contains not a little information, sometimes rather unusual, that cannot be found in other Vatican sources.

To verify this it is enough to leaf through the latest edition, on the activities of 2010, which has just been printed by Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1343 pp., 80.00 euro).

In it we learn, for example:

... that a joint commission was set up, with experts of the commission "Ecclesia Dei" and of the congregation for divine worship, for the "updating" of the commemorations of the saints and the "possible insertion of new prefaces" into the preconciliar Roman missal of 1962, to which Benedict XVI gave full citizenship in 2007 ...

Full article:

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1349490?eng=y

And some context from the pope's brother rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein:

"There still is resistance to the new teachings in some traditional Catholic circles, still much work to be done to erase old ideas." (Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, "The Catholic Church and the Jews," Cross-Currents, July 3, 2009)


"The differences between accepted Church teaching and this group of Latin-speaking extremists are not subject to reconciliation.” (Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, Wiesenthal Center, January 23, 2009)

Also see:

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein on Traditional Catholicism

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of Ecclesia Dei Commission Studying Talmud at NY Yeshiva

Ecclesia Dei Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos Lauded Sheilding of Admitted Sex Predator from Justice

ANCESTRAL PRIDE, Eleison Comments • CCXXII (222)

Please see:

ANCESTRAL PRIDE

By Bishop Richard Williamson, SSPX
Eleison Comments • CCXXII (222)
http://www.dinoscopus.org

Learning Path Workshop: “Integrated and Sustainable Strategies for Scaling-up Micro-Irrigation Systems”

Learning Path Workshop,  a snapshot of the event…

The South-South learning exchange “SCAMPIS Learning Path” took place in Madagascar from 3^rd to 7^th October 2011 between 3 continents:  Asia (India), Latin America (Guatemala) and Africa (Madagascar). 

The main goal was sharing and learning from each country’s knowledge and experiences to find out integrated and sustainable strategies for scaling-up the micro-irrigation systems. Knowledge sharing and learning was held mainly in the field with farmers. Each country should end up with innovations (to be taken home) and suggestions from their experiences (to be shared) with highly participative and proactive approaches.

Challenges and achievements

Learning: The learning process was fully achieved for all participants. Each one went back home with at least 2 innovations or proposals to be tested in his/her country. Six topics have been discussed during the field visits: technology adoption, nutrition,  natural fertilization and pesticide, promotional activities, access to rural finance, value chain (from manufacturing to the end user).

Sharing: A very high level of participation was reached as well as socialization of all participants. Sharing among the group was successful during formal or informal visits. The actors such as farmers, dealers or manufacturers we visited were able to interact with the LP group to ask questions or suggestions from the 3 countries.

Networking: The LP participants as well as local and national stakeholders expressed their willingness to continue learning and sharing from each other. Anyhow the most effective tools and ways still need to be defined.

Lessons learnt from the countries Each country took lessons and brought back home many innovations that came out from exchanges, field visits and discussions. The main ones were:

       Use of recycled materials for manufacturing water pumps (experience from Madagascar)

       Use of audio, video, media as part of scaling-up strategies

       Nutrition/cooking lessons as an integrated approach toward the MIS (experience from Guatemala)

       Use of public places such as schools and hospitals as demonstration sites as per promotional strategy (experience from Guatemala)

       Promotion of adaptable kits according to needs and demands of farmers (size and accessories) (suggestion from India)

3rd October 2011

Activities

1)       1)Participants presentations and identifications of the objectives of the LP workshop

2)       2)Agenda of the workshop and methodology for learning

3)       3)Field visit : Ambohimanga –Mr Mamy, progressive farmer

From the LP Diary  “First day of LP is quite exciting, eye opened for me (and hopefully for all) on the ‘SCAMPIS world” Debasis (India)

4th October 2011

Activities  (field visits)

1)      1) Itaosy: exchange with dealer, technical promoter and farmers : theater performances and presentation of India on 2)Promotions Strategies implemented by IDEI for Scampis project

2)       3)Visita at Gasc’art  studio in Bevalala – pump manufactur 

        4)Visit at the « La Ferme d’Ivato : farmers association with bio-production using MIS

From the LP Diary « A pesar del cansancio y el cambio de hora, conoces a tantas personces involocrudas en el desarollo y la alimentacion de las personas es satisfactorio. Tenemos idiomas y costumbres diferentes peso estamos hoa endo lo mismo » Rolando (Guatemala)

5th October 2011

Activities

1)       Guatemala presentation (Prorural & Scampis Guatemala project)

2)       Imeritsiatosika (Field Visit): progressive dealer who implements micro-rural finance

3)       Centre Tsinjoaina (Field Visit): meeting with a small association of women who use rotative fund for improve livelihood condition (health, food security, agriculture with micro-irrigation, etc); presentation on the role of the Self Help Groups in India and interactions with OTELP programme

4)       Ambohijafy field visit and meeting with, dealer and farmer, presentation on technologies adaptation and strategy of the dealer; presentation of the Guatemalean strategies in the schools: advantages and difficulties in promoting the technologies in the school and implementing school gardens

5)       Patrakala & Innovagri presentations « Production and empowerment strategy of the production and distribution chain »  - MICRO-IRRIGATION KIT MANUFACTURERS

From the LP Diary “Today the field visit with the local NGOs and other stakeholders was more interacting on the Scampis programme. We came to know their role in the Scampis programme Madagascar” NCP (India)

6th October 2011

Activities

1)       Practical exercise: production of MIS kits with Patrakala and Innovagri

2)       Village de la Joie (Field Visit)Introduction of the village ;

3)       Exchange and practice on nutrition, Guatemala facilitation : preparation of carrot dessert and carrots and organge juice

4)       Exchange and practice on natural fertilization : Guatemala facilitation (vermi-compost) and Director of Protection des Végétaux Madagascar (natural pesticide)

From the LP diary « C’est une journée où on a eu le plus d’échanges sur la valorisation des produits issus du SMI (proposition de recettes) avec Guatemala, et les engrais liquides ainsi que les luttes bio contre les maladies et insectes », Christin (Madagascar)

7th October 2011

Activities

Final workshop open to the public :

1)       Focuses on SCAMPIS India, Guatemala and Madagascar : presentations on  « innovations I will suggest, difficulties perceived by the communities and suggestions »

2)       Role of communication (audio, viedeo and other media)

3)       « I.S. » strategies for scaling-up Micro-irrigation Systems ?  - Integrated and Sustainable strategies for scaling-up MIS

4)       Lunch discussion on the best tools to use to continua the interactions

Afternoon : LP group

Final evaluation and discussion

From the LP diary « En la discusiòn de hoy espero poder haber algunos aportes para mejoros la ejcucion del proyecto SCAMPIS, el cual esta llevando muchas benuficios a personas pobres en los 3 Paises y no olvidar que el riego es un medio y no un fin » Rolando (Guatemala)

 

Thank you to all  the group

Cecilia & Anja

Follow us on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/learningpath/) or write to c.ruberto@ifad.org   
More photos: Learning Path Workshop Photos