Welcome Five New Fellows to the Ashoka Family

AFRICA

Katrin Rhode (Burkina Faso)
Organization: AMPO/TOND-TENGA
Katrin has created a farm school that offers uneducated or insufficiently educated rural boys –those having no professional qualifications, often tempted by the adventures of city life in which they generally fail to adapt– more attractive perspectives on life and wages in their own villages by giving them the opportunity to receive education and suitable professional training that will aid in transforming agriculture and raising livestock into more efficient, profitable, and dignified trades.

Lassane Savadogo (Burkina Faso)
Organization: The Professional Association of Market Gardeners in Yatenga (ASPMY)
In a context where farmers’ inability to store produce after harvest unnecessarily leads to a “hungry season,” Lassane Savadogo has created an affordable and effective storage practice that is allowing families to not only feed themselves year round, but to also earn double income, what is currently common during the off season.

As the founder of The Professional Association of Market Gardeners in Yatenga (ASPMY), Lassane describes the strategy of the organization as “developing innovations inspired by ancient techniques to which we add a touch of modernity” like the inclusion of modern materials like cement and iron posts to vastly increase the durability of such techniques. These innovations are experimented on the scale of a farmer over several years, which allows for their perfection and to measure their performance. Once the innovation is proven, ASPMY moves on to a phase of popularization by instituting it in a cross-section of different zones of production. As head of innovations, Lassane personally makes himself available to producers as they wish to accompany them in the acquisition of equipment. He then reflects on any difficulties that arise and makes improvements to the technology to make it more efficient and/or more adapted to the local context.

EUROPE

Claire Escriva (France)
Organization: Ecolo-Crèche
Claire is transforming early-childhood education in France by connecting young children, especially in urban settings, to nature and the environment, and by providing a new “Ecolo-Crèche” certification to those early-childhood education centers or kindergartens that commit to a high-standard of environmental conservation in their daily operations.  Claire has worked intensively for seven years to have an impact on roughly 25,000 children, mainly in the southern part of France. Through the national spread of her model, as well as through experimenting with new audiences and sectors, Claire is seeking to change attitudes toward the environment and environmental conservation by reaching children at the youngest ages and by ensuring that those who work with these young children are modeling the best behaviors in their daily activities.

NORTH AMERICA

Tatiana Fraiser (Canada)
Organization: Girls Action
Girls face a complex array of issues growing up, including racism, poverty, violence and gender discrimination.  Girl-centred programs in Canada fail to address the full spectrum of issues in their work to engage girls in solving social problems in their communities. Tatiana is turning isolated girls into leaders through a uniquely effective network model. By increasing girls’ critical thinking skills and knowledge of key issues, Tatiana is fostering girls’ self-esteem and giving them the tools to create solutions to problems in their communities. Across Canada, she is reaching girls in remote, inner-city and Northern communities and increasing social actions led by these girls.

SOUTH AMERICA

Claudia Cotes (Brazil)
Organization: Vez da Voz           
It is impossible to think about the full practice of citizenship without access to information. Today, millions of Brazilians with disabilities lead marginalized lives due to the inexistence of shows, newspapers and radios that use accessible technology. Realizing this, Claudia founded the “Vez da Voz”, or “Time for a Voice” program to democratize access to information and create opportunities for people with disabilities to actively participate in society.