Lessons from the

Solomon Islands Project Launch

August 13-20, 2010

The aim of Learn Grow is to reduce hunger and malnutrition around the world. It does this by showing people that in most cases they can economically and sustainably feed themselves from their own backyards.

Learn Grow helps people understand the relation between good health and healthy eating habits by providing information on the nutritional values of locally adapted food plants.

Because the plants are adapted to grow in the local environment, they take less work to raise and typically don’t require much in the way of fertilizers and pesticides. Hence they are highly desirable from an economic standpoint.

It also provides information on eco-friendly farming methods which help preserve local natural resources rather than deplete them.

Manyforeign aid agencies have

innocently been giving out the

WRONG INFORMATIONfor years!

Wrong plantWrong plant Wrong placeWrong place

Wrong methodsWrong methods Wrong foodWrong food

Learn Grow

is one of

the first organizations to

link local food plants with their nutritional information!

Cabbage: Wrong Plant - Wrong Place

Many plants have 10 to 100 times the amount of ironiron when compared to cabbage.

But how would you know?

The iron content of just some of the leafy green vegetables found in tropical regions of the world.

4 timesProtein

8 timesVitamin A

20 timesVitamin C

8 timesIron

4 timesZinc

And it suits the tropics!

Cabbage

Momienh

OR

• A comparison of the protein content of various food plants. Note that the ones that have the most are tropical plants.

Vitamin C contentof various tree fruits

Note on chart to right that the only citrus fruit named (Oranges) has the least amount of Vitamin C.

Learn Grow is a partnership between

Food Plants, International,

and the Rotary Club of Devonport North,

Tasmania, Australia, D9830

Food Plants International

A not-for-profit organization lead

by founder, Bruce French, who has created the Food Plants

International database

This unique database which includes over 22,000 species

represents the most comprehensive scientific information

available on edible plants for all countries of the world.

The FPI Database: A Vital ToolThe database developed over 30 years

by Food Plants International provides: Scientific and common names of edible

plants

Photos and drawings of the plants

Information on how to grow them

Nutritional information

How each plant can be prepared and eaten

Buz Green, an agri-business consultant, and a member of the Rotary Club of Devonport North of District 9830, Tasmania, Australia heads the Rotary Committee for the Learn/Grow project.

Rotary Teams: Are Key to Project Implementation!

Learn Grow Aims…

To sustainably reduce malnutrition in developing countries and reduce illness

disease

and mortality

…caused by nutritional deficiencies.

Why Many local plants are nutritionally far

superior than ‘Western’ food crops.

Local plants thrive because they are naturally adapted to local conditions.

Measuring success

Adoption of local plant production

Increased levels of critical

nutrients in the population

A direct reduction in nutritional

deficiencies and disorders

A reduction in infant mortality at age 1 and age 5

…these benchmarks will be monitored over time

Official Launch of Solomon Islands Project

August 17, 2010

LESSONS LEARNED

Before you start, do your homework.2. Learn as much as you can about the country in

which you plan to work.3. Quickly find a local (or group of locals) who will

help guide you through the intricacies of local protocols, communication and dress.

4. If you are not fluent in the language make sure someone on your team is.

5. Travel Clinic.6. Passport and/or visa.

Prepare sample food plant documents specific to the country you are targeting. (Actually, so far, FPI will do this for you!)

2. Refer to the FPI database.3. Refer to at least one or two local agricultural experts.4. Focus on the top 40 or 50 most nutritious low-input, high-

yield locally adapted or indigenous crops.5. Use lots of detailed color photos of selected plants.6. Make sure descriptions and instructions are written in

clear, simple language appropriate for the greatest number of people who live there. Though the language may be simple scientific rigor still must be maintained at all times.

7. Make sure documents are visually appealing.

Quickly identify key potential actors.

2. Local government agencies involved in health, nutrition, agriculture and education.

3. Community and Faith-based organizations.

4. NGO’s.

5. International AID providers.

Develop a strategy that is appropriate for the country with which you have chosen to work to achieve greatest penetration of info.

2. Top-down, bottom up, or both – depends on how stable the country is and how developed the infrastructure.

3. Multiple channels are better than one.4. Tailor dissemination of information to appropriate

literacy level of key audiences.5. Address in advance how to handle potential issues

with multiple languages.

Meet with key actors and influential organizations.2. Identify key decision makers.3. Check and see if the organizations are stable and reliable.4. Arrange face to face meetings.5. Present the information in a friendly, non-threatening way.6. Ask open-ended rather than leading questions.7. Shut up and listen to the answers.8. Respond appropriately and honestly to questions.9. In the end, ask them if they did have this information how

do they see the information being used. (“Tie-Down Questions” or Closes)

Keep scrupulous written notes.2. Carry a journal with you at all times.3. First and last names as well as titles of key

actors.4. What was said in meetings and who said it.5. Contact information for key actors.6. Write down your own thoughts and

suggestions of what went well and what didn’t.

If you plan to take photos please observe certain protocols.2. Always ask permission of your subjects before you take

photos of them.3. If you plan on using the photos in any work that is

published for profit, you must have written permission of the subjects.

4. If you have a digital camera and can show them what the final picture looks like, show them the picture and ask if they think it looks okay.

5. Be careful in certain rural areas. Many indigenous people are shy of tourists with cameras. Some may actually believe that a camera can do more than simply take a picture. Again, refer to #1 and ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION FIRST.

Prepare final documents for distribution2. Review information gathered while in country and

make edits and additions accordingly.3. If you are addressing multiple channels and

multiple levels of literacy and language, try to accommodate differences in targeted audiences with more than one version.

4. Make sure photos are appropriate for location. (We had people from Vanatu in photos in a Solomon Islands document. The Solomon Islanders spotted them right away and insisted that they go.)

Enlist support from local media.

2. Radio.

3. Television.

4. Newspapers.

5. Magazines.

6. Internet media sources.

Revisit identified actors and agencies with final documents for review.

2. Returning with the goods shows you and your organization do what has been promised.

3. Faces and names become familiar, and local people often become friendlier and more open.

4. Take opportunities to visit other potential actors and agencies that you may have missed on your previous visit.

Launch!2. Pick a time and an appropriate venue to

invite key actors and supporters to formally initiate the project in-country.

3. Send hand-delivered or mailed invitations to all potentially interested parties.

4. Identify the most influential and powerful individuals to speak.

5. Invite media.

Empower and train local people in delivery and administration of Learn Grow concepts and materials!

2. Project must be self-sustaining.

3. Adoption of concepts by locals is key to success.

4. Locals must be responsible for providing their own plants, planting materials, and tools. REMEMBER: The more you give, the less likely locals are to become self-sufficient.

Funding the project.

2. Most international aid providers are going to want requests to come in from locals. Locals need to learn the best ways to seek out and apply for these grants on their own.

3. Rotary Matching Grants – Again, you will need a local Rotary Club partner to help you with this.

4. Private funds and fundraising. Again it’s best if requests come from locals.

Act Directly

It is simple for any club or district to

incorporate LEARN ♦ GROW into existing

or new aid projects – identify the local

nutritional deficiencies in the population

and LEARN ♦ GROW can provide the

information!

The Learn Grow Team:

Volunteers are being sought to join the Learn Grow team.

Do you have a skill in: writing, communication, IT, project management, program leaders, marketing, sales, promotion, graphic design, agronomy, science or whatever, there is an opportunity for you in this project.

Rotary Rotary can make a difference!can make a difference!

www.learngrow.org