Inter-American Foundation 

Fiscal Year 2002

Grants Results Report

Monitoring

Verifying Results

Performance

THE INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION

GRANT RESULTS REPORT

FISCAL YEAR 2002

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................9

REPORTING RESULTS....................................................................................................................9

THE GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK...........................................................................9

DATA COLLECTION.......................................................................................................................9

STRATEGIC INDICATORS..............................................................................................................10

RESULTS REPORTED FOR FY 2002 .............................................................................................11

ONGOING EFFORTS ....................................................................................................................12

PART I: NEW IAF GRANTS AND GRANT AMENDMENTS IN FY 2002 ................................14

PART II: GRANT RESULTS OBTAINED IN FY 2002 ............................................................15

RAISING THE STANDARD OF LIVING ...........................................................................................15

Education: New Knowledge and Skills...............................................................................15

Literacy ...........................................................................................................................15

Financial Training ..........................................................................................................16

Agricultural Training.......................................................................................................17

Management Training .....................................................................................................17

Health Training ...............................................................................................................17

Environmental Training ..................................................................................................18

Applying New Knowledge and Skills .................................................................................18

Environment....................................................................................................................18

Agriculture.......................................................................................................................19

Democracy-Building .......................................................................................................19

Health ..............................................................................................................................19

Other Areas .....................................................................................................................20

Health...................................................................................................................................20

Nutrition and Access to Medical Care............................................................................20

Access to Water ...............................................................................................................22

Latrines and Similar Facilities ........................................................................................22

Solid Waste Collection....................................................................................................23

Housing................................................................................................................................23

Employment.........................................................................................................................24

Permanent and Seasonal Jobs Created............................................................................24

Jobs Improved or Saved..................................................................................................25

MEASURING GRANTEE ORGANIZATION CAPABILITIES .................................................................26

Resources Mobilized ...........................................................................................................26

Resources Brokered.............................................................................................................27

Reaching the Poor by Cooperating with Others .................................................................28

Partnering as a Strategy to Help the Poor ...........................................................................29

Diversity in Loan Fund Programs .......................................................................................30

Planning and Evaluation Activities .....................................................................................30

New Approaches..................................................................................................................31

Stakeholders’ Access to Information...................................................................................31

Participation in Decision Making........................................................................................32

Dissemination ......................................................................................................................32

MEASURING INTANGIBLE RESULTS: INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES ................................................33

Communication ...................................................................................................................33

Problem-Solving..................................................................................................................34

Self-Esteem..........................................................................................................................34

Cultural Identity...................................................................................................................34

Grantee and Beneficiary Innovation ...................................................................................35
PART III: PROFILES OF PROJECTS ENDING IN FY 2002 ...................................................36

Argentina

Reversing Urban Blight in Santa Fe ...................................................................................36

Bolivia

Legal Recognition, a Basic Right........................................................................................37

Brazil

Generating Jobs...................................................................................................................39

Colombia

Self-Monitoring and Openness Fuels Achievement ............................................................41

Dominican Republic

Pre-School and Community Development ..........................................................................42

Ecuador

Eco-Tourism in the Amazon.................................................................................................44

El Salvador

Community Organizations, Production and Marketing ......................................................46

Access to Water in Three Communities...............................................................................48

Guatemala

Building a Community.........................................................................................................50

Haiti

Creating a Sense of Community ..........................................................................................52

Honduras

Continuing Education and Capacity-Building ...................................................................54

Housing Development Patterns in San Pedro Sula.............................................................56

Mexico

Mixed Results with Production, Savings and Alternative Education..................................57

Change Comes Slowly .........................................................................................................59

Nicaragua

Helping Local Producers Recover from the Impact of Hurricane Mitch ...........................61

Panama

Building Capacity for Development....................................................................................63

Peru

New Opportunities for the Disabled in Lima......................................................................65

Venezuela

Responding Creatively to Challenges .................................................................................67
List of Tables

Table 1: New grants and amendments by program area as a percentage of funding..................

Table 2: New grants in FY 2002..................................................................................................

Table 3: Beneficiaries receiving literacy training by gender and country, FY 2002...................

Table 4: Beneficiaries receiving literacy training by country by fiscal year...............................

Table 5: Beneficiaries acquiring new knowledge and skills, FY 2002.......................................

Table 6: Beneficiaries reporting application of new knowledge and skills................................

Table 7: Beneficiaries of health-linked activities........................................................................

Table 8: Health-related activities, FY 2002.................................................................................

Table 9: Homes connected to electric power and sewer lines.....................................................

Table 10: Permanent and seasonal full- and part-time positions created....................................

Table 11: Permanent jobs saved and improved...........................................................................

Table 12: Resources mobilized in cash and in kind by source....................................................

Table 13: Resources brokered in cash and in kind by source.....................................................

Table 14: Grantee partners by country.........................................................................................

Table 15: Credit loans by category, number, and average loan, FY 2002..................................

List of Figures

Figure 1: Quality of beneficiary living conditions due to grant activity, FY 02 vs. FY 01........

Figure 2: Beneficiaries by type of knowledge/skills acquired....................................................

Figure 3: Beneficiaries by type of knowledge/skills applied......................................................

Figure 4: New and remodeled housing units...............................................................................

Figure 5: Resource mobilization distribution FY 01 vs. FY 02..................................................

Figure 6: Brokered resource distribution FY 01 vs. FY 02.........................................................

Figure 7: Grantee’s partner distribution, FY 2002......................................................................

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30

30

Paulo Vas Concelos

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Results Report 2002 9

Introduction

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is an independent agency of the United States government,

established under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969.

Its mission is to promote sustainable grassroots

development throughout Latin America and the

Caribbean. Unlike other U.S. Government foreign

assistance agencies, the IAF neither channels its

resources through governments nor designs programs

or projects for implementation in the region. Instead,

the IAF provides grants directly to grassroots and

community based organizations to help them implement their own creative ideas for development and

poverty reduction. 

Projects are selected for funding based on their

potential to become self-sustaining and to generate

concrete results that improve poor people’s lives.

Since beginning operations in 1972, the IAF has distributed $450 million through 4,400 grants to 3,500

organizations. Among the efforts supported have

been agricultural cooperatives, small urban enterprises, and intermediary organizations that provide grassroots groups with credit, technical assistance, training

and marketing assistance. The largest portion of IAF

funding has been invested in food production and

agriculture, followed by micro-enterprise development, and education and training.

Reporting Results

Grassroots development works, and the best evidence

is that this approach to development is today a priority for many international donors as well as public

and private sector entities throughout the hemisphere.

Nevertheless, the IAF strives to provide more specific evidence of success by systematically tracking the

results of its projects. As an experimental development institution, the IAF is deeply committed to

learning from the results of the projects it sponsors.

The intent of the IAF is not only to assist the immediate beneficiaries of those projects, but also to learn

from them. Careful documentation of results is,

therefore, of paramount importance. 

Documenting the outputs and outcomes of grassroots

grants in a tangible way, however, has not been easy.

Anticipated outcomes of grassroots projects occur

over a long period of time and many appear well

after grants have expired. Additional challenges stem

from grantees’ diversity, the amount and duration of

the grants awarded, type of beneficiaries, and also

from a broad array of project goals, activities and

locations. Heterogeneity of cultures, languages, and

political contexts adds complexity to attempts to

standardize criteria and subsequently generalize from

findings across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Grassroots Development Framework

To meet these challenges, the IAF designed and

developed the Grassroots Development Framework

(GDF), a practical tool consisting of a menu of 43

indicators used to collect and assess results data that

are not always reflected in more traditional ways.

The GDF measures the directly observable, tangible

results of the projects as well as the subtler intangible

effects and levels of impact on the individuals

involved, the group and the community. Tangible

results are palpable, but intangible results, such as the

assumption of leadership roles or heightened selfconfidence, are no less vital factors that influence

current and future development initiatives. 

Tracking these indicators over time allows subsequent analysis of project results and documents the

IAF’s work to the agencies to which the IAF is

accountable. Awareness of the indicators helps the

grantees stay focused on their goals; information on

these indicators provides feedback to them and to

Foundation staff. We also hope it can provide lessons

that individuals, groups and communities may apply

in their processes of organizing and associating in the

future for their own improvement.

Data Collection

The data presented in this report are collected by the

grantees as part of their grant agreement with the

IAF. Grantees forward their project results to the IAF

every six months during the life span of their project.

A cadre of in-country data verifiers contracted by the

IAF then corroborates the results submitted by the 

grantees and forwards the validated data along with

their comments on whatever facilitated or impeded

achievement of project objectives to the IAF. 
Strategic Indicators

In FY 2002, the IAF tracked eight indicators designated as strategic because they are related to the

IAF’s Strategic Plan. The indicators are:

* Acquisition of knowledge and/or skills; 

* jobs;

* satisfaction of basic needs;

* resource mobilization;

* resource brokering;

* cooperation; 

* partnerships; and

* dissemination.

One of the goals of the IAF is to support self-help

efforts designed to enlarge the opportunities for individual development. As a result, most of the IAF

funded projects have a training component to

increase the capabilities and skills of individuals and

families. In FY 2002, the number of individuals registered in grantee sponsored courses, workshops and

seminars exceeded 30,000 in agriculture, 25,000 in

management, 23,000 each in health and environmental related topics, 16,000 in finance and 15,000 in

leadership skills.

Training provides IAF grant beneficiaries with the

knowledge and skills that allow them to fare better in

the job market. It gives them the opportunity to apply

their newly acquired skills to their daily activities,

whether these are in the agricultural, manufacturing

or service sector. 

Probably one of the most important factors in

improving the poor standard of living is to provide

them with gainful employment or, at least, to create

the proper conditions for them to start their own businesses. In FY 2002, IAF grantees helped create more

than 2,500 permanent full-time positions and more

than 1,100 part-time jobs. In addition, 12,000 jobs

were saved as a result of grant activities that otherwise would have been lost. 

Creating job opportunities for the poor is a sure way

to improve their standard of living. And many of the

IAF grant beneficiaries have, indeed, improved their

lives as a result of grant activities. However, not all

improvements have to be considered in economic

terms. The standard of living of the IAF grant beneficiaries has risen as a result of satisfying their basic

needs such as improvement in health and nutrition,

housing conditions, and education. For example,

more than 20,000 beneficiaries received medical

attention during FY 2002. Roughly 40,000 beneficiaries improved their diet, and hence their health.

Many of the beneficiaries were farmers that, through

technical assistance and farming practice workshops

sponsored by IAF grantees, have been able to

increase their crop production. An increase in production translates, generally, into more income and more

food consumed by family members. Thus, a link is

established among several grant activities as measured by the indicators. For instance, training leads to

application of new techniques that increases production which raises income and helps meet the family’s

basic needs, which translate, eventually, into an

increase in the standard of living.

Resource mobilization and resource brokering have

also played a pivotal role in the sustainability of

grantee’s organization and the continuance of IAF

grant funded activities after the termination of IAF

financial support. In FY 2002, grantees were able to

leverage US$8.8 million from international and

domestic private and public organizations. The

amount of resources leveraged is proof of the IAF

role in supporting projects that enlarge the scope and

strengthen the capacity of grantee organizations. At

the same time, resource mobilization and resource

brokering are two strategic indicators used to measure the success of stimulating an ever-wider participation of people and organizations in the development process. 

Luis Gonzalez

10 Results Report 2002
Results Report 2002 11

Finally, it is IAF intent to influence the broader

development community towards a deeper understanding of Latin America and Caribbean development problems and potential by disseminating the

results of its project funding to development practitioners, donors and policy-makers through publications, conferences, public appearances, working

groups and international fora. To that end, IAF

grantees supported such efforts through funding a

wide array of information outlets. This includes

speeches and presentations, radio and television interviews, pamphlets and brochures, newspaper and

magazine articles, press releases, books, videos and

movies, and CD-ROMs.

Results Reported for FY 2002

Continued advances and substantial diversity in

grassroots development characterized the InterAmerican Foundation’s active grants in fiscal 2002.

The projects in the IAF’s portfolio span the hemiClosely linked to the resource mobilization and

resource brokering indicators are the indicators that

measure cooperation and partnerships. The IAF supports programs that serve as a catalyst in the promotion of local partnerships involving NGOs, municipal

governments and the private sector. Partner organizations, whether public or private, domestic or foreign, always bring to the table resources (cash and/or

in-kind) and expertise that can help IAF grantees

strengthen their organizations and programs, and help

the poor improve their standard of living. In FY

2002, more than 1,300 organizations partnered with

IAF grantees, while 1,950 organizations, mainly government agencies at the national and local level,

cooperated with IAF grantees. Many of these organizations contributed cash or in-kind assistance; others

took an active role in planning and implementing

grant activities. Thus, the cooperation and partnership

indicators, when analyzed in conjunction with other

strategic indicators, provide a picture of the IAF’s

goals. 
12 Results Report 2002

sphere from the U.S.-Mexican border to Patagonia

in southern Argentina. The wide array of organizations supported runs the gamut from small grassroots groups in Guatemala to large nongovernmental organizations in Brazil. Even more varied is the

type of projects the IAF supports, ranging from

piped water in El Salvador to food security in

Honduras.

As reported here, the results of the IAF’s program

of grassroots development reflect the Office of

Evaluation’s best efforts to assure an assessment of

the IAF’s effectiveness based on a broad spectrum

of reliable data. In this connection, we are pleased

to note that FY 2002 yielded a data collection level

of 228 reports, or 92 percent, of active IAF grants

versus 210 reports in FY 2001 and 144 in FY 2000.

Cumulatively, the data reveal that in FY 2002: 

* More than 20,000 individuals received training in basic reading and writing.

* More than 40,000 beneficiaries improved

their diet, and hence their health.

* Over 20,000 beneficiaries received medical

attention.

* Close to 35,000 individuals benefited from

access to clean water. 

* Nearly 130,000 individuals benefited from

trash removal operations.

* IAF grantees in more than nine countries

helped their beneficiaries build or expand

their own homes. 

* A total of 210 new houses were built and 320

were improved.

* Over 400 housing units benefited from electrical power installation, improving the lives

of approximately 2,200 individuals.

* More than 200 housing units were connected

to a sewer system, benefiting 900 persons.

* The number of individuals registered in

grantee sponsored courses, workshops and

seminars exceeded 30,000 in agriculture,

25,000 in management, 23,000 each in health

and environmental related topics, 16,000 in

finance and 15,000 in leadership skills. 

* IAF grantees created more than 2,500 permanent full-time positions and more than 1,100

part-time positions.

* More than 55,000 individuals displayed

greater innovation skills.

* Without any written agreements specifying an

obligation to do so, more than 1,900 organizations cooperated with IAF grantees.

* Grantees mobilized nearly $5.5 million for

project activities: $3.7 million in cash and

$1.8 million in kind.

* International nonprofit organizations donated

US$1.3 million in cash to IAF grantees.

AVINA and the Kellogg Foundation led the

way.

* 55 percent of total resources mobilized came

from local donors. 

* Grantees brokered from domestic and foreign

sources $3.3 million that was channeled

directly to beneficiaries.

* IAF grantees provided close to 24,000 loans

averaging $480 each to their beneficiaries.

Agricultural loans were the largest, averaging

$1,220. But loans for business development

represented 50 percent of all loans, even

though they averaged less than $400 each.

* In 82 percent of the countries with IAF-funded projects, grantees conducted some sort of

dissemination activity.

Ongoing Efforts

These highlights and a wealth of other information

were compiled through a process that the IAF’s

Office of Evaluation is constantly refining. In the

coming months, we will work with leading experts

in social measurement to research improvements to

the intangible variables of the Grassroots

Development Framework. We will also meet with

all IAF field data verifiers to discuss improvements

to the data collection tool and reporting process. We

will investigate the possibilities of developing computer-based training on the Grassroots Development

Framework and data collection tool for data verifiers and IAF grantees. As with this report for FY

2002, we will continue to be guided by a commitment to a full and accurate representation of the

IAF’s role in reducing poverty and bettering 

conditions throughout the hemisphere. 
Results Report 2002 13

What is grassroots development? 

The Inter-American Foundation uses the term “grassroots development” to describe the process by which

disadvantaged people organize themselves to improve social, cultural and economic conditions. The concept assumes that the key to sustainable democracies, equitable societies and prosperous economies is a

people-oriented strategy stressing participation, organizational development and networking to build the

social capital needed to complement human and physical assets.

What is the Grassroots Development Framework?

The Inter-American Foundation created the

Grassroots Development Framework (GDF) to

measure the results and impact of projects the

Foundation supports. Results can inform decisions, signal challenges, confirm achievements

and indicate topics for further research. The

GDF was created by applying what had been

learned from more than 4,000 projects

financed by the Foundation. 

The GDF is useful to both the grantee and the

donor. It provides the means to establish project objectives and report achievements,

strengths and deficiencies. The GDF is a tool

to measure the impact and the results of a project. Since the pilot testing and application of the GDF in

various countries in the region, several development assistance institutions have, in consultation with the

Inter-American Foundation, adapted the GDF to their own activities.

How does it work? 

The premise of the GDF is that grassroots development produces results at three levels, and important tangible and intangible results should be taken into account. In business, profits are the bottom line. In grassroots development, a project must generate material improvements in the quality of life of the poor.

Because poverty entails not only lack of income but also lack of access to a range of basic services (including education, healthcare, shelter and others), as well as insufficient opportunity for active civic participation, the GDF draws these indicators into a single tool. 

A development project is a special kind of investment that should produce tangible and intangible benefits,

and the GDF seeks to measure and document both. The Foundation’s experience has demonstrated that

each project can plant a seed for change and that grassroots development produces results not only for individuals but also for organizations and society. Therefore, the cone shape of the GDF portrays the potential

dimensions of the impact of grassroots development, progressing from individuals and families, to organizations, to the community or society at large—the three levels of the GDF. 
Table 2: New grants in FY 2002 

Country 

Number of 

grants 

Percentage 

of funding 

Brazil 6 12 

Caribbean Regional 1 2 

Dominican Republic 2 4 

Ecuador 5 10 

El Salvador 6 12 

Guatemala 2 4 

Haiti 3 6 

Honduras 1 2 

Latin America Regional 3 6 

Mexico 11 21 

Nicaragua 7 13 

Peru 5 10 

The IAF draws regularly upon a number of information sources. Most important for reporting purposes

are data from the Grassroots Development

Framework (GDF) and from administrative records.

The data are collected through an instrument

designed for this purpose, while administrative data

are derived from an array of IAF project and financial documentation. In this report, GDF data gathered

from grantees convey the IAF's development work at

the project level; the administrative record frames the

broader picture. 

New grants and grant amendments made in FY 2002

cover five basic program areas: agriculture/food production, enterprise development, education/training,

research and dissemination, and housing. The IAF

invested 54 percent of its FY 2002 grant funds in 34

grants for enterprise development. Agriculture/food

production represented 14 grants, or about 19 percent

of grant funding; education/training 17 grants, or

about 17 percent. Housing and research and dissemination, with four grants in each category, represented

about 7 and 4 percent of funding, respectively (see

Table 1).

Grants to projects in the various countries were

sometimes concentrated in one program area, sometimes more diversified. In Guatemala and Honduras,

funding was invested exclusively in agriculture/food

production. Argentina's three grants were in education/training. The portfolios for Mexico and El

Salvador, ranking, respectively, first and third in total

funding, display more diversity, with awards in all

program areas except research and dissemination.

Enterprise development, the most heavily funded program area, accounted for 58 percent of the IAF's

investment in El Salvador and 42 percent in Mexico.

In FY 2002, 10 countries received new grants (Brazil,

Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,

Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and

Peru). Mexico and Nicaragua topped the list with 11

(or 21 percent) and seven new grants, respectively;

Brazil and El Salvador followed with six each; and

Ecuador and Peru had five each. By the close of FY

2002, new grants totaled 52, or 71 percent of the

grants budget, with the remainder distributed over 22

amendments. In terms of country-specific funding,

Mexico accounted for 24 percent, Nicaragua 16 percent and El Salvador 14 percent, with a total of 54

percent of grant funding allocated to projects in the

three 

The IAF considers counterpart funding an important

element of sustainable development. The belief is

that diversified funding is a good business practice in

building development organizations that last. As

tracked in records maintained since 1972, counterpart

funding has totaled 50 percent of project support in

25 out of 30 years. In FY 2002, grantees and others

provided $1.72 for every dollar invested by the IAF.

Table 1: New grants and grant amendments by 

 program area as a percentage of funding 

 

Program areas

Number 

of grants 

Percentage 

of funding 

Enterprise development 34 54 

Agriculture/food production 14 19 

Education/training 17 17 

Housing 4 7 

Research/dissemination 4 3 

Total 73 100 

Part I: IAF New Grants and Grant Amendments 

14 Results Report 2002
Results Report 2002 15

This is the IAF’s fourth report in response to the

Government Performance Results Act of 1993,

requiring all federal agencies to document and

report results of strategic plans and performance

goals for the fiscal year. It summarizes the results

of grants active in FY 2002, during which IAF provided nearly $13.4 million to fund 52 new grants

and 22 grant supplements in 12 countries in Latin

America and the Caribbean.1

This report follows the structure of the Grassroots

Development Framework, which measures results

at the levels of the individual and family, the

organization and society at large. FY 2002 was

characterized by a marked increase in data available, with 228 grantees reporting, or 92 percent of

all organizations with active grants. Each grantee’s

report on pre-selected indicators was verified by an

independent in-country professional. 

Data for FY 2002 show IAF grants had a positive

effect on the quality of life of the poor in Latin

America and the Caribbean through education,

improved health, better housing conditions and

increased job opportunities. Asked if their quality

of life had improved, stayed the same or worsened

as a result of grant activities, 89 percent of the beneficiaries of IAF supported projects reported that

they were better off (see Figure 1). Comparing FY

2001 with FY 2002, the percentage of those

grantees reporting improvements in their beneficiaries’ quality of life increased from 74 percent to

89 percent. 

Raising the Standard of Living 

Education: New Knowledge and Skills

Literacy 

As a result of IAF-supported grants, more than

20,000 individuals learned basic reading and writing skills, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year (see Table 3).

Grantees in Argentina and Brazil led in literacy

training, followed by grantees in El Salvador (see

Table 4). Most of individuals trained in Argentina -

9,230 of 9,300 - were beneficiaries of Fundación

Leer (AR-330), which aims at improving the literacy and leadership skills of children and youth by

providing books to take home. In Brazil, the

Instituto Qualidade na Escola (BR-775) assisted

3,060 low-income children with basic math, writing

and reading skills. In El Salvador, the Asociación

Coordinadora de Comunidades para el Desarrollo

del Cacahuatique (ES-181) trained 90 literacy promoters in adult education techniques; they taught

reading to 1,260 adults in FY 2002. 

Figure 1: Quality of beneficiary living conditions due to 

grant activities, FY 02 vs FY 01

89%

9% 2%

74%

20% 6%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Better Same Worse

FY 02

FY 01

Table 3: Beneficiaries receiving literacy 

training by gender and country, FY 2002 

Country Men Women Total 

Argentina 52% 48% 9,300 

Bolivia 13% 87% 210 

Brazil 50% 50% 6,400 

Colombia 11% 89% 160 

El Salvador 60% 40% 1,930 

Guatemala 16% 84% 250 

Haiti 80% 20% 700 

Honduras 32% 68% 550 

Mexico 0% 100% 40 

Panama 59% 41% 330 

Venezuela 55% 45% 280 

Total 52% 48% 20,150 

Part II: Grant Results Obtained in FY 2002

1 Countries with new grants or amendments include Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico,

Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela. Also, the IAF awarded a regional grant to the Community Tourism Foundation for project activities in Eastern Caribbean countries

in addition to its work in Barbados.
16 Results Report 2002

IAF grantees carried out training activities in a

plethora of other areas and topics; agriculture predominated followed by management, health and the

environment. Methods included on-the-job training,

courses and workshops lasting one to several days.

Grantees also provided complementary technical

assistance as reinforcement. Interestingly, women

outnumbered men in most of the training offered

except in agriculture and construction, both traditionally male-dominated areas, and in marketing

(see Figure 2).

Financial Training

In absolute numbers, female participation was high

in two areas closely linked to grants with a loan

component: finance and management. In Mexico,

for example, the Desarrolladora de Emprendedores

(ME-438) is developing within its system a tier of

village banks to provide loans for productive purposes to communal banks comprised of low-income

beneficiaries who would not otherwise have access

to commercial credit. As a requirement for receiving a loan, community bank members have to participate in a credit management program. Of the

7,310 members trained in FY 2002, 80 percent

were women. 

In Honduras, eight of 11 grantees provided training

in finance to their beneficiaries. One of these, the

Asociación de Investigación y Capacitación para el

Desarrollo de Honduras (HO-229), conducted

workshops on business management, financial literacy and community banking for 935 beneficiaries,

of whom roughly 80 percent were women. Another

Honduran grantee, the Centro para el Desarrollo

Comunal (HO-232), provided training in finance to

495 beneficiaries. Women owning small business

accounted for 74 percent of the enrollment in the

financial management workshops. The grantee

required loan recipients to reside and operate their

business within its geographic reach and maintain a

savings account at a local cooperative for the duration of the loan.

In Guatemala, the Coordinadora de Asociaciones

de Desarrollo Integral del Suroccidente de

Guatemala (GT-266) established a loan fund for

low-income indigenous women. As part of the proTable 4: Beneficiaries receiving literacy 

training by county and fiscal year

Country FY 2001 FY 2002 

Argentina 5,170 9,300 

Bolivia 250 210 

Brazil 10,920 6,400 

Colombia 100 160 

Ecuador 340 0 

El Salvador 1,130 1,930 

Guatemala 20 250 

Haiti 0 700 

Honduras 0 550 

Mexico 170 40 

Panama 70 330 

Venezuela 0 280 

Total 18,170 20,150 

Figure 2: Beneficiaries by type of knowledge/skills acquired

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Agriculture

Civic participation

Construction

EnviromentalFamily mattersFinanceHealthLeadership

Legal system

ManagementManufacturing

MarketingPolitical system

Men

Women
Results Report 2002 17

gram, the grantee trained borrowers in the skills

necessary to improve their agricultural and marketing production and in financial management. In FY

2002, 480 women were trained. 

Agricultural Training

Bolivia, Peru and Mexico registered, in that order,

the greatest enrollment in agricultural training.2 In

Peru, 13 of 22 grantees offered training in agriculture. Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo

Regional (PU-481) trained growers in the district of

Puquina, Arequipa, in animal husbandry, especially

cattle breeding through artificial insemination, and

in eggfruit production. The grantee also provided

training in hay farming, dairy herd improvement

and post-harvest activities such as sorting and grading oregano. In all, training in agriculture and/or

animal husbandry benefited 1,325 individuals.

Peru’s Centro Ecuménico de Promoción y Acción

Social (PU-505), or CEDEPAS, trained 510 artichoke producers (87 percent of them men) in harvest and post-harvest activities, mango and avocado

producers in pest control, and bean farmers in the

application of organic fertilizers. In July 1999, the

IAF entered into a cooperative agreement with

Bolivia’s Programa de Coordinación en Salud

Integral (BO-463), also known as PROCOSI,

which established the Fund for Food Security and

Local Development directed at increased food production, food processing, nutrition and health education. In 2002, PROCOSI provided training to

2,430 participants in rice, potato and citrus production; harvest and post-harvest activities, including

crop selection and coffee and potato grading; silo

construction; and livestock management. In 2001,

the number trained was, approximately 1,530. 

In Mexico, 18 grantees provided agricultural training during FY 2002. One, Coordinadora de

Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de la

Huasteca Potosina (ME-434) used a combination

of workshops and follow-up visits to train beneficiaries in the municipalities of Xilitla and Axtla in

San Luis de Potosí. A total of 1,220 indigenous and

peasant beneficiaries received training, of which

680 were women. 

Another grantee, Milpas de Oaxaca (ME-428),

organized a rural development program to improve

health, food security, natural resource conservation,

forested areas and nutrition, benefiting 1,300

Mixtecas from five communities in the Nochixlan

district in southern Mexico. In FY 2002, Milpas de

Oaxaca coordinated training for 410 beneficiaries

in reforestation, 215 beneficiaries in soil conservation and 220 beneficiaries in vegetable gardening.

Management Training

Table 5 shows other training areas. Among these,

topics related to management, health and the environment drew the most participants. In Bolivia,

Oficina del Artesano Micro y Pequeño Empresario

(BO-481), or OFAMI, offered 40 management

courses to nine consortia of shop owners.

Enrollment in all 40 courses totaled 375. In addition, OFAMI offered a 70-hour seminar over eight

weeks to accountants and business administrators

who would serve as trainers in courses offered to

micro-entrepreneurs. 

Health Training

In Guatemala, six grantees provided health-related

courses and seminars and made house visits. Most

trainees were beneficiaries of a single grantee,

Asociación de Salud y Desarrollo Rxiin Tnamet

(GT-252). Courses included training geared to

Table 5: Beneficiaries acquiring new 

knowledge and skills

Knowledge/Skills Men Women Total 

Agriculture 57% 43% 30,630 

Civic participation 46% 54% 10,130 

Construction 71% 29% 2,310 

Environmental 48% 52% 23,230 

Family matters 27% 73% 6,570 

Finance 28% 72% 16,690 

Health 17% 83% 23,270 

Leadership 45% 55% 15,650 

Legal system 49% 51% 6,450 

Management 43% 57% 25,010 

Manufacturing 21% 79% 5,800 

Marketing 51% 49% 10,540 

Political system 48% 52% 3,720 

2 Participation figures are based on enrollment. During the fiscal year, an individual could enroll in more than one course or workshop. Participants could be fewer

than reflected if the same individuals enrolled in multiple activities.
Results Report 2002 18

pregnant women and mothers of children under

five; men received training on preventing sexually

transmitted diseases. In the municipality of

Santiago Atitlán, the grantee trained 11,340 beneficiaries, 93 percent of whom were women.

Another Guatemalan grantee, Fundación para el

Desarrollo Educativo Social y Económico (GT260), offered health training to 1,100 individuals;

530 health educators (450 men and 80 women)

received training on preventive measures for diarrhea, rabies and dengue fever; 370 midwives

learned pre- and post-natal care; and 200 community leaders trained in general medicine.

Environmental Training

The Fundación para el Fomento de Empresas para

la Recolección y Tratamiento Ambiental de los

Desechos Sólidos (ES-201), also known as ABA,

in El Salvador provided training in waste management and conservation activities. ABA organized

10 schools into 11 ecological groups, training a

total of 390 students in environmental issues. ABA

also trained 730 individuals in solid waste management focused on separation of organic and inorganic waste. Of those trained, 195 were vendors from

six markets in San Salvador, Soyapango and

Ilopango. In the community of Bethania and the

Abailopango cooperative, ABA held six sessions to

train 70 participants in composting techniques. 

Applying New Knowledge and Skills

The number of beneficiaries applying acquired

knowledge and/or skills is a barometer of the success of grantee training and technical assistance

efforts. The data presented in this section are cumulative and reflect the application of new knowledge

and/or skills acquired through IAF-funded activities

since the inception of each grant. 

Environment

Figure 3 shows the distribution by gender and type

of knowledge and/or skills applied. Nearly 54,000

individuals applied their environmental problemsolving training to address pollution and soil erosion. In the Dominican Republic, the Sociedad

Ecológica del Cibao (DR-310), or SOECI, is

repairing environmental degradation thanks to educational activities related to sanitation in urban

areas and soil conservation in rural areas. Waste

collection and sanitation techniques applied by

19,410 residents keep the stream that runs through

their community clean. 

Other projects dealt with recycling. In Suchitoto, El

Salvador, 3,170 residents, applying what they

learned in trash recycling training offered by the

Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnología Apropiada (ES178), are separating organic and inorganic waste.

The organic waste is processed into compost and

sold to farmers. In Venezuela, the Fundación

Papyrus (VZ-183), which is assists low-income

school children generate funds for academic projects through recycling activities, reported that

11,350 households participated in the recycling

operation, benefiting approximately 56,760 individuals. In addition, the grantee reported participation

by business establishments and other educational

Figure 3: Beneficiaries by type of knowledge/skills applied 

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

AgricultureCivic participationConstruction

Environmental

FinanceHealth

LeadershipLegal system

ManagementManufacturingMarketingPolitical system

Men

Women
Results Report 2002 19

institutions. From a single educational institution,

the grantee reported, 5.7 tons of paper were collected, and the proceeds from the sale were invested in

school facilities and courses supplementing the

standard curriculum. 

In Mexico, the Fundación Comunitaria del Bajío

(ME-433) initiated a pilot program to reduce plastic

bag trash in the community. Two students were

trained and are currently persuading community

residents to participate in the trash reduction program. The grantee, in its effort to improve the environment, also started a tree adoption program for

which 420 persons have registered; 220 children

(80 boys and 140 girls) are currently taking care of

trees.

Agriculture

Beneficiaries readily apply newly acquired knowledge of agriculture. Fundación Campo (ES-187) in

El Salvador reported, for example, that 1,610 beneficiaries had applied soil conservation and crop

diversification techniques during planting season,

an increase of 240 farmers, or 17 percent, over the

previous year. Similarly, 465 farmer beneficiaries

of the Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades

para el Desarrollo de Cacahuatique (ES-181)

applied their knowledge of soil and water conservation acquired in workshops and through technical

assistance offered by the grantee.

In Nicaragua, the Asociación Servicios

Agropecuarios y Desarrollo Rural (NC-234), or

AGRODERSA, reported 365 farmers (270 males

and 95 females) applied natural resource conservation practices on their land. To protect their fields

from erosion, the men implemented sustainable soil

and water conservation practices and used agroforestry techniques including planting fruit trees.

The women used environment-friendly insecticides

and organic fertilizers on their crops.

Democracy-Building

Table 6 shows other areas of application of new

knowledge and skills in leadership, the legal system

and civic participation, all basic elements in building democracy. In Colombia, 1,600 beneficiaries of

Corporación SISMA-MUJER (CO-493) in five

municipalities in the department of Cundinamarca

formulated educational plans for local authorities to

implement. The participatory process allowed for

citizen input regarding the methods and content of

educational programs for children and adults. The

previous year, 1,140 individuals had participated in

the formulation of local educational projects.

In Peru, the Centro de Información y Desarrollo

Integral de Autogestión (PU-473) provided training

and technical assistance to strengthen the municipal

government’s role and citizen participation in rural

development activities. In all, 850 individuals

expressed their preferences and ideas regarding

undertakings planned by the municipality.

In Costa Rica, the Fundación Localidades

Encargadas de la Administración del Desarrollo

(CR-326), or Fundación LEAD, reported that 140

individuals (60 men and 80 women) had applied

their human development, inter-organization relations and local government affairs training. For

example, participants cited they are now prepared

to challenge election results of council members

since they know how the system works.

Additionally, 40 persons (10 men and 30 women)

had used their new knowledge of norms and procedures to be followed by district committees for

optimal use of a local development fund. And 170

participants (90 men and 80 women) have been

applying what they learned in parliamentary procedure seminars to their jobs.

Health

Health was another area in which beneficiaries

made ready used of their acquired knowledge

and/or skills. Guatemala’s Asociación de Salud y

Table 6: Beneficiaries reporting application of 

new knowledge and skills 

 Men Women Total 

Agriculture 61% 39% 32,760 

Civic participation 52% 48% 11,860 

Construction 57% 43% 5,350 

Environmental 51% 49% 53,830 

Finance 39% 61% 22,280 

Health 33% 67% 17,200 

Leadership 44% 56% 22,490 

Legal system 53% 47% 4,800 

Management 43% 57% 31,950 

Manufacturing 22% 78% 6,100 

Marketing 49% 51% 13,680 

Political system 43% 57% 6,020 
20 Results Report 2002

Desarrollo Rxiin Tnamet (GT-252), for example, is

improving the basic health conditions in two

indigenous communities in the Lake Atitlán area

through a program of curative and preventative

health services, education and community organization. Since the project began in August 1998,

Rxiin Tnamet reports more than 6,000 community

residents have been actively taking better care of

their health, particularly pregnant women who

received pre-natal care classes. Additionally,

women have worked as volunteers in disseminating preventative health information among families

in the communities served. 

In Venezuela, the Centro de Formación Popular

“Renaciendo Juntos” (VZ-161), or CEPOREJUN,

set up a loan fund focused primarily on improving

quality of life through better health services,

improved production and marketing, and increased

household income. CEPOREJUN reported 260 persons in eight communities in the state of Falcón

benefited from health training. El Salvador’s

Fundación Campo (ES187) reported 2,510 residents applied their training to control mosquitoes

and clean dumps in Llano

Chilamate in the department of Usulután.

Other Areas

IAF grant beneficiaries

applied skills acquired in

other areas as well. In La

Paz, Bolivia, Centro de

Multiservicios Educativos

(BO-462), or CEMSE,

developed a program to

improve student performance through educational

materials and curriculum changes. Nearly 17,000

students used techniques taught by CEMSE-trained

teachers to improve their skills in social sciences,

physical and biological sciences, mathematics and

languages. Finally, El Salvador’s Programas

Comunitarios para El Salvador (ES-184), or PROCOSAL, reported 1,010 individuals had applied

their knowledge of water regulation to form water

boards for the purpose of managing, maintaining

and repairing water systems installed through the

project.

Health

Nutrition and Access to Medical Care 

Better diets and access to medical care and clean

water impact the health of the community and,

hence, its standard of living. Equally important is

proper disposal of human waste and removal of

solid waste. Through improvements to diet, FY

2002 grant activities improved the health of

approximately 41,460 beneficiaries, a slight

decrease compared with data for FY 2001

(see Table 7).

However, for most grantees, dietary improvement

was not an initial objective, but an indirect benefit

of stated objectives to increase production and/or

income. An increase in production leads to more

food for household members because part of the

Table 7: Beneficiaries of health -related activities 

Activity Number of beneficiaries 

FY 01 FY 02 

Better diets 46,120 41,460 

Installation of latrines 4,570 4,510 

Installation of piped water 22,760 34,690 

Medical care 33,700 20,580 

Trash removal 168,970 130,000 

Vaccinations 17,950 2,310 

Miguel Sayago
Results Report 2002 21

production is allocated for home consumption.

Similarly, as income rises, households can afford

more and better food. 

Other grantees, such as Milpas de Oaxaca (ME428), Colegio de Biólogos del Sistema Tecnológico

(ME-445) or COBIOTEC, and, to a lesser extent,

Centro Campesino para el Desarrollo Sustentable

(ME-409), in Mexico, pursue better nutrition as

part of their development strategy. Milpas’ activities are aimed at increasing and diversifying horticulture production and consumption. In FY 2002,

Milpas reported 480 beneficiaries improved their

diet as a result of growing and consuming nontraditional vegetables. Similarly, COBIOTEC is supporting Mayan communities in expanding subsistence family production and, hence, nutritional levels. In the communities of Avila and Caobas,

COBIOTEC reported that 190 persons improved

their diet through horticulture production and apiculture. Because of

training, beekeepers have become

aware of the nutritional value of

honey and, instead of selling all

their honey as they did before

COBIOTEC’s involvement, they are

setting some aside for home consumption. 

One of Campesino’s grant objectives was the creation of a network

of health promoters to train the

community in nutrition. In FY 2002,

Campesino reported 40 residents of López Mateos

benefited from growing nutritional crops for home

consumption in eight vegetable gardens.

Additionally, 110 children took advantage of the

free breakfast program offered by the grantee in

Tlalpan in the state of Tlaxcala. Other Mexican

grantees also reported improvements to their beneficiaries’ diet as an unexpected consequence of

project activities: 

Fundación Comunitaria de Oaxaca (ME-415),

which support projects conducted by community

organizations in Oaxaca, reported that 105 malnourished children and their mothers in Chacalapa

and Santa Rosa de Lima received assistance in the

nutrition rehabilitation centers of one sub-grantee,

the Centro de Capacitación Integral para

Promotores Comunitarios (CECIPROC). 

Comité de Defensa Popular de Zaragoza (ME426), whose goal is better health for the residents

of the municipality of Zaragoza, Veracruz, reported

the construction of the Children’s Nutritional

Kitchen, which in FY 2002, offered breakfast daily

at two pesos, or $0.20, to 270 children, 60 expectant mothers and 60 elderly residents of Zaragoza.

Table 8 shows by country the number of beneficiaries whose health improved through access to medical care, including preventive measures such as

vaccinations, the availability of clean water and

hygienic disposal of human waste through construction of latrines. In Guatemala, the Asociación

de Salud y Desarrollo Rxiin Tnamet (GT-252) provided health services to 1,030 patients; 80 young

children were vaccinated against diphtheria, polio

Table 8: Health -related activities, FY 2002 

Country Medical care Vaccinations Piped water Latrines 

Argentina 570 20 1,640 110 

Bolivia 1,380 0 1,940 130 

Brazil 0 0 440 10 

Dominican Republic 440 190 4,930 1,610 

El Salvador 5,200 430 1,640 1,070 

Guatemala 6,660 770 0 0 

Honduras 530 200 23,690 1,360 

Mexico 2,770 510 160 190 

Nicaragua 1,070 0 260 20 

Peru 820 0 0 0 

Venezuela 1,150 180 0 10 

Total 20,590 2,300 34,700 4,500 

Patrick Breslin
22 Results Report 2002

and tetanus (DPT) and pregnant women received

tetanus shots. Similarly, the Fundación para el

Desarrollo Educativo Social y Económico (GT260) vaccinated 400 young children against whopping cough, diphtheria, polio, tetanus, measles and

tuberculosis. It also provided medical services to

2,310 residents in the 11 communities in its jurisdiction.

In Bolivia, the health unit of the Centro de

Multiservicios Educativos (BO-462), or CEMSE,

provided approximately 1,300 students services in

gynecology, psychology, pediatrics, general medicine and orthodontics, including X-rays and lab

work. In Venezuela, health promoters trained by

the Fundación la Salle de Ciencias Naturales (VZ168) provided services to 1,030 indigenous Warao

in the communities on the Orinoco River delta.

They also vaccinated 180 individuals, mostly children under the age of six and pregnant women.

Access to water

Access to clean water reduces the risk of disease.

Honduras’ Fundación BANHCAFE (HO-222), in

partnership with local development coordinating

committees, has improved the management of six

local watersheds, making safer water available in

greater quantity to 18,060 individuals. The

Dominican Republic’s Instituto de Desarrollo

Ecológico y Capacitación Comunitaria (DR312), or IDEC, gave 4,925 individuals access

to running water. Through its coordination

efforts with the Instituto Nacional de Aguas

Potables y Alcantarillado and the municipal

government, IDEC installed 30 public faucets

in the 27 de Febrero neighborhood and 50 in

La Altagracia. El Salvador’s Fundación para

el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología (ES193) built a reservoir with the capacity to supply water to 640 persons in the communities

of Guachipilin and Sapa during times of shortages. 

In Argentina, the Fundación Juan Minetti

(AR-322) under a cooperative agreement with

the IAF, established a development fund,

Tendiendo Puentes, to finance projects by nongovernmental and local community organizations directed at resolving problems of poverty, including widespread hepatitis and stomach

problems from contaminated water in Villa La

Merced, in Córdoba. The sub-grantee petitioned the

provincial water agency to install a chlorinator to

disinfect the water system and embarked on a home

water tank cleaning campaign with Villa La Merced

residents to kill water-borne bacteria. The outcome

was safe water for over 900 individuals.

Latrines and Similar Facilities

Installation of toilet facilities also improved sanitary conditions for more than 4,500 individuals. In

the Dominican Republic, for example, the Consejo

Interinstitucional para el Desarrollo de Constanza

(DR-306), or CIDC, built facilities in two schools

in the communities of Gajo del Mulo and Arroyo

Arriba benefiting 1,180 students. CIDC with support from the Food for the Hungry Foundation also

built 25 latrines in the Las Flores neighborhood

benefiting 125 residents.

In Honduras, the Centro Independiente para el

Desarrollo de Honduras (HO-231), as part of its

sanitation activities, built 70 latrines in the communities of Guadalupe and Carney benefiting approximately 700 residents. The construction of the

latrines has reduced contamination in Guaymoreto

Lagoon.

Miguel Cuevas
Results Report 2002 23

Three IAF grantees in El Salvador

installed latrines. The Fundación

Ignacio Ellacuría (ES-179)

installed 50 “fertilizing” latrines,

or letrinas aboneras, in the county

of El Volcán and 25 in the community of Piedra Luna in

Morazán, benefiting 375 individuals. The fertilizing latrine collects

solid waste which is processed

into organic fertilizer.

Solid Waste Collection

Health conditions also improved

through trash disposal, which benefited 130,000 individuals in FY 2002. The

Dominican Republic’s Sociedad Ecológica del

Cibao (DR-310) organized and implemented a

solid waste collection project resulting in the collection of 36 metric tons per day from 5,125 households. The Instituto de Desarrollo Ecológico y

Capacitación Comunitaria (DR-312), in coordination with neighborhood committees and the municipality, made possible the collection of solid waste

from 3,310 households and the elimination of four

dump sites from the Manolo Tavarez Justo, 27 de

Febrero, La Trinitaria and Simón Bolívar neighborhoods.

Four IAF grantees in El Salvador reported on solid

waste collection in FY 2002. Of these, Fundación

para el Fomento de Empresas para la Recolección

y Tratamiento Ambiental de los Desechos Sólidos

(ES-201) reported that 6,215 persons in 1,240

homes benefited from waste collection in the community of Prados de Venecia and the city of

Ilopango.

Housing

In FY 2002, IAF grantees in nine countries had a

direct and positive impact on the standard of living

of the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean

through assistance with housing construction or

additions (see Figure 4). Brazilian grantee

Fundação Centro de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos

Bento Rubião (BR-788) helped residents of two

low-income housing cooperatives located in the

poorest neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro build their

own homes. Ecuador’s Fundación Mujer y Familia

Andina (EC-373) urged the Ecuadorian government

to distribute funds from a housing program to 40

women, enabling them to build homes. Argentina’s

Asociación Civil NORTESUR (AR-327) joined

forces with the city of Reconquista in the province

of Santa Fe to secure a World Bank flood relief

loan and build 20 homes in Barrio Puerto. The

grantee financed road construction and the installation of electrical systems in the homes built. A total

of 105 individuals benefited. 

Nicaragua’s Sociedad de Servicios Integrales para

el Desarrollo Rural Espino Blanco (NC-230) provided loans to 40 families for the construction of 20

new houses benefiting 90 persons whose homes

had been destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In

Honduras, the Centro San Juan Bosco (HO-226), or

CSJB, collaborated with the municipal government

of San Pedro Sula to improve living conditions for

20 families in the low-income urban area of

Ocotillo through the construction of 20 cementblock houses on lots provided by the Cooperativa

De Servicios Múltiples (COSMUL). 

In Mexico, the Comité de Defensa Popular de

Zaragoza (ME-426) improved conditions for 390

individuals by replacing their one-room mud huts

with 60 new three- room homes made of long-lasting materials. Another Mexican grantee, the Comité

de Promoción Social del Valle del Yaqui (ME-441),

or PROVAY, provided low-income families with

the necessary training, technical assistance, equipFigure 4: New and remodelled housing units

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Argentina

Brasil

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Honduras

MéxicoNicaraguaPanamaVenezuela

New

Remodel
24 Results Report 2002

ment and materials to build 20 safe, cost-effective

and durable “ecological” homes that met their basic

needs and reduced environmental pollution. The

construction benefited 85 individuals. 

Home improvement projects also made life better

for the poor. In the Dominican Republic, for example, the Consejo para el Desarrollo Estratégico de

la Ciudad y el Municipio de Santiago (DR-307), or

COORPLAN, helped rehabilitate 60 homes along

the Hoya del Caimito Stream in the municipality of

Santiago. COORPLAN provided technical assistance to the homeowners in the selection of contractors and purchase of materials and monitored

the work through completion, thereby benefiting

240 individuals. In Honduras, the Instituto

Nacional de Ambiente y Desarrollo (HO-224), or

INADES, provided materials for the reconstruction

and rehabilitation of 40 dwellings, benefiting 290

persons.

IAF grantees in El Salvador, the Dominican

Republic and Honduras led in the installation of

electrical systems and connection to sewer systems,

as Table 9 shows.

Employment

Permanent and Seasonal Jobs Created

In FY 2002, IAF grantees created 2,560 permanent

full-time jobs and 1,150 part-time positions as well

as seasonal jobs, mostly in agriculture, filled by

5,700 full-time workers and 4,760 part-time workers. About 54 percent of all 10, 460 seasonal jobs

created were full-time positions (see Table 10). 

Panama grants produced 410 permanent full-time

positions, the most permanent full-time positions of

the 14 countries in this category. Panama’s total

represents 16 percent of all permanent full-time

positions created. Brazil followed, with 240 permanent full-time positions or approximately 10 percent of the total. Two labor-intensive recycling

projects in large Brazilian cities with a vast pool of

unemployed and/or underemployed accounted for

about 92 percent of those new jobs: Associação

dos Catadores de Papel, Papelão e Material

Recicável (BR-773), which created 50 jobs in Belo

Horizonte; and Associação de Reciclagem

Ecológica Rubem Berta (BR-780), which created

175 jobs in Porto Alegre. 

IAF grantees in 12 countries created 1,160 permanent part-time positions. Honduras led with 340

positions, or 29 percent of those created, followed

by Peru with 250 jobs, or 22 percent of new partTable 9: Homes connected to electric power and sewer lines 

Electrical power Sewer hook-up 

Country Persons Homes Persons Housing 

Argentina 110 20 0 0 

Brazil 10 5 10 5 

Dominican Republic 380 60 380 75 

El Salvador 520 100 400 130 

Guatemala 50 10 0 0 

Honduras 950 190 100 20 

Nicaragua 0 0 10 0 

Panama 160 30 0 0 

Venezuela 10 0 0 0 

Total 2,190 415 900 225 

Table 10: Permanent and seasonal full - and part-time positions 

created 

Permanent Jobs Seasonal Jobs 

Country Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time 

Argentina 110 10 0 70 

Bolivia 10 0 0 130 

Brazil 240 0 20 10 

Colombia 0 0 0 10 

Dominican Republic 0 10 30 10 

Ecuador 280 20 220 40 

El Salvador 105 40 20 410 

Guatemala 70 80 20 290 

Haiti 90 0 50 30 

Honduras 390 340 560 1,790 

Mexico 200 10 1,000 130 

Nicaragua 200 180 1,690 470 

Panama 410 210 30 260 

Peru 370 250 2,020 1,060 

Venezuela 70 10 40 80 

Total 2,545 1,160 5,700 4,790 
Results Report 2002 25

time jobs. Peru, Mexico and Nicaragua account for

approximately 83 percent of all seasonal full-time

positions created in FY 2002. Of these, 2,020 were

in Peru where about 48 percent of these positions

can be attributed to Bosques del Norte (PU-486), a

rural environmental organization whose job creation helps reduce illegal forestry activities in the

national reserve.

IAF grantees in Honduras and Peru accounted for

60 percent of the 4,762 seasonal part-time positions

created in FY 2002. Honduras led with about 38

percent of these positions with 52 percent of the

Honduran jobs attributable to a single grantee, the

Asociación de Investigación y Capacitación para

el Desarrollo de Honduras (HO-229), or AINCADEH, a micro-enterprise project with development activities in the agricultural sector. AINCADEH targets low-income women heads-ofhousehold.

Jobs Improved or Saved

Table 11 shows the number of jobs that have been

saved and improved as a result of IAF funding.

The data for all grants active in FY 2002 are

cumulative since inception. A single grantee,

Fundación León 2000 (NC-227), accounts for

most jobs preserved and improved in the

Nicaragua portfolio. 

In Brazil, the Associação de Reciclagem

Ecológica Rubem Berta (BR-780) has preserved

and improved 950 jobs, first, by adding a small

plant to process plastic soda bottles into pellets for

sale to manufacturers of plastic bags and food

trays, and, second, by negotiating a higher sale

price for the recycled products. Through effective

negotiation, the price of polyethylene terephthalate

received by recycler beneficiaries increased in six

months from US$130 per metric ton to US$174.

In Peru, the Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo

Regional (PU-481), or CEDER, saved 400 jobs

through technical assistance following the 2001

earthquake and training in pest-control for fruit

growers in the district of Puquina, Arequipa.

Additionally, since the project’s inception in June

1999, CEDER has improved the jobs of 900 farmers by constructing irrigation ditches which have

led to higher crop yields.

In Bolivia, the Programa de Coordinación en Salud

Integral (BO-463), or PROCOSI, preserved 679

jobs held by women micro-entrepreneurs who

received loans from the Freedom from

Hunger/CRECER project known as Bancos comunales de mujeres para Puerto Acosta, provincia

Camacho, allowing them to repair their fishing nets

and boats, purchase piglets, and expand the stock in

their grocery stores.

Table 11: Permanent jobs saved and improved

Jobs saved Jobs improved

Country Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time

Argentina 270 50 290 50

Bolivia 700 110 50 660

Brazil 1,750 140 1,630 0

Colombia 40 0 195 0

Ecuador 350 0 630 70

El Salvador 520 410 1,105 560

Guatemala 80 10 0 0

Haiti 0 0 60 0

Honduras 1,910 1,470 5,430 3,770

Mexico 30 0 2,630 68

Nicaragua 1,810 200 975 30

Panama 200 280 140 20

Peru 1,280 650 1,080 1,300

Venezuela 40 30 40 5

Total 8,979 3,338 14,247 6,529

Miguel Sayago
26 Results Report 2002

Measuring Grantee Organization Capabilities

This section looks into grantee success in leveraging resources to expand the scope of their work

beyond the beneficiaries originally envisioned in

the agreement with the IAF and to sustain their

activities once IAF funding ends. It also examines

efforts to forge new relationships toward providing

the level and quality of goods and services

required. The diversity of loan fund programs is

treated as a critical component of many IAF grants

because of the number of lives affected. 

Resources Mobilized

Resource mobilization refers to funds raised to

cover operating expenses and development efforts

beyond those covered by an IAF grant. Leveraged

resources, from international, national or local

sources, private and public, can be financial, material or human. In FY 2002, grantees mobilized the

equivalent of $5.5 million: $3.7 million in cash

and $1.8 million in kind. Grantees leveraged $2.5

million, or 45 percent, from international sources,

including $2.1 million in cash and close to $0.4

million in-kind (see Table 12).

Resources mobilized from national and local

sources amounted to $3 million. Domestic donor

contributions represented 55 percent of the total

resources mobilized in FY 2002 compared to 58

percent last year. Figure 5 compares resources

mobilized by grantees in FY 2002 with those

mobilized in FY 2001. 

Foreign businesses--Hewlett-Packard in Honduras,

Phillip Morris in Panama, and FMC do Brasil,

Agribrands and Robert Bosh-Divisão de Freios in

Brazil--contributed $84,000 in cash during FY 2002

to three grantees in three countries. 

Approximately $1.3 million in cash was donated by

international nonprofit organizations as follows:3

* $14,000 from AVINA to Fundación Minetti

(AR-322) in Argentina;

* $22,800 from the Kellogg Foundation to

CEMSE (BO-462) in Bolivia;

* $22,600 from Misereor (Germany) to

Fundação Centro de Defesa dos Direitos

Humanos Bento Rubião (BR-788) in Brazil;

* $12,000 from the Catholic Organization for

Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID) to

SISMA-MUJER (CO-493) in Colombia;

* $25,000 from Intermon (Spain) to Oficina de

Investigaciones Sociales y del Desarrollo

(EC-375) in Ecuador;

* $20,700 from Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke

(Denmark) to Comunidades Unidas de

Usulután (ES-182) in El Salvador;

* $62,700 from Bread for the World (Germany)

to Fundación Para el Desarrollo y

Fortalecimiento de las Organizaciones de

Base (GT-253);

* $108,000 from SEED-USA to Fondation

Sémence in Haiti;

* $120,000 from AVINA to Fundación Cayos

Cochinos (HO-228) in Honduras;

* $166,200 from the Kellogg Foundation to

Table 12: Resources mobilized in cash and in kind by source 

Source Cash In-kind Total 

International businesses $84,046 $28,072 $112,118 

International public sector $183,368 $52,292 $235,660 

International private organizations $1,301,348 $288,462 $1,589,810 

Other international organizations $531,820 $4,971 $536,791 

National businesses $424,059 $137,497 $591,547 

National public sector $548,555 $411,430 $959,985 

Other national organizations $143,783 $103,912 $247,695 

Local businesses $106,758 $88,086 $194,845 

Local public sector $291,618 $167,189 $458,807 

Community contributions $39,677 $263,709 $303,385 

Other locals $67,235 $235,365 $302,599 

Total $3,722,267 $1,780,984 $5,533,242 

Figure 5: Resources Mobilization Distribution 

FY 01 vs. FY 02

42%

28% 29%

45%

23%

32%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

International National Local

FY 01 FY 02

3 No cash contributions from international private organizations were reported in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama for FY 2002.
Results Report 2002 27

Fundación Comunitaria Oaxaca (ME-415)

in Mexico; 

* $29,800 from Esperança Inc. (USA) to

Asociación de Voluntarios para el

Desarrollo Comunitario (NC-226) in

Nicaragua;

* $11,400 from NOVIB (Holland) to Centro de

Información y Desarrollo Integral de

Autogestión (PU-473) in Peru;

* $10,000 from Manos Unidas (Spain) to

Asociación Civil Fomento del Desarrollo

Popular (VZ-165) in Venezuela.

During FY 2002, IAF grantees received more than

$756,000 from national and local businesses, compared to $740,000 during FY 2001. Cash donations

from domestic businesses were reported in only

four countries: 

* $665 from Importadora y Exportadora de la

Patagonia to Fundación Leer (AR-330) in

Argentina;

* $11,200 from the Banco Nacional de

Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social to

Fundação Acesita para o Desenvolvimento

Social (BR-772) in Brazil;

* $10,800 from Empresa Televisa to Fundación

Comunitaria Oaxaca (ME-414) in Mexico;

* $53,000 from CANTV, a telecommunication

corporation, to Fundación para la

Capacitación y Mejoramiento Social del

Joven Torrense (VZ-184) in Venezuela.

Others contributed time or materials to IAF-supported projects. In Mexico, for example,

Interceramic donated 3,000 square meters of

ceramic tiles valued at $21,000 to Comité de

Promoción Social del Valle del Yaqui (ME-441). In

Panama, the Canadian Executive Service

Organization (CESO) provided the service of two

technical advisors to Asociación de Profesionales

Agropecuarios Ngöbe-Buglé (PN-272), valued at

$29,600. And in Venezuela, PDVSA, the para-statal

oil company, provided Fundación Papyrus (VZ183) the equivalent of $14,000 in room and board,

equipment, and classroom facilities for training outof-school, low-income youths. 

Resources Brokered

The term resources brokered refers to monetary,

material or human resources raised from a variety

of possible sources through an IAF grantee’s efforts

but channeled directly to a grassroots beneficiary

group to support work originally funded with the

IAF award.

As Table 13 demonstrates, most resources brokered

came from central governments, which invested

$883,871, or 26 percent of total resources brokered,

in projects for IAF grant beneficiaries. Resources

brokered fell from $7.5 million in FY 2001 to $3.3

million in FY 2002. Local public sector contributions declined dramatically from $4.6 million in FY

2001 to a mere $138,762 in FY 2002. However, to

put this comparison in a proper context, it is important to understand that in FY 2001,

two grantees accounted for 84 percent of local public sector

resources brokered: Asociación de

Parroquias Rurales y Barrios Suburbanos del Cantón Cuenca (EC377) in Ecuador brokered $1.2 million from the municipality of

Cuenca, and Acción Ciudadana

para la Educación, la Democracia

y el Desarrollo (ME-407) in

Mexico brokered $2.6 million from

the Secretaría de Desarrollo Rural

(SEDER). Subtracting resources

brokered by these two grantees,

total resources brokered from the

local public sector decreased from

Table 13: Resources brokered in cash and in kind by source 

Source Cash In-kind Total 

International businesses $36,000 $23,283 $59,283 

International public sector $101,343 $64,805 $166,148 

International private organizations $148,948 $42,454 $191,402 

Other international organizations $138,447 $108,806 $247,253 

National businesses $850,598 $28,740 $879,338 

National public sector $720,336 $163,535 $883,871 

Other national organizations $451,229 $9,229 $460,458 

Local businesses $2,770 $114,524 $117,294 

Local public sector $63,495 $75,266 $138,762 

Community contributions $53,250 $122,490 $175,740 

Other locals $1,038 $30,082 $31,120 

Total $2,567,454 $783,213 $3,350,667 
28 Results Report 2002

$800,000 in FY 2001 to $138,762 in FY 2002- still

a substantial reduction but not as dramatic. As percentages, the distribution by sectors has also

changed significantly from FY 2001 to FY 2002

(see Figure 6). 

However, international donor contributions channeled directly to IAF beneficiaries jumped by 17

percent, from $565,714 in FY 2001 to $664,086 in

FY 2002. Similarly, resources brokered from private and public sector sources, other than those

operating at the local level, increased from $2.1

million to $2.2 million.

In Guatemala, beneficiaries of the Coordinadora

Kaqchikel de Desarrollo Integral (GT-256), or

COKADI, received more than $21,000 from the

U.S. Agency for International Development

(USAID) for building hen houses and purchasing

chickens for egg production. The Peace Corps and

CARE contributed $2,700 and $2,100, respectively,

for the same purpose; the municipal governments

of Chajul and Cotzal, department of El Quiché,

each donated $2,270; and Juaneritos parish added

$1,000.

In El Salvador, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für

Wiederaufbau contributed more than $39,000

toward a sewer system in the community of La

Magdalena and more than $29,000 toward constructing and equipping the health unit in the community of Miramar. Beneficiaries of the Asociación

para la Organización y Educación Empresarial

Femenina (ES-196) were the direct recipients of the

German institution’s assistance. 

Another grantee, the Fundación Campo (ES-187),

was successful in brokering more than $24,000

from USAID for a water project in the community

of El Cucurucho in the municipality of Nuevo Edén

de San Juan. Additionally, El Salvador’s Ministry

of Public Health and Social Assistance contributed

$7,500 in equipment, medical supplies and salaries

for five medical brigades to combat dengue fever.

Finally, the Salvadoran Ministry of Education paid

the salaries of 47 literacy workers and for instructional materials.

Reaching the Poor by Cooperating with Others

Without any written agreements specifying an obligation to do so, 1,950 organizations, mainly government agencies at the national and local level,

cooperated with IAF grantees in FY 2002. In

Mexico, for example, Fundación para la

Productividad en el Campo (ME-431) is working

with 33 private and public organizations, both foreign and domestic, including the North American

Integration and Development Center (NAID) of the

University of California at Los Angeles, which

wants to link Mexican migrants in the U.S. with

economic development projects in their hometowns.

With assistance from 14 public and private institutions ranging from religious organizations to private businesses to government agencies, another

Mexican grantee, the Fundación del Empresariado

Chihuahuense (ME-416), or FECHAC, provided

beneficiaries a wide range of services in FY 2002.

The financial and investment company BBVA

Bancomer, financed the grantee’s news bulletin; the

Secretaría de Desarrollo Comercial y Turístico paid

Miguel Sayago

Figure 6: Brokered Resource Distribution

FY 01 vs FY 02

7%

28%

65%

20%

66%

14%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

International National Local

FY 01

FY 02
Results Report 2002 29

for advertising and fair kiosks; and the Church of

San Francisco provided meeting rooms to the

grantee and its beneficiaries. 

Argentina’s Fundación de la Universidad Nacional

de General Sarmiento (AR-320), or FUNAS, promotes and supports the university’s mission in

seven contiguous communities on the outskirts of

Buenos Aires through socio-economic development

partnerships among public, private and civil society

organizations that enhance the efforts of local

stakeholders and strengthen democracy at the local

level. In FY 2002, FUNAS reported 107 organizations, all but one domestic, cooperated at various

levels. FUNAS’ Cultural Catalogue was published

through the combined efforts of the Cultural

Regional Congress, made up of 50 nongovernmental and community organizations, which collected

the data. Twenty NGOs and community groups

worked at assessing the local cultural heritage. 

Consejo Municipal de Desarrollo de Esperanza

(DR-399) facilitates dialogue on municipal development needs among representatives of civil society, the business community, and local and national

government authorities in the Dominican Republic.

It reported 11 cooperating institutions, more than

half from the public sector.

Partnering as a Strategy to Help the Poor

Grantees are aware that helping the poor requires

certain skills and by partnering with organizations

that have these skills, they can offer beneficiaries

the assistance they need. Partnerships present challenges because of differences in interests, objectives, goals, resources, and human and financial

capital, but they achieve outcomes not otherwise

possible. Partnering involves shared decisions and

pooled resources to benefit the target group. IAF

grantees recognize the advantages in terms of maximizing the impact of their investment and accessing a greater range of skills. During FY 2002, IAF

grantees reported partnering with 1,306 organizations, public and private, foreign and domestic. As

Table 14 shows, the Salvadoran grant portfolio

includes the most partnerships, with 296, followed

by Brazil with 209, Mexico with 172, and Peru

with 144. In FY 2002 alone, IAF grantees established alliances with 382 public and private organizations. 

Community-based organizations, from the neighborhood cultural group El Colibrí in Argentina

(AR-320) to Ixtlahuacán Agricultural Association

in Mexico (ME-407), led the way in partnering

with IAF grantees (see Figure 7). They were followed by public sector agencies, from municipal

governments, such as Guazapa in El Salvador (ES191), to national public institutions such as FONAES (Fondo Nacional de Apoyo a las Empresas en

Solidaridad) in Mexico. Domestic businesses also

supported IAF grantees in Latin America and the

Caribbean. Foreign businesses were rarely a partner and contributed less than $175,000 to IAF projects in FY 2002.

Figure 7: IAF Grantee's Partner Distribution, FY 2002

337

200

322

195

76 64

31 37 37

7

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Foreign private businessesMultilateral donor agenciesForeign public sector donorsOther domestic organizationsForeign PVOsReligious organizationsDomestic NGOsDomestic private businessesNational public sectorCommunity based organizations
30 Results Report 2002

Diversity in Loan Fund Programs

In its entirety, the IAF credit portfolio reflects a

dazzling degree of diversity at the project level. In

2002, the IAF funded projects with micro-credit

components in 16 countries. These programs fell

into six categories: agriculture, construction, manufacturing, business development, education and

other. With 23,950 loans, business development led

the field, followed by 13,960 loans for other purposes and 6,290 loans for agriculture pursuits. At

$1,220, agriculture loans were the largest, followed

by construction loans averaging $850 dollars and

education loans averaging $840 

(see Table 15). 

Projects in Mexico made the most loans in manufacturing, business development and for miscellaneous purposes; projects in Honduras had the greatest number of agricultural loans (820), followed by

Guatemala and Bolivia (810 each); projects in Peru

led in construction loans (190) followed by Mexico

(110). Honduran projects extended the most loans

for educational purposes, while Brazil and Mexico

each extended a few such loans.

The Mexico portfolio reflects 21,670 business

development loans, averaging $375 each, granted in

FY 2002. Of these, 18,910 loans are attributable to

Desarrolladora de Emprendedores (ME-438), a

project oriented toward expanding its banking

capacity; establishing three banking branches for

beneficiary asset accumulation; allowing members

with a successful track record to access higher levels of credit; improving efficiency through information technology; providing low-income populations

in the Valle Chalco access to technology; and managing private capital for a fee to generate revenue

for project activities. This project offers both group

and individual loans to, respectively, 31,160 members and 1,840 members. 

Bolivia’s Programa de Coordinación en Salud

Integral (BO-463) supports a food security and

local development fund intended to benefit 5,000

families, especially women and children, and local

projects in 61 municipalities. In FY 2002, the credit

fund extended 560 loans averaging $280 each.

These loans represent slightly more than 69 percent

of all 810 agricultural loans extended in Bolivia

during the fiscal year.

From the Rio Grande to the Rio de la Plata, the

demand for credit is significant. The uses of microcredit in the Americas are as challenging to catalogue as the hemisphere’s bio-diversity. With IAF

resources, grantees are filling development niches

largely ignored by the traditional commercial sector, but the need for credit still far exceeds their

resources.

Planning and Evaluation Activities

The IAF assesses planning and evaluation ability as

high, medium or low. During FY 2002, grantees in

15 countries reported on this variable: 79 grantees,

or about 65 percent, reported their capacity high;

41, or about 34 percent, reported their capacity

medium.

Table 15: Category, Number, and Average Loan 

in FY 2002 

Loan category 

Number 

of loans 

Average loan 

amount 

Agriculture 6,289 $1,218 

Construction 457 $853 

Manufacturing 3,435 $440 

Business development 23,949 $388 

Education 22 $842 

Other 13,956 $313 

Total 48,108 $483 

Table 14: Grantee partners by country 

Country 

Partnerships 

formed in 

FY 02 

Number of 

Partnerships 

Argentina 57 79 

Bolivia 49 105 

Brazil 49 209 

Caribbean Region 0 1 

Colombia 35 87 

Costa Rica 1 1 

Dominican Republic 3 16 

Ecuador 16 32 

El Salvador 65 296 

Guatemala 18 38 

Haiti 2 3 

Honduras 14 53 

Mexico 14 172 

Nicaragua 6 6 

Panama 10 24 

Peru 25 144 

Venezuela 18 40 

Total 382 1306 
Results Report 2002 31

In Mexico, nine grantees, or 64 percent, reported

their capacity in planning and evaluation high,

while five, or 36 percent, reported their capacity

medium. Among those reporting a high capacity for

planning and evaluation was the Sociedad

Cooperativa de Consumo Regional Chac Lol (ME423), which the data verifier for Mexico confirmed

by indicating that the grantee not only undertakes

detailed planning but also follows up by comparing

the plan with the results.

In Bolivia five grantees, or 71 percent, indicated

their planning and evaluation was high and two, or

29 percent, reported medium capacity. 

New Approaches

“New approaches” refers to a demonstrated ability

to take the initiative in devising imaginative solutions with what one has available. This includes

making use of local resources previously overlooked, or improving techniques by integrating traditional and modern know-how. In FY 2002, 70

grantee organizations reported using this indicator.

Independent IAF data verifiers corroborated the

self-assessments and confirmed high ratings by 44

grantee organizations, or approximately 63 percent,

medium ratings by 25 organizations, or close to 36

percent, and one low rating. Centro Mexicano para

la Filantropía (ME-422), or CEMEFI, in Mexico,

which had rated itself high, had founded an electronic information exchange group comprised of

members of the Business Leaders Forum, government officials and development practitioners associated with organizations linked to business development projects. The electronic information

exchanged among members has facilitated the flow

of ideas and suggestions. CEMEFI’s objective is to

encourage corporate involvement in social development. 

The Association Nationale des Scouts d’Haïti (HA195), faced with financial constraints in providing

its young beneficiaries computer training,

approached businesses and cajoled them into making a microcomputer-equipped facility available.

Another grantee, the Fondation Sémence d’Haïti

(HA-193), is using solar energy to power water

pumps for irrigation since Haitian electric power is

unreliable. Sémence is also on the look out for new

environmentally friendly fishing techniques. 

Venezuela’s Centro de Formación Popular

“Renaciendo Juntos” (VZ-161), or CEPOREJUN,

is an example of an organization that does not hesitate to apply new methods to achieve its goals.

CEPOREJUN has successfully used “Participatory

Rapid Assessment,” a method learned from the

German Cooperation Agency (GTZ) to identify

community needs. 

Ecuador’s Asociación de Parroquias Rurales y

Barrios Sub-urbanos del Cantón Cuenca (EC-377)

attempted to motivate parish leaders and residents

to participate in development planning projects

through the monthly publication “Visión

Parroquial” and received a medium rating.

Stakeholders’ Access to Information

In FY 2002, 65 percent of grantee organizations

were rated high, 34 percent were rated medium and

one was rated low in their willingness to disseminate information on policies and programs to staff,

beneficiaries and participating organizations.

Sociedad Cooperativa de Empresas Agropecuarios

de los Municipios de Jocoro, Corinto, Divisadero, y

Sociedad (ES-185), or JOCODIS, received a high

rating for regularly allowing staff and beneficiaries

free access to project information. JOCODIS

shared with local governing bodies, or ADESCOS,

and other entities, project and other information, for

example, on national sources of funding for environmental projects. Recently, JOCODIS focused on

obtaining medicine for its medical brigades by providing several companies information on the project and its components. 

Centro de Protección para Desastres (ES-190), or

CEPRODE, received a medium rating as it provides staff and beneficiaries only limited information, for example on work processes or a training

class, at selected times. However, CEPRODE does

share information with other organizations when

requested.

Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades para el

Desarrollo del Cacahuatique (ES-181) received the

only low rating among the Salvadoran grantees

simply because staff were focused on early termination of the project and had limited outside contact. 
32 Results Report 2002

Participation in Decision-Making

How much do beneficiaries, staff, and/or organizations working in coordination participate in decisions affecting goals and activities? Of the 99

grantees reporting on this indicator measuring the

democratic workings of IAF projects, 69 percent

had a high rating, 29 percent had a medium rating

and two percent had a low rating in participatory

decision-making. 

Two grantees in Colombia provide examples of a

high and a medium rating: Centro de Educación e

Investigación para el Desarrollo Comunitario

Urbano (CO-494) beneficiaries, poor women

belonging to a grassroots organization, are represented in project planning and decision-making.

Recently a representative proposed the need for a

workshop on project formulation. Additionally, regular visits offer the opportunity to share information with beneficiaries about their home gardens

and activities and to hear their ideas. In contrast,

irregular visits caused Fundación para la

Educación Superior (CO-484), or FES, problems

with involving beneficiaries in decision-making

crucial to the project. In the past, visits had enabled

beneficiary groups to present and defend their proposals for grants from FES’s development fund and

to exchange information and opinions on requirements and operation. While proposals arrive

through other cooperating organizations, these

organizations do not participate in the fund’s operations.

Dissemination

The dissemination of knowledge and experience

allows development to build on the success of others and avoid their errors. The IAF supports such

efforts through funding a wide array of information outlets, including speeches and presentations,

radio and television interviews, pamphlets and

brochures, newspaper and magazine articles, press

releases, books, videos and movies, and CDROMs.

In FY 2002, IAF grantees in 14 of 17 countries, or

82 percent of the countries with projects funded by

IAF grants, undertook some sort of dissemination

activity. Argentina, Mexico and Peru grantees were

represented in each area of dissemination activity.

Usually, however, projects used a more modest

array of tools.

IAF projects produced 860 pamphlets and

brochures and distributed more than 122,898

copies. In the last fiscal year, projects in Brazil,

Mexico and Venezuela stand out. Brazilian

grantees produced 30 pamphlets and brochures and

distributed 22,740 copies. Viva Rio (BR-798), a

project oriented toward improving the horizons of

low-income business owners, distributed 10,000

copies of its single publication, an impressive level

considering the project’s goal of improving access

to business tools and the market for 5,500 people. Patrick Breslin
Results Report 2002 33

In Mexico, 15 different pamphlets and brochures

were produced and 25,780 copies were distributed.

Fundación Juan Diego (ME-418) distributed

among its 12 branches 18,000 copies of its quarterly bulletin “ENCOMÚN,” which provides information on financial tools and recent FJD agreements. 

Projects in Venezuela produced 23 pamphlet and

brochure products and distributed 22,735 copies in

fiscal 2002. Fundación para la Capacitación y

Mejoramiento Social del Joven Torrense (VZ-184),

or FUNCAMET, distributed 13,000 copies of 12

such products, or more than 57 percent of all distribution by IAF projects in Venezuela. FUNCAMET

is a training and micro-credit program oriented

toward youth in the municipality of Torres in the

state of Lara. Given the project’s 10 training programs plus the micro-credit program, the distribution seems reasonable. 

Dissemination also occurred through speeches, presentations, radio and television interviews; in the

future, these means of information exchange will

play an important role in the Grassroots

Development Framework. New dissemination categories are likely to be included in the GDF given

this explosion of telecommunications exchange via

the Internet.

Measuring Intangible Results: Individuals and

Families 

A holistic view of grassroots development includes

intangible gains that can be observed, inferred and

reliably verified, if not directly measured. At the

individual or family level, the IAF, through its data

verifiers, collects data on seven intangible indicators: communication, problem-solving skills, selfesteem, cultural identity, respect, determination and

innovation. Considered with results on tangible

indicators, these widen the lens through which

grant impact is viewed and provide symmetry to

the IAF’s measurement process. The data presented

in this section reflect the perception of grantee

organizations and beneficiaries with regard to cultural values, a sense of belonging, personal recognition of self-worth and human dignity, and the sense

of the potential to live a better life and contribute to

society. The data are cumulative and show results

since the inception of each grant. Following are

intangible results achieved.

Communication

Bolivia’s Centro de Multiservicios Educativos (BO462), or CEMSE, reported that 53 percent of its

beneficiaries improved their communication skills

as measured by interaction between students and

teachers and between students and parents during

an evaluation study conducted by the grantee.

CEMSE developed and implemented activities that

involved spelling, public speaking and syllabication, which have helped 16,000 students hone their

communication abilities since the project began in

1998.

Similarly, Fundación para la Infancia y la

Juventud-Opportunitas (VZ-172) in Venezuela is

providing local youth-oriented organizations in the

state of Carabobo a series of workshops in basic

communication skills. The program counts nearly

900 participants whose communication skills have

improved. 

Problem-Solving

The following examples illustrate how beneficiaries, as a result of IAF-funded activities, analyze a

situation and plan and carry out a course of action:

In Panama, the Asociación para el Desarrollo del

Micro y Pequeño Productor (PN-269), or

ADEMIPP, reported that its beneficiaries have been

able, as a result of training, to resolve two problems

confronting their community: the contamination of

the water source by hog producers and by farmers

applying chemical fertilizers in their fields; and

heavy rain which threatened to destroy the rice tassel at harvest. Beneficiaries took their case against

polluters to the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente,

which ordered the hog producers to clean up the

toxic waste in the rivers and issued an order

restraining farmers from applying chemical fertilizers near rivers, streams and springs. The rice farmers entered into an agreement with other farmers to

help with the harvest and were able to salvage most

of the crop.
In Ecuador, Fundación Mujer y Familia Andina (EC373) reported that the project created an environment

in which women could air their grievances and arrive

at mutually acceptable solutions. Thus far, 350

women have participated in this exchange since the

project began in 1999.

In Argentina, 120 program coordinators (mostly

women) trained by Fundación Leer (AR-330) in the

literacy and life skills aspect of the Open Book

Project were able to resolve problems associated with

implementation. Program coordinators worked with

publishers to avoid delays in the delivery of books to

participating schools. Additionally, they devoted time

to program logistics, including book and volunteer

selection and reading sessions.

Self-Esteem

Personal recognition of self-worth and human dignity

and a sense of potential are attributes of self-esteem,

which plays a key role in human accomplishment and

development. Most IAF-supported activities aimed at

tangible results affect the self-esteem of the people

targeted by these activities. For example, 9,400 children and youth, as well as 120 program coordinators,

have raised their self-esteem by participating in

Fundación Leer’s after-school reading and inter-personal skills program. Through books available to take

home, the program offers children an important

opportunity to select something of their own to keep,

and learning continues with their families. As a

result, the children’s attitude toward reading and

libraries has improved, along with their reading and

learning skills. Further, children are participating in

all-day reading festivals, which bring parents into the

sessions and the educational process. Moreover, the

selection of program coordinators and school directors, not to mention the accolades of appreciative parents, has boosted the self-esteem of program personnel.

The Mancomunidad Héroes de la Independencia

(BO-474) in Tarija, Bolivia, reported that since its

IAF-funded program began in 1999, self-esteem has

improved for approximately 2,500 beneficiaries. The

grantee based its assessment on the beneficiaries’

enthusiastic reaction to its credit program, to their

selection as participants in project activities and to

their opportunity to propose development projects to

their elected officials. Also important was the local

authorities’ appreciation of their own role as key

actors in their community’s development.

Cultural Identity

The Asociación para el Desarrollo Económico,

Educativo y Cultural de Guatemala (GT-265), or

ADEEC, conducted a workshop on weaving methods

in the communities of Samac, Esmeralda, Tanchí and

Setul. The objectives were twofold: first, to provide

women with skills to earn a living; and, second, to

preserve traditional indigenous weaving techniques.

ADEEC also assisted farmers with their crops, and

the farmers, in turn, have demonstrated an appreciation for the Q’eqchi culture and its link with nature,

especially at planting and harvest time.

In Panama, the Centro de Estudios para la

Promoción del Desarrollo (PN-265), or PRODES,

reported 2,020 individuals have stronger ties to their

cultural heritage as a result of grant activities. The

grantee cited celebrations in Portobelo, Colón, to

commemorate Black Heritage Day with speeches,

recitals, dances and a parade in which local authorities join as well as various schools. 

The Fundación Inti Raymi (BO-477) in Bolivia

reported that its beneficiaries identify strongly with

their native language and customs. According to the

grantee, after planting alfalfa and barley, farmers in

San Antonio de Angulo gather to offer their god,

Pachamama, incense and cóhas, a table full of

sweets, eggs and herbs, so that their labor is rewarded with rain. During the ceremony, local authorities,

or hilacatas, wear indigenous dress.

Grantee and Beneficiary Innovation 

As defined by the IAF, innovation is the capacity to

develop creative solutions with the materials and

resources available and to apply new strategies or

methods that integrate traditional and modern knowledge and practices. This is one of several GDF indicators where information is collected by gender when

available.

During FY 2002, grantees from 13 countries reported

55,110 individuals displaying greater innovation

34 Results Report 2002
Results Report 2002 35

skills, of whom 49 percent were male and 51 percent female, although these proportions were not

consistently distributed over all countries. In

Colombia, for example, the split was 34 percent

male and 66 percent female with every project registering more improvement among women.

Corporación Centro de Cooperación para el

Desarrollo por Asociación de Participación (CO488) in Colombia is attempting to improve natural

resource management, agricultural production and

ties between the rural sector and the local municipal government. Specific activities in land and

water conservation, eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture and cultural preservation offer many opportunities for innovation, and communities have started to produce creams and natural medicines as well

as nutritional pellets for guinea pigs.

In Guatemala, almost 13,000 individuals showed

greater innovation capacity, and males exceeded

females, registering 58 percent and 42 percent,

respectively. The Fundación para el Desarrollo

Educativo, Social y Económico (GT-260), or FUNDADESE, is reflective of the Guatemala portfolio;

of almost 11,000 individuals with greater innovation skills, 63 percent are male and 37 percent

female. These numbers might seem high, but given

this organization’s past record with farmers in the

same municipality, they are acceptable. 

Miguel Cuevas
36 Results Report 2002

Background

In terms of population and physical size, Buenos

Aires dwarfs other cities in Argentina, but they are

all nonetheless plagued with a host of urban issues.

Santa Fe is a prime example. Its improvised urban

slums lack basic public services, including water

and electricity. Through community organization

and citizen participation, the city has made headway, however, in addressing these problems.

Organization and Objectives

The Colegio Mayor Universitario (AR-325), or

CMU, founded in 1954, specifically addresses

housing, health, day-care and vocational training in

Santa Fe. In 1998, CMU received a three-year IAF

grant for $251,000 to promote the health, nutrition

and educational development of children underfive; improve the health of pregnant women;

enhance the employment possibilities of young

adults; ameliorate the quality of life and housing

conditions; and form a neighborhood organization

to join the housing and health program of El

Movimiento de los Sin Techo, or Homeless

Movement.

Grant Results

Grant beneficiaries built 320 units to replace their

informal housing arrangements, improving conditions for 1,600 individuals. The construction was

accompanied by urban planning; parcels were

appropriately surveyed and boundaries set. Water

services and electric power were brought to the

neighborhoods, benefiting 480 families or approximately 2,400 individuals.

A pre-school built in the neighborhood of San

Pantaleón enrolled 135 children over the life of the

project. Evaluations indicated that 80 percent of the

children who had attended pre-school did better

later on than those who had not attended a preschool. Training benefiting 120 young adults centered on the trades.

Another program trained 840 women in women’s

health, childcare and women’s rights. Also successful were alliances formed and accords and agreements entered into. A total of 37 initiatives emerged

during the project. CMU secured $6.50 dollars in

additional funding for every dollar donated by the

Inter-American Foundation.

Lessons Learned

The project taught important lessons: Partnering

with an experienced organization can be essential

to a successful project. Volunteers also play an

important role.

Part III: Profiles of Projects Ending in FY 2002

ARGENTINA

Colegio Mayor Universitario

Reversing Urban Blight in Santa Fe 

Dora Celton
Results Report 2002 37

BOLIVIA

Taller de Historia Oral Andina

Legal Recognition, a Basic Right

* establish new geographic boundaries for

three traditional indigenous ayllu organizations and provide assistance toward legal status; and

* document and publicize experiences in

strengthening the ayllus’ participation in

local government. 

Through diagnostic studies of needs in the three

zones, land titling was identified as the highest priority for the indigenous communities. THOA

sought three amendments to its grant addressing

this need and to transfer follow-up of the National

Council of Markas and Ayllus of Qualasuyo

(CONAMAQ), allowing the 2006 deadline for filings be met by all interested parties. THOA conducted 50 seminars for local leaders and trained

regional and CONAMAQ authorities in indigenous

rights, political participation and women’s leadership. As part of the plan to turn titling activities

over to CONAMAQ, THOA trained 45 CONAMAQ officials in preparing development proposals

and land titling petitions for presentation to the

Bolivian government. 

During the process, THOA shared its knowledge of

ways to present petitions for legal title to communal property to the National Agrarian Reform

Institute (INRA) so they were processed with higher priority at less cost. As a result, the petitions

from three communities in the municipal district of

Qamata were presented together to INRA and to

eight ayllus, representing 53 communities in the

Aroma province, and to one ayllu in Cochabamba

province. Petitions from other communities are

being prepared. 

THOA published A Guide to Leadership

Formation, a pamphlet on indigenous rights under

international and Bolivian law, and also prepared a

text on human rights and indigenous rights.

Background

Taller de Historia Oral Andina (THOA) began as a

university undertaking to capture the history of the

indigenous peoples of Bolivia. Since its initial success, THOA has aimed to increase the role of ayllus,

or indigenous community groups, in local government and encourage their participation in local development. In the context of a new decentralization and

popular participation law enacted in Bolivia in the

mid-1990s, this work was necessary and its goal

achievable. New laws on land reform paved the way

for legal recognition of communal property, a traditional form of collective landholding for the indigenous population. 

In 1996, the municipality of Mollo Grande declared

itself an indigenous municipality. A year later, THOA

began to work there and in another municipality in

the province of Muñecas to build the skills and organizational infrastructure for fuller participation by the

residents in local decisions affecting their lives. More

aware of their legal rights, the indigenous population

would be able to obtain a fair share of local government resources. Residents sought solutions to eroded

land, the need to migrate for income, the sale of corn

in nearby towns and the control of local government

by a few non-indigenous leaders. 

Objectives and Results

The THOA’s goal was to enable three communities to

access municipal development funds for investment

in pasture, livestock, irrigation and other livelihood

concerns benefiting at least 200 indigenous families.

Other goals were to:

* Train 50 indigenous leaders in municipal

administration, local development planning,

and Bolivia’s new decentralization and participation laws, including as they applied to

women; 
38 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

Institutions implementing projects must be open to

learning the practices of the clientele they serve

and to value continued learning. THOA has

achieved this; it seeks to share more information

and work with local experts. 

THOA learned more about rural indigenous practices, including events such as festivals that take

the time and attention. THOA also learned indigenous authorities change every six months to a

year; consequently, training needed to be repeated.

Through a delay in the title process in two predominantly indigenous areas of La Paz province, which

affected one petition before INRA, THOA realized

the necessity of building ties and coalitions and

sharing information. 
Results Report 2002 39

BRAZIL

Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas – Zona da Mata 

Generating Jobs

Background

Zona da Mata is a rural town of fewer than 20,000

inhabitants located in southeastern Minas Gerais,

Brazil. The community relies heavily on agriculture. For the past four decades, the region has suffered from various “modern approaches” to agricultural development, which has led to deforestation,

degradation, pollution and destruction of water

sources, and growing poverty. 

Formed in 1987, the Centro de Tecnologias

Alternativas – Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM) was created to allow rural workers to participate in public

policy programs. A decade later, Tombos was chosen as one of the municipalities where a Rural

Development Municipal Plan (RDMP) was to be

designed using alternative approaches to agriculture. The project’s objectives were specific:

Design technical and organizational proposals to

improve the sustainability of rural production systems;

* improve 350 families’ standard of living;

increase alternative and sustainable 

approaches to agriculture and provide technical assistance for their application; 

* guarantee systematic marketing alternatives

for organic produce;

* develop three plants to process sugar cane,

coffee, and milk;

* train workers for the processing plants;

strengthen community organizations and their

management ability;

* develop a network of social organizations;

design and implement methodologies to promote the development of the region;

* distribute new methods, approaches and techniques related to soil management, fertilizer

and pest control, industrialized dairy production, sugar cane processing, and high quality

coffee production;

* replicate the experience throughout the

region; and

* establish a fund to purchase agricultural supplies for small-scale farmers’ experimental

plots.

Grant Results

The CTA-ZM project improved the Zona da Mata

region on many levels. Most important was the

improved sustainability of production systems

because of a significant reduction in practices

destructive of the environment. The soil quality

improved, as well as the quality of products. 

An increase in jobs meant residents had the advantage of several income sources and a consequent

increase in disposable cash. The project created 15

permanent jobs in the plants and 10 seasonal jobs

for sugar cane workers. The grantee trained 215

families in processing agricultural produce, thereby

adding value. More training was conducted in rural

property administration, organic coffee production

and making bio-fertilizers. At the project’s end, 540

people sold their products at the local market; 120

planted sugar cane for delivery to the processing

plant; and 25 beneficiaries shifted to organic coffee

production. CTA-ZM facilitated the creation of

APAT, the small-scale farmers and rural workers’

association of Tombos, whose market has guaranteed commercial outlets for products at good prices,

which motivates workers to produce more. Workers

can buy and sell at the same market, eliminating

intermediaries and allowing for the exchange of

goods through barter as well as purchase. 

From the outset, CTA-ZM has enjoyed a very high

level of participation by rural workers who are

active in project phases ranging from internal planning to administration. Six rural workers from

Tombos, for example, are associated members of
40 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned 

Successful practical experiences in sustainable

development carried out by grassroots organizations are powerful examples which lead to positive

changes cultural beliefs and social behavior.

Adaptation to political change is essential. 

Dissemination of project results is crucial. CTA-ZM

has a weekly radio program and has submitted

articles to journals. 

CTA-ZM’s focus on community awareness and

trust through positive changes has prompted spontaneous action, such as the current environmental

campaign for additional urban parks.

Educational campaigns and discussions in public

forums are not enough to bring about change. The

association still has to convince other growers to

raise organic produce. 

CTA-ZM project and participated in the annual

assembly, as well as in internal decision-making. In

fact, when municipalities did not collaborate on

construction of the processing plants, the grantee

was able to mobilize volunteers locally and

resources from both international and national

organizations. 

The rural workers have managed to participate in

the design and implementation of the RDMP.

Furthermore, the project became a recognized

example of successful collective work and a model

for other rural development programs. Because of

it, the entire population of Zona da Mata became

more conscious of the damage caused by toxic

chemicals used in agriculture and in urban parks.

However, the project’s most visible impact was the

development of the three sugar cane processing

plants in the municipality of Tombos, which

prompted a series of invitations from all over

Minas Gerais. The project has won the community’s respect, and other municipalities are eager to

replicate its participatory, diagnostic and management methods. 

The main problem facing the project was a long

drought at the outset that caused crops to wither

and workers to stop planting. There were other

problems as well:

The devaluation of the Brazilian currency and its

effect on the price of chemical fertilizers;

Paulo Vas Concelos

rapid project growth, which brought unforeseen

needs and expenses; the extra expense of the

license required to start production; and a legal

restriction to sell only in the local market.
Results Report 2002 41

Lessons Learned

The corporation's openness to learning and working systematically led to the

incorporation of training in communication and

leadership and to citizen participation in all training

events. 

The success in incorporating this training led to the

formation of local groups which could function successfully in the various components of the project,

such as environmental management and communication. 

CDAP's growth and success allowed it to mobilize

resources from, for example, the World Wildlife

Fund (more than $123,000) and the German

Association for the Cooperation and Education of

Adults (more than $16,000). 

COLOMBIA

Corporación Centro de Cooperación para el

Desarrollo por Asociación de Participación 

Self-Monitoring and Openness Fuels Achievements

tion in a management plan in connection with the

inclusion of the La Cocha Lake region in the List

of Wetlands of International Importance (the

Ramsar List compiled in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971).

Background

The grantee, the Corporación Centro de

Cooperación para el Desarrollo por Asociación de

Participación (CDAP), is composed of five nongovernmental organizations and the municipality of

Pasto, near the Cocha Lake region in southern

Colombia. The objective of the project was to

improve natural resource management (including

soil and lake conservation), enhance sustainable

production, and build equitable alliances between

rural communities and the Municipio de Pasto.

Over the long term, of course, the overarching goal

of the project was to stem environmental degradation and thereby enable local, low-income families

to better satisfy their basic needs.The multi-faceted

project planned to reforest 75 acres, establish 7,500

acres of biological reserve and protect nine watersheds. Beneficiaries were to include 3,000 lowincome families, five community organizations and

Pasto's municipal government.

Outcomes

Achievements in natural resource management

included 15 eco-tour businesses in reserve areas,

five more than planned, by 20 families. Residents

have reforested areas with native trees; 15 tree

reserves now exist. One community group takes

part in registering birds. With 440 people trained in

administration, planning and evaluation and another

270 in civil participation, residents have taken further steps including a creativity fair for exhibiting

their work and cultural presentations. Beneficiaries

have included not only adults, but also youth and

children, many through the Herederos del Planeta

(Inheritors of the Earth) groups. Additionally,

CDAP's ties to the local communities and leadership on local matters allowed its active participa-
42 Results Report 2002

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Acción para la Educación Básica 

Pre-school and Community Development 

Background

La Haina and Los Alcarrizos are marginalized

urban areas in metropolitan Santo Domingo in the

Dominican Republic. Both have large concentrations of poor citizens, many of them not accounted

for in official records, as is often the case throughout the Americas. If the high percentage of the

youth without a birth certificate were legally registered, the areas’ school age population could soar

by as much as 40 percent. As it is, the school system in these urban areas is overloaded, and children

without proper documentation have little chance of

gaining access to it. This is particularly true of preschool, a challenge Acción para la Educación

Básica (DR-303), or EDUCA, stepped up to confront. 

Organization and Objectives

EDUCA has undergone a significant evolution

since its founding in 1989 by local businesspeople

and professional educators. In its early days,

EDUCA was a think-tank focusing mainly on policy issues. Now its principal goal is to improve

basic education, in particular, pre-school education,

and its work is oriented toward implementation

rather than policy.

In June 1998, the Inter-American Foundation

awarded EDUCA a three-year grant, later extended

to March 2002, to assist in the development of a

project called “Adopt-A-School,” aimed at the consolidation of 20 community-managed pre-schools

and the establishment of 15 new pre-schools to

serve 1,500 children between the ages of three and

six.

Specific objectives of the grant were to: 

* Document the service delivery of community

pre-school and formal education; 

* develop a model for addressing the need for

pre-school education in marginalized urban

communities; and 

* form alliances between community members

and institutions, public and private, to carry

out the project. 

Results

One of EDUCA’s most important accomplishments

over its grant period was the positive image of education it fostered in La Haina and Los Alcarrizos.

EDUCA also catalyzed strategic alliances with

other actors in the education sector, such as the

Ministry of Education. EDUCA has produced some

concrete results; 

* They have trained 60 facilitators;

* developed 11 new centers and consolidated

20 existing centers that provided pre-school

education to 1,500 children in Haina and Los

Alcarrizos; 

* improved the pre-schools’ infrastructure; and

* attracted support from the private sector. 

The project has also affected the adult population

through Sunday training sessions on the environment, health and nutrition, school integration in the

community, and education in values. New efforts

supported by the private sector target the infrastructure of pre-schools, transforming them from marginal, improvised structures into architect-designed

buildings constructed with top-of-the-line materials.
Results Report 2002 43

Lessons Learned

One of EDUCA’s greatest challenges was adapting

to outside change. Since its founding, EDUCA has

been active in four areas: consciousness-raising on

the importance of basic education; advocacy for

policy reform; delivery of services to low-income

schools; and promoting the involvement of parents

and communities in the schools. Today, EDUCA

places its priority on education reforms in urban

areas. Positive lessons learned included the importance of community-based facilitators as links

between the community and NGOs; good contacts

with government ministries; a good dialogue and a

good relationship with the community; avoiding

dependence on volunteer labor; avoiding overburdening the pre-school facility; increased contact

between NGOs and communities; and better

salaries for pre-school staff to prevent high

turnover. 

Youth in La Haina, Los Alcarrizos and other metropolitan communities in Santo Domingo have been

well served by this program. 

John Reed
44 Results Report 2002

Objectives and Results

The objective of this IAF-funded project was to

improve the standard of living of six indigenous

riverside communities (San Francisco, Retén,

Calmituyacu, San Juan, San Vicente and the

Women’s Association in San Agustín) through ecotourism development in Archidona. As planned, the

project would have three phases: first, construction

of the infrastructure; second, training residents to

operate and manage the facility; and third, generating sufficient income to support the complex’s hiring of low-income residents of the surrounding

area. Training in eco-tourism, artisan skills, indigenous handicraft production and marketing, and cultural appreciation was also planned as well as technical support.

Over the three years of the project, the municipality

secured and prepared the land for the complex. The

project employed 60 temporary laborers during the

construction of six lodges (two more than planned),

a restaurant and a meeting facility. Its workers built

ECUADOR

Fundación Sinchi Sacha 

Eco-tourism in the Amazon 

Background

The Fundación Sinchi Sacha was organized in

1991 to promote appreciation for Ecuador’s ethnic

diversity, especially in the Amazon region. It provides indigenous communities training and technical support services for eco-tourism projects, the

revitalization of their artisan skills, production and

marketing of handicrafts, and a variety of cultural

appreciation initiatives. 

In 1999, Sinchi Sacha signed a two-year agreement

with the IAF, later extended for an additional year,

for an eco-tourism project along the Misahualli

River on the edge of the Amazon’s forest. Sinchi

Sacha was not new to eco-tourism; it had already

developed a complex along the shore of the Napo

River, approximately 30 kilometers from the city of

Tena. The organization also had experience managing a museum of Amazon culture and a handicraft

shop. For the new venture, Sinchi Sacha entered

into a partnership with the municipality of

Archidona.
Results Report 2002 45

Lessons Learned

The project represents a noble attempt to start a

new eco-tourist venture in Ecuador, which has only

one primary eco-tourist area, the Galapagos. A

three-year project was more realistic than Sinchi

Sacha’s initial 18-month plan. It usually takes time

to show profitability and an impact on employment.

The grantee realized the value of researching the

competition, the potential clientele and access,

and planning and budgeting accordingly.

Only one of the project’s three phases, construction, was successfully completed by the end of the

grant period. It is, however, too early to judge the

project’s success or failure. Soon after its grant terminated, Sinchi Sacha not only received visits from

the Ministry of Social Welfare and promoters of

indigenous development, but also signed an

agreement with an educational institute to provide

food and lodging for 30 students five days a month

for one year. Only time will tell whether this project

will improve the standard of living of indigenous

people in Archidona. 

pathways connecting the various installations, gardens, four scenic lookout sites and a small nursery.

Sinchi Sacha reforested 200 hectares with tucum

palm trees.

The grantee had contemplated the creation of 480

jobs in food and craft services and sale at the

tourist site. By completion, the project provided

steady employment for an administrative manager,

assistant, two kitchen workers and a guard.

However, the grantee only trained 60 individuals in

construction rather than the 48 they had originally

planned for management and tourism and 140 in

project planning and organizational participation.

The biggest obstacle Sinchi Sacha faced was the

low volume of visitors due to the difficulty of

accessing the complex, a four-hour drive or a onehour flight in small aircraft from Quito. The cost of

air transportation to bring in tourists and supplies

and to take out non-biodegradable waste is high.

Because the complex can accommodate only a limited number of visitors, operating at a profit has

proven difficult. Furthermore, competition is

intense. Another tourist complex is located only 45

minutes away by boat and guides trained by Sinchi

Sacha and registered with the tourism authorities

must compete with nine riverboat operators and

free-lance guides. 

In the final year of its grant, Sinchi Sacha received

IAF and municipal funding for a 120-meter pedestrian bridge over the Misahuallí River, a series of

training activities and its marketing campaign. With

the additional funding, Sinchi Sacha was able to

complete the bridge and offer the above-referenced

training in construction using local materials. A

contractor created two self-taught, participatory

training models, one for trainers and one for students, in community eco-tourism covering crafts,

eco-tourism, and food service. The models are

ready for use once more visitors come to the complex. 

To attract a clientele of younger, environmentally

conscious tourists, Sinchi Sacha has assembled four

regional tour packages, signed an agreement with a

tour operator, produced a promotional pamphlet

and is redesigning a Web page in Spanish and

English. The plan is to cater to tourists seeking

more activity in an exotic locale with a 26-mile

path for hikers and cyclists along the river stretch

where the six communities are located. The path

belongs to a petroleum company, but through a

cooperative agreement Sinchi Sacha is permitted

access as long as the path is used in an environmentally-friendly manner.
46 Results Report 2002

EL SALVADOR

Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades para el

Desarrollo del Cacahuatique 

Community Organizations, Production and Marketing 

Background

The Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades

para el Desarrollo del Cacahuatique (CODECA)

was founded in 1993 to further the comprehensive

development of the communities in the

Cacahuatique mountain range, department of

Morazán, El Salvador. Since its founding, CODECA has undertaken projects in connection with the

environment, credit assistance for crop development, maternal-child health and adult education. In

1996, CODECA received from the Salvadoran

Department of the Environment an award as the

best nongovernmental organization carrying out

environmental projects financed by the Initiative

for the Americas Environmental Fund El Salvador. 

In 1997, the Directorate of Renewable Natural

Resources formally turned over to CODECA the

administration of the Cerro Cacahuatique protected

area. And in 1998, CODECA received a four-year

IAF grant for $301,300 for a sustainable agricultural project and to strengthen coordination among

sectors and institutions involved in local development. 

Objectives

The project’s goal was to encourage sustainable

development in the El Borroñoso micro-region and

bring key actors together to implement its three

major components: 

* A loan fund providing credit to 55 smallscale-farmer families and operational capital

to six producer associations;

* an education program to reduce illiteracy by

training 20 promoters to teach reading and

basic civic education to 25 adults annually

and continuously evaluate local development

activities; and

* technical assistance to seven community

organizations and three municipal governments to increase the effectiveness of their

participation in development activities.

Results

The agricultural production credit fund extended

195 loans totaling $186,260: 180 to 130 farmers Luis Gonzalez
Results Report 2002 47

Lessons Learned

Good coordination between CODECA and the

Ministry of Education yielded positive results in the

area of adult literacy. 

Price fluctuations in the markets were not taken

into consideration when agricultural loans were

granted. The drop in coffee and pork prices had an

adverse effect on loan repayment, and, consequently, the credit fund dwindled. 

IAF’s decision to disburse most of the grant funds

at the start of the project proved unfortunate.

Because CODECA exhausted the funds and could

not finance activities planned for the fourth year,

the grant agreement ended six months ahead of

schedule.

($127,910) and 10 to producer associations

($58,354). This exceeded the original goal of 55

farmers and six producer associations by 143 percent and 83 percent, respectively. Along with agricultural loans, farmers received the required assistance, especially for soil conservation. However,

almost $84,000, or 45 percent of the loans extended, has not been recovered. 

The literacy program trained 90 literacy promoters

in adult education techniques, instead of the 20

originally envisioned. They taught 2,110 adults

(1,300 men and 810 women) to read and write in

the communities of Piedra Luna, Piedra Parada,

Joya de los Cimientos and Las Isletas, all in the

municipality of Yamabal. Subsequently, the program was expanded to four more districts:

Abelines, El Volcán and San Bartolo in the municipality of Guatajiagua and El Limón in Sensembra. 

In establishing and strengthening community

organizations, CODECA provided organizational

and administrative technical assistance to 12 community development organizations, five more than

originally planned. CODECA provided assistance

as well to two of the three municipal governments

scheduled to receive it. The municipal government

of Guatajiagua did not benefit because of its mistrust of non-governmental organizations. 

CODECA’s role was critical in the establishment of

the Municipal Development Committee (CODEM),

which included the mayors of Sensembra and

Yamabal, who are responsible for development initiatives, the municipal councils and various community organizations; and the Environmental

Committee (CADEM), which enjoyed the participation of various private foundations, ministries

and other public entities and private enterprises,

such as the Agricultural Commerce Bank, local

radio stations and Shell Oil of Morazán. 

The strategic local development plan for the microregion, however, was not drawn up, although

PRODERNOR (the Rural Development Project for

the North-Eastern Region) funded the participation

of five mayors’ offices (San Francisco Gotera,

Chapeltique, Guatajiagua, Yamabal and

Sensembra), nongovernmental organizations and

community development associations (ADESCOS)

for this purpose. 
48 Results Report 2002

EL SALVADOR

Programas Comunitarios para El Salvador

Access to Water in Three Communities

Background

The daily struggle for water for household use in

the Salvadoran communities of Palo Grande, El

Cedro and Veracruz used to begin in the pre-dawn

darkness. The work often took two, three or more

hours and involved all ages and gender, although

women shouldered a disproportionate share of the

burden. 

Carrying heavy loads of water over substantial distances along dark paths or roads exposed the population to falls or vehicle accidents. As the crime

rate rose during El Salvador’s post-civil war strife,

water carriers were increasingly victims of robbery

and rape. Putting in the long hours and withstanding the dangers did not guarantee that a household

would have water past midday, and regular baths

were a luxury. Exhaustion from the early morning

chore took a toll on children’s school attendance

and performance. Adult work suffered because of

the time and energy consumed, which increased

during droughts when trips were longer. 

Organization and Objectives

The Programas Comunitarios para El Salvador

(PROCOSAL) is a community development organization that obtained legal status in 1997. Its main

goal is to improve the quality of life in rural El

Salvador through strengthening base groups and

supporting sustainable development, specifically

through furthering the organization of impoverished

rural populations and offering technical assistance

for the installation and maintenance of potable

water systems. In 1999, the IAF signed a three-year

agreement with PROCOSAL toward coordinating

community, municipal and NGO efforts related to

bringing potable water to the above communities.

Four objectives were specified: 

* Providing potable water to 5,170 inhabitants

in the three communities;

* enabling local community development

organizations to deal adequately with local

problems;

* improving PROCOSAL’s technical and

administrative ability to maintain productive

alliances and achieve greater independence

and self-sufficiency; and

* promoting strategic alliances between the

three local governments, the three community development organizations and the nongovernmental organizations.

Results and Impact

By completion, the project benefited 5,510 individuals in the three communities, exceeding its goal of

5,170 individuals. Furthermore, PROCOSAL

organized with each community a Water

Administration Association independent of the

Local Community Development Organization. It

also strengthened each organization’s technical and

administrative capacity, including the ability to

form alliances. 

The project experienced some minor problems. An

issue regarding land rights required resolution for

placement of a water tank. Earthquakes in February

and March of 2001 caused problems in the physical

infrastructure. Some control issues arose between

the Water Administration Associations and the

Local Community Development Organizations.

One Local Community Development Committee

insisted on administering its water system, but

resolved the control issue by agreeing to pay the

standard fees to the Water Administration

Association.
Results Report 2002 49

Lessons Learned

At the introductory stages of a project, both governmental and nongovernmental organizations

should have been involved. Fruitless discussions

and activities that cause delays can be avoided by

a consensus among the organizations involved.

A permanent administrative body formed at the

beginning of the project would have avoided

changes in midstream and reduced disagreements.

Despite delays caused by the earthquakes, late payments from a co-donor and conflicts between various organizations, the project exceeded its goal

both tangibly and intangibly. Funding came

through, the work continued and the conflicts were

resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. The impact of

the PROCOSAL project was tremendous. A community leader eloquently described it when he said

that nothing had affected his adult life more than

24-hour access to water. 
50 Results Report 2002

GUATEMALA

Asociación de Comités de Desarrollo Rural Temalense 

Building a Community

Background 

The Asociación de Comités de Desarrollo Rural

Temalense (ACODERT) is a community-based

group of farmers and other low-income residents,

many of whom originally belonged to nine distinct

development committees operating in the Temal

district of Guatemala. After training in organizational skills and local development from FUNDEBASE, an organization the IAF had supported earlier, the committees banded together to implement

infrastructure projects funded by nine loans they

completely repaid. ACODERT also had a commercial partnership with an exporter of agricultural

goods, to whom it sold the increase in production

of higher value crops in exchange for seeds and

supplies and training. Community development was

hindered by the seasonal migration of up to 80 percent of the area’s population, a pattern residents

sought to reduce through more and better employment opportunities locally.

Objectives and Results

ACODERT planned to provide training and loans

to increase jobs and income for 90 low-income

families. Two revolving loan funds were envisioned, one for approximately 100 loans for microirrigation systems to extend the growing season and

the other to provide approximately 90 loans for

organic and small animal production. 

An increase in membership reflects not only

ACODERT’s success in terms of project objectives

but also in approaching organizations and agencies

for assistance in meeting its members’ basic needs.

By completion, ACODERT had conducted workshops on administration, ranging from planning and

budgeting to group skills; organic agriculture; agricultural processing; environment; nutrition and natural medicine; marketing; leadership; and credit

management. As planned, ACODERT members

cultivated 50 new plots using the organic production methods they had learned to grow chilies,

tomatoes and other vegetables. 

More than 50 people (34 men and 16 women) are

now employed full-time in producing snow peas for

export. Additional residents help during harvest

season when up to 80 other individuals work parttime cleaning and sorting the produce. Increased

market demand for snow peas has resulted in an

average annual income of $1,623 for each of the 50

producers. The average annual income from sorting

and packing is $195. The 70 ACODERT members

with micro-irrigation systems earn on average $350

more than those without systems, who must

migrate. Further, the residents now have a cold

room and a storage center to protect their produce. 

Additionally, the standard of living improved.

ACODERT obtained from programs of the Ministry

of Education literacy training for 30 residents and

basic schooling for 16 men and women. Both the

individuals and the organization benefited. Because

the members remain in the communities, their chil-
Results Report 2002 51

Lessons Learned

ACODERT had managed the award and repayment of nine loans with a total value of $100,000.

To manage the loans, however, standards of

accounting, requiring transactions by check, needed to be reconciled with the rural reality, which

could not accommodate these financial instruments. The cost of notarizing each contract

exceeded 25 percent of the value of the loan, so

the director and the board agreed to notarize contracts only after a borrower became delinquent.

ACODERT learned from this experience that all

individuals administering the loan fund must agree

on workable mechanisms to ensure transparency

and accountability prior to extending a loan. 

The various committees forming ACODERT cooperated and grew together. Its members successfully accessed resources and assistance from the private and public sectors, local, national and international, which not only advanced the growth of the

association, but also worked toward ACODERT’s

sustainability and the increased stability of the

community.

dren can attend school without interruption, in contrast to children of workers who still migrate. The

association has signed cooperative agreements with

the Ministry of Agriculture and the Fondo Indigena

for training and technical assistance in organic production. The association members worked with the

government’s forestry agency to plant a tree nursery for composting materials. ACODERT received

technical assistance in snow pea production from

the international export service company, SIESA,

and continued its alliance with San Juan

AgroExport, a Guatemalan export company.

Another government agency, Social Investment

Funds (FIR), came through with financing for the

storage center planned but funds for micro-irrigation systems were not forthcoming after the 2000

presidential elections and a consequent change in

management. Installing micro-irrigation systems

continues to be among ACODERT’s long-term

goals. 

ACODERT initially provided loans for cattle-raising and crop diversification, including organically

grown vegetables. Thirty-five group members constructed irrigation ditches and received loans for

individual irrigation systems. Later when no cofunding materialized from FIR, the remainder of

the funds set aside for micro-irrigation loans was

allocated to 18 loans for organic production and for

ACODERT administration. In all, ACODERT provided 105 loans; the repayment rate was 99 percent. 

The project was extended for a year to promote

consolidation of the group and of local development. The focus was on continued training in

organic agriculture and nutrition, reinforcement of

the revolving credit fund, and the introduction of

management of micro-irrigation systems. James Adriance
52 Results Report 2002

HAITI

Pwogram Fomasyon pou Organizasyon Dyakona 

Creating a Sense of Community 

Background 

The nonprofit Pwogram Fomasyon pou

Organizasyon Dyakona (PWOFOD) targets formation of community organizations in Haiti.

PWOFOD’s first effort included a diaconal training

program with urban churches, which focused on

micro-credit and literacy program development and

building a local organization of deacons. In 1997,

the organization obtained legal status and, with

support from the Japanese Embassy, acquired a

new office building. 

In November 1998, PWOFOD signed an agreement

with the IAF to mobilize local resources for social

and economic development. Specifically, the project sought, through literacy training, community

banking and building investment in local development projects, to improve the social and economic

status of three marginal neighborhoods in Port-auPrince, all facing problems with potable water, sanitation, small business infrastructure and transport.

Residents of these neighborhoods had migrated

from different areas and had very little sense of

community. 

Objectives and Results

PWOFOD sought to: 

* Mobilize resources from the neighborhoods

and the business sector to support identified

needs;

* conduct annually four workshops on resource

mobilization strategies with development

committees from the low-income neighborhoods;

* increase business-community partnerships

supporting literacy centers and literacy training for 2,250 adults; 

* expand the community banking program to

provide at least 100 loans to small businesses; and

* improve PWOFOD’s chances for sustainability by adding two stories to its building and

renting out space to generate revenue for its

local development program. 

PWOFOD’s novel program was successful.

Community residents took part actively and have

gained new confidence in their ability to do things

for themselves and change their lives. The group

dynamics of the three communities led to a locally

funded development project in each. Martissant residents built four latrines for eight families and

cleaned canals clogged with refuse. The Jacquet

Toto community built a 150-foot well that supplies

potable water for 200 families. Christ-Roi/Delmas

residents built a canal to channel rainwater and

constructed a bridge over the canal, benefiting

10,000 residents. The canal was a priority because

of flooding that blocked access to homes and

schools. The community also formed a committee

to prevent clogging under the new bridge. 

As planned, PWOFOD provided 100 loans to small

businesses providing metalwork, carpentry and

food services. A loan to a woman ice cream vendor

enabled her to expand a one-person shop to a 12-

employee enterprise which makes and sells her ice

cream under the name of Sapibon and gives other

vendors a price break so they can make a living

from selling her product. A tailor used his loan to

increase his output from ten suits a month to three

dozen. The loans generated employment in the

neighborhoods where these business where located.

PWOFOD built partnerships with the Haitian business sector and international groups providing

resources. Delmas, in particular, benefited when the
Results Report 2002 53

Lessons Learned 

Small local development activities can transform

beneficiaries’ belief in what a community can do by

working together. 

Ministry of Public Works made available at

reduced costs a construction tractor and six concrete drain pipes. Two of PWOFOD’s most important partners are the Christian Reformed World

Relief Committee (CRWRC), which has partnered

with PWOFOD since 1993, and the Haitian

Partners for Christian Development (HPCD),

formed by a core of Haitian businesspeople for the

purpose of finding job opportunities for the unemployed. 

A disappointment was PWOFOD’s inability to meet

its training target of 2,250 adults; instead it reached

1,180. PWOFOD faced competition from new government centers which offered training free of

charge while PWOFOD’s training cost 50 gourdes,

or $1.40, a charge intended not only to defray operating costs but also to motivate participants to stay

in the program. Some people opted for the free

government program. 

William Théodor
54 Results Report 2002

HONDURAS

Asociación de Investigación y Capacitación para

el Desarrollo de Honduras

Continuing Education and Capacity-Building

Background

The aftermath of Hurricane Mitch exacerbated the

plight of low-income families in hard hit areas of

Honduras’ Caribbean coastline. Fortunately, an

experienced group was ready for action, the nonprofit Asociación de Investigación y Capacitación

para el Desarrollo de Honduras (AINCADEH),

legally incorporated in 1996 to promote long- term

community development and organizational

strengthening. 

To respond quickly to the challenge from the hurricane and form a real basis for development in the

affected areas, in 1999 the IAF signed a 3-year

grant agreement with AINCADEH for a capacitybuilding training project. The idea was to provide

1,750 low-income women heads-of-household

training, technical assistance, equipment and materials required to start small-scale enterprises,

increase their income and satisfy their basic health,

education, housing and family needs. AINCADEH

was to carry out the project in collaboration with

the municipalities of Tela and Marcala.

Objectives and Results

AINCADEH was to initiate the project by organizing beneficiaries into 70 mutual support groups,

each averaging 25 members, and training them in

fruit processing, cement block manufacture, raising

chickens and pigs, apparel and craft design and

production, and baking. The project anticipated that

the groups would form 60 community banks, providing members with financial capital for business

expansion. Each group would select a board to

manage the community bank and business assets.

AINCADEH also planned workshops on various

aspects of business management, financial literacy,

commercialization, environmental conservation,

women’s health and basic literacy. 

Although the project foresaw the formation of 70

groups whose members were to receive training

and technical assistance focusing on productive

activities, 130 men and 1,233 women actually

received on-the-job training. The inclusion of men

as project beneficiaries was surprising but necessary; men, particularly the women’s male companions, AINCADEH noticed, worked with the women

carrying construction materials, tending animals

and producing goods. AINCADEH conducted training as well as business management, marketing and

planning and evaluating projects. Beneficiaries

were excited to improve and expand their production and even proposed new jobs in shoemaking

and rope weaving. Productive activities gave a say

in decisions to many women who had never before

been part of a women’s group or worked outside

the home. Production rose for the established

groups with their improved knowledge of budgeting for their expenses and setting their selling

prices. With the municipalities of Tela and Marcala,

AINCADEH arranged continuing support for them

and coordinated development efforts. Other beneficiary groups received training, supplies, materials

and equipment so they could operate their respective enterprises. 

By the time the grant ended in 2002, 43 groups had

been organized and were operating. Although more

individuals and groups were involved at the start of

the project, the surviving groups, with their 935

beneficiaries (744 women and 191 men), are

stronger in structure and ability, improving their

chances of sustainability. Members’ diets have

improved due to training in nutrition, new sources

of income and increased production of eggs, chickens and pigs. Twenty percent of the groups went

into baking, 17 percent into raising chickens, 14

percent into sewing and 18 women from one group

into cement block production. The rest concentrated on pig, bean and egg production, and gardening.
Results Report 2002 55

Lessons Learned

AINCADEH drew on its experience with microenterprise projects when it decided to strengthen

existing groups and respond to their growing

needs rather than simply form more groups.

AINCADEH’s value on continuing education as

groups evolve provides a model for planning for

continuing training opportunities as groups grow. 

The 43 groups flourishing by the end of the grant

period will require additional training to strengthen

group dynamics, decision-making and resource

generation. This can be accomplished through

linkages to local governments and national and

international assistance programs. AINCADEH’s

initial focus on building the interest and involvement of private and public entities provided training sources to meet various needs during a time of

financial constraints. The growing ties should

prove useful in the future as well. 
56 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned 

Over the course of the project, Centro San Juan

Bosco learned from positive and negative experiences, but positive experiences predominated.

The formation of alliances with local government,

for example, through partial subsidies for lots,

reduced the cost to the project’s beneficiaries. Inkind credit ensured that resources were used

exclusively for housing construction, avoiding misuse of funds. While the grantee failed to factor

inflation into its budget, the Centro San Juan

Bosco’s project can be characterized as innovative and proactive.

HONDURAS

Centro San Juan Bosco 

Housing Development Patterns in San Pedro Sula

Background

An acute housing shortage in Latin America is

aggravated by the proliferation of improvised shelters and inadequate access to public services. San

Pedro Sula, Honduras, is no exception, despite

being the country’s economic engine. There, as

elsewhere in the Americas, the breadth and depth of

the housing crisis weighs most heavily on the poor.

El Ocotillo, a marginal area about 15 kilometers

northeast of San Pedro Sula’s center, covers an area

of approximately 13.3 hectares of varied topography. It is populated by migrants who left rural

riverside communities or settlements located on

natural reserves in search of a better life. 

Organization, Accord and Hurricane Mitch

The nonprofit Centro San Juan Bosco (CSJB),

founded in 1980 in the city of Tela in northern

Honduras. CSJB is dedicated to addressing housing

issues through innovative financing. In 1998, the

IAF and the CSJB signed a two-year accord on a

project to alleviate housing and living conditions

for El Ocotillo residents whose situation was especially precarious. Most lived in improvised oneroom shacks. These miniscule units where five people ate and slept spawned a host of infectious diseases. The devastating effects of Hurricane Mitch

caused significant delay in starting the projects, and

the grant agreement was extended through July of

2002.

Goals and Results

The project sought specifically to facilitate credit to

working class families for building their own

homes. Clearly, Centro San Juan Bosco achieved

its goals. Specifically, 130 families, 92 percent of

those envisioned, acquired their own homes; 120

units were electrified. An additional 12 units were

either remodeled or expanded. With regard to the

more general goal of improving the quality of life,

253 persons were vaccinated and 56 percent of the

beneficiaries felt instilled with greater determination and perseverance. 
Results Report 2002 57

MEXICO

Coordinadora Comunitaria Miravalle 

Mixed Results with Production, Savings and

Alternative Education 

Background

The Miravalle community in Iztapalapa, a suburb

of Mexico City, sprang into existence in 1981. As a

result of the housing shortage in the central city

and migration from the countryside, its population

began to increase significantly in 1985. By 1991, it

faced a serious lack of services, including electric

power, streetlights, transportation, hospitals and

schools. Prompted by the encouragement of democratic participation in the community, four organized groups of Miravalle residents and university

students decided to coordinate their work on their

community’s problems and incorporated in 1994 as

the Coordinadora Comunitaria Miravalle (COCOMI). In 1999, COCOMI successfully applied for an

IAF grant for its “Urban Production, Savings, and

Alternative Education Project of the Eastern

Region of Sierra de Santa Catarina” with its goals

of comprehensive urban development and better

living conditions. 

Objective and Results

COCOMI sought to establish a revolving credit

fund, a savings and loan program, a community

health services program, and a program to strengthen the participating groups. 

Revolving credit fund

The original proposal had anticipated the establishment of a revolving credit fund to capitalize 12

community groups carrying out productive enterprises. The focus was to promote the idea of

revolving credit funds and finance a minimum of

three projects in the first year and three to four

more in the second year. Amidst worsening economic conditions, COCOMI decreased the credit

fund and increased funds for education. Over the

life of the project, COCOMI extended only nine

loans totaling $10,380 for activities that did not

prove sustainable.
58 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

COCOMI’s decade of community work points to

the need to devote significant time and resources

to strengthening the participating groups institutionally and to developing the ability to resolve

conflicts inherent to organizational processes.

While such an investment might seem useless or

unprofitable, experience has shown that the continuity and the impact of community work often

depend on organizational strengthening.

A community enterprise rarely yields economic

benefits immediately nor can such enterprises be

expected, as envisioned in the proposal for this

project, to provide residents their sole source of

wages and benefits. 

Productive projects require not only efficient

administrative procedures, but intense educational

work, awareness efforts and civic participation help

to define problems and build solutions that take

into account economic, political and cultural concerns. 

In the current context of globalization, we must

encourage organizations and networks to coordinate their grassroots work in order to achieve a

more organized response to and a greater impact

on living conditions. 

Savings and loan program

Initially, the program was open to COCOMI members, their families and interested Miravalle residents. But a cost-benefit study conducted upon

completion of the savings and loan association’s

first cycle demonstrated the need to restrict the program to members only. Although many individuals

were interested, their deposits were extremely

small (one or two pesos a week), and handling so

many small accounts was too time-consuming to be

cost-efficient. 

Community health services 

The Miravalle Health Center continues to deliver

basic medical care thanks to the support of the

Metropolitan Autonomous University-Xochimilco.

Dental and medical students provide general health

care, while specialized professionals offer services

in optometry, nutrition, gynecology, psychology

and homeopathic medicine. The pharmacy has

increased the variety of generic drugs available at

reduced prices, and Miravalle has a garden of

medicinal plants from which syrups and ointments

are made.

Institutional strengthening

In addition to workshops and organizational meetings, the four founding groups participated in networks of civic organizations to strengthen their

participatory processes. The set of competencies

and skills acquired has enabled them to work more

efficiently. 

Organizational and Financial Sustainability 

From an organizational strengthening perspective,

COCOMI’s project has resulted in the establishment and consolidation of the various group efforts

to access capital for educational projects and

income-generating projects. The planning, evaluation, project development, institutional strengthening, and internal conflict resolution skills acquired,

among others, have enabled these groups to continue their work beyond the termination of IAF funding, whether they remain part of COCOMI or proceed independently. At the end of the grant period,

the education group plans to split off and the ecology group plans to leave. These decisions result

partly from a conflict that was not resolved to

COCOMI’s satisfaction, but they also attest to the

maturity of these groups, which can now leave the

nest. 

Financially, the community pharmacy and the manufacture of natural medicines and cosmetics, both

initiated under the loan program, are going concerns expected to continue indefinitely. While these

enterprises are adequately managed and have not

shown losses, they have not earned profits sufficient to fairly and meaningfully compensate the

inhabitants of Sierra de Santa Catarina who have

been contributing to their success.
Results Report 2002 59

Mexico

Fomento de la Cultura Ecológica 

Change Comes Slowly

Background 

Fomento de la Cultura Ecológica (FOMCEC) provides training and technical assistance in environmental waste management to the under-served

micro-enterprise sector in Monterrey. The nongovernmental organization works in collaboration

with Monterrey’s municipal government and with

private sector industrial waste companies. In 2000,

FOMCEC received IAF funding to conduct training

for small business owners and disseminate a successful model of environmental education. The goal

was to improve conditions for some 55,000 people

in low-income neighborhoods suffering from the ill

effects of industrial pollution.

Objectives and Results

FOMCEC’s focus was to develop appropriate training materials and hold 12 courses on environmentally safe production processes for 570 owners of

high-risk businesses who would pass the information on to their 4,000 employees. The anticipated

increased profitability and extended longevity of

these micro-enterprises were also expected to benefit the participating entrepreneurs’ 2,850 family

members. FOMCEC also planned to disseminate

case results and course information in bulletins and

other publications for the wider community. 

The project objectives were achieved in two and

one-half years, but on a smaller scale than initially

envisioned. FOMCEC quickly discovered that the

small business owners had very little time for classroom training and feared any entity that might trigger government inspection and fines. FOMCEC

requested an extension of six months, which the

IAF granted, and switched the format to a series of

visits to the individual business sites. The organization also de-emphasized its official connections in

approaching potential trainees.

In all, FOMCEC visited 240 different business

owners, equally representing the car repair, printing

and metalworks sectors. The first visit involved a

study of the site; on the second visit, FOMCEC

staff provided a copy of “Development and

Operation of Micro- and Small Businesses in

Balance with the Environment,” a sector-specific

environmental manual. Visits also included technical assistance on more efficient use of supplies, the

distribution of a list of waste disposal businesses

for the particular sector, and Internet sites where

more detailed information could be obtained. 

By randomly evaluating trainees from each sector,

FOMCEC learned that about half of the owners of

printing and metalwork shops implemented recommendations as opposed to only 6 percent of the

owners in the car repair businesses. More likely to

be acted upon were recommendations on reducing

costs or recommendations reinforced with a followup visit. To improve this pattern, FOMCEC contracted the Institute for the Environmental

Protection of Nuevo León to certify participants

who implemented recommendations.

In addition to disseminating cases in its bulletin,

FOMCEC has posted its manuals on its Web site.

FOMCEC prepared three sector-specific promotional reports on its environmental study and

options to minimize waste and distributed them to

518 metalworkers belonging to the Chamber for the

Industrial Transformation of Nuevo León (CAINTRA), 294 mechanics in CAINTRA and 700 printers associated with the National Chamber of

Graphic Arts of Nuevo León which printed

FOMCEC’s case results in its trade magazine.
60 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

FOMCEC’s initial research for its project omitted

any inquiry into the availability of potential trainees

who could not fit long training sessions into their

schedule. Consequently, FOMCEC adapted, and

continues to adapt, its methodology.

FOMCEC discovered that an apparent connection

with a government office prejudiced participation in

its program. To reinforce the academic nature of its

training, FOMCEC enlisted chemical engineering

students from the Instituto Tecnológico y de

Estudios Superiores de Monterrey to assist with

visits. 

Participation by university students has been built

into a long-term, win-win strategy that gives the

students practical experience and reduces

FOMCEC’s costs. 

FOMCEC is aware that its future activities, and the

application of its environmental recommendations

to small businesses, will require financial support

from a local organization. In this connection, the

NGO has approached individual members of the

American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico. 

Ties with other organizations must be solidified

before waste disposal infrastructure can be functioning in all neighborhoods. 

Miguel Sayago
Results Report 2002 61

NICARAGUA

Centro de Promoción del Desarrollo Local 

Helping Local Producers Recover from the Impact of

Hurricane Mitch

Background

In 1999, after Hurricane Mitch had devastated

Nicaragua, Centro de Promoción del Desarrollo

Local (CEPRODEL), applied to the IAF to help

residents in two municipalities not only recover but

also implement sustainable local development.

CEPRODEL was founded in 1989 to assist the poor

in managing their development activities, such as

housing and micro-enterprises. The IAF awarded

CEPRODEL a grant to help small-scale farmers

and entrepreneurs with sustainable subsistence,

cash crop production and business ventures. 

Objectives and Results

Specifically, CEPRODEL planned a working capital fund for some 290 loans. Interest earned would

be recycled for other development activities.

CEPRODEL also sought to form a Local Economic

Development Corporations (LEDC) in each municipality. Seventy-five LEDC staff and members were

to be trained in participatory planning, credit analysis, and financial management. Then, further training was scheduled for 112 local authorities, regional and community leaders, and the local non-profit

organization members who would be part of the

LEDCs. To strengthen LEDCs functioning and

expand their number, CEPRODEL also planned a

radio network linking seven municipalities where

LEDCs existed or were planned. 

CEPRODEL conducted more training than originally envisioned: 126 workshops on credit and personnel, management of accounting and savings software, savings promotion, and the formulation of

business plans for 685 people, including 274

women. The success of the training, as well as the
62 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

The project’s success in moving beyond hurricane

recovery to sustainable credit funds and development institutions was possible due to the grantee’s

experience, its foothold in the municipalities, and

strong training and systems. 

The training focused on credit administration with

supporting software contributed to the success of

loans, which in turn allowed the fund to grow. 

interest and ability of the LEDCs, has allowed

CEPRODEL to step down and allow the LEDCs to

function. The LEDC of Posoltega, CODELOPSA,

was established in April 2002 and included the mayor

and the agro-forestry cooperative. Chicigalpa’s

LEDC is in the process of obtaining legal status.

Both LEDCs prepared their own manuals and business plans for the years 2002-2006. 

To meet the immediate needs of the communities,

CEPRODEL established in each municipality a credit

fund providing a total of 665 loans, most loans for

agriculture and livestock reactivation and production,

a need not met by other credit sources. The funds

also extended 89 loans for rebuilding and improving

homes damaged by the hurricane and various other

loans to small businesses offering carpentry, tire

repair, hair salon and food services. The 665 loans

helped secure full-time employment for 1,010 residents and part-time work for 800 residents.

Additionally, the enterprises funded by these loans

indirectly generated employment for another 160 residents. The LEDC model, coordinating local institutions, has proved successful in the poorer northern

zones of the western province. Local governments

are adopting more business logic in municipal functions, and even corporations are impressed by

CEPRODEL’s business sense. 
Results Report 2002 63

PANAMA

Instituto Panameño de Desarrollo Municipal

Building Capacity for Development 

Background

The Instituto Panameño de Desarrollo Municipal

(IPADEM) is a nonprofit association whose mission is to strengthen local governments and to stimulate citizen participation and organization in

addressing local issues. IPADEM provides training,

technical assistance, research and publications on

local development issues to local governments and

interested groups. In 1997, IPADEM received a

three-year IAF grant to strengthen the capacity of

municipal authorities and local groups in mobilizing resources and undertaking projects to improve

conditions in 43 jurisdictions of six impoverished

municipalities: San Félix and Tolé in Chiriquí

province; Ocú and Santa María in Herrera

province; and San Francisco and Santa Fé in

Veraguas province.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the project were to:

* Establish, capitalize and administer a social

investment fund providing grants and loans

to 54 projects;

* form two local development committees

(CDLs) in 27 jurisdictions, or

corregimientos;

* conduct six participatory community needs

assessments for use in developing sustainable

municipal plans; 

* form and train six teams of municipal development promoters, composed of 120 volunteers, to provide technical assistance to

CDLs; and

* train 630 local authorities, community leaders

and organized groups in topics related to

resource mobilization, local development

processes and social project management via

74 seminars and 324 workshops/assemblies

of the CDLs.

Results

IPADEM conducted the project in seven municipalities instead of six as planned, adding La Mesa in

Veraguas Province. Although the grant was extended for two more years, IPADEM approved 39 community projects, instead of 54 as originally planned.

Reasons for the decrease included poor roads,

insufficient access to training, the municipalities’

inadequate institutional capacity, their unstable

financial status, and the limited time CDL members

could devote to training, meetings and project funding. Furthermore, the May 1999 general election

was followed by a lengthy transition period that

delayed disbursement of government funds by several months. Before the elections, IPADEM had

opted to suspend project activities to avoid the

appearance of funding political campaigns. 

Once the new national, local and municipal authorities were in office, the project moved forward. In

fact, the variety of funding sources for the Social

Investment Fund testifies to IPADEM’s success in

mobilizing resources. Of the $467,000 available to

support projects, the IAF’s $127,000 grant to IPADEM represented 27 percent, and the remainder, or

73 percent, came from local sources: 

* $84,000, or 18 percent, from the CDLs; 

* $66,000, or 14 percent, from government

institutions; 

* $61,500, or 13 percent, from corregimiento

representatives; 

* $35,000, or 8 percent, from community

boards; 

* $34,800, or 7 percent, from legislators; and 

* $58,000, or 12 percent, from private companies. 
64 Results Report 2002

The CDLs undertook community activities in seven

categories: Educational projects accounted for 34

percent of their funding; social projects for 18 percent; public facilities for 17 percent); church infrastructure for 13 percent; recreational facilities for

12 percent; and health projects and transportation

infrastructure for 3 percent each. Projects included

school repair and construction, the installation of

sanitary services, new parks and improvements to

existing parks, a terminal and a basketball court. 

The National Institute for the Professional Training

and the National Secretariat of Science and

Technology, among other organizations, supported

IPADEM’s training activities. Workshops for CDLs

members have allowed them to take positive steps

toward improving their communities, including

mutually beneficial collaboration with other communities. 
Results Report 2002 65

PERU

Fundación para el Desarrollo Solidario 

New Opportunities for the Disabled in Lima

Background

Fundación para el Desarrollo Solidario (FUNDADES), founded in Lima in 1992, is a nonprofit

association specialized in providing physical and

speech therapy to disabled children and young

adults. FUNDADES derives its income from its

services and from private sector donations. In 1998,

the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) signed a

three-year grant agreement, later extended for an

additional year, with FUNDADES to provide skills

training and business loans to 2,810 disabled persons in the municipal district of Villa El Salvador

on the outskirts of the Peruvian capital.

Objectives and Results

FUNDADES targeted specific objectives: 

* To construct and furnish a job skills training

center;

* to train 2,810 disabled Villa El Salvador residents in job skills and micro-enterprise management; 

* to administer a $200,000 revolving fund to

provide loans for micro-enterprises to newly

trained disabled persons, to other disabled

micro-entrepreneurs and to small business

owners who agree to hire the handicapped;

and

* to sensitize the residents of the district,

though information, to problems disabled

persons face, particularly in finding work. 

Measured against these objectives, FUNDADES’

project was an unqualified success. It established

the only training center for the disabled in Lima’s

southern zone and it offered training and loans to

an underserved group. Initially, however, the

grantee had met delays in securing title to the land

where the training center was to be built from the

municipality of Villa El Salvador despite a pledge

to do so. This led FUNDADES to reduce its original estimate of the beneficiaries it could reach from

2,810 to 600, which the IAF approved through an

amendment to its grant. Once the training center in

Villa El Salvador was built, FUNDADES conducted 77 courses for a total of 1,410 participants who

learned carpentry and dressmaking, as well as production of caps, backpacks and industrial garments.

Another 73 individuals were trained in business

management.

FUNDADES made 119 loans from the IAF-supported revolving fund to 69 men and 50 women.

Sixty-one of the IAF-supported loans went to hand- COURTESY: SASE
66 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

Given the proper training and the opportunity to be

productive, disabled people can be recognized as

valuable members of society. 

icapped people to start up a business. A total of 47

of these loans helped preserve jobs for 165 individuals in businesses that otherwise would have

closed, and the remaining 11 loans were used to

strengthen businesses employing a total of 18 handicapped workers. A $150 loan to one beneficiary,

who had become handicapped following an accident, allowed her to start up a business selling

sweets which now earns her at least $50 per day,

enough to cover daily expenses for her entire family. Thanks to additional support from CODESPA of

Spain, FUNDADES made 799 loans in all.

The project’s success was due in large part to FUNDADES’ skill in marshalling various forms of support. Professionals contributing expertise included

the architect who designed the center and supervised construction. When the group to provide job

skills training and micro-enterprise management

courses changed its focus from direct training to

training trainers, FUNDADES was quick to enlist

the assistance of another agency. FUNDADES

allied itself with five entities in all, including

municipalities, businesses and an NGO. Additional

collaborators included 24 other government agencies, among them hospitals and rehabilitation

organizations, 13 businesses, and four nongovernmental organizations.

Villa El Salvador, as well as several other districts,

now has a municipal office to serve the disabled,

ensuring they are afforded equal opportunities in

the job market. This came about as a result of FUNDADES’ visits and dissemination aimed at sensitizing municipal staff and businesses to the abilities of

disabled individuals and their situation as applicants

for employment. 
Results Report 2002 67

VENEZUELA

Mancomunidad Noroccidental de Barinas 

Responding Creatively to Challenges 

Background

Mancomunidad Noroccidental de Barinas

(Mancomunidad) is a unique civic organization representing local governments, business, citizen associations and nongovernmental organizations in four

municipalities in the Venezuela state of Barinas. Its

aim is to assess urban problems and develop

regional solutions, focusing on the needs of local

communities and providing them basic municipal

services. 

“The Program of Environmental Education and

Community Participation for the Use and

Appropriate Disposal of Solid Waste” evolved from

Mancomunidad’s finding that 90 percent of the

region’s solid waste was of household origin. While

the organization had the technical information, a

successful program would need an educational and

motivational approach aimed at Barinas’ poor communities.

Objectives and Results

Mancomunidad planned over two years to: 

* Train 500 community promoters for environmental outreach; 

* conduct 280 environmental outreach seminars for 48,000 community residents;

* form 15 environmental youth brigades;

* develop a regional recycling collection center; and

* set a mechanism in place for generating

funds to support the environmental brigades’

activities. 

Mancomunidad achieved the following: 

* Trained 1440 community promoters for environmental outreach, many more than

planned; 

* Conducted fewer environmental outreach

seminars (231) but for more community residents (48,623);

* Established 22 environmental youth brigades,

seven more than planned.

* While it did not complete the regional recycling collection center, it acquired a metal

compactor, scales, glass crushing machine

and seven containers with which to start up

the center in September 2002; and

* Set up mechanisms for generating funds to

support the environmental brigade activities.

Although Mancommunidad initially planned to

train 25 volunteers, it soon realized the workload

required full-time paid promoters, and it was able

to contract five, each responsible for training his

“legion” on topics such as the environment, waste

recycling, community projects and organic agriculture. After training and forming the alliance of

communities and local institutions, promoters

encouraged the formation of environmental committees. Trained committee members acted immediately to select a problem then design and implement a project to address it. To engage community

participation, Mancommunidad worked with existing community groups and designed a competition

in each of the five “legions.” Two hundred sixty

five community members, who had cultivated gardens as a project, benefited from improved diets.

After training, 19,730 residents separated recyclable items, organic and non-organic, from their

trash.

The major difficulty Mancomunidad encountered

was receiving less than promised from a matching

donor, Petróleos Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

Mancomunidad reacted by focusing on pilot

schools and models for each municipality in order

to reach more community members with fewer

resources. These continue to serve as centers for
68 Results Report 2002

Lessons Learned

Mancomunidad’s regular “education” meetings to

monitor the progress of activities proved useful

particularly in light of the wide coverage of the

project and its financial challenge. 

Mechanisms for marketing recycled goods will be

important for Mancomunidad.

Mancomunidad used a variety of successful

methodologies focused on strengthening community and educational organizations to help incorporate an environmental dimension in projects and

study programs. These methodologies included

concrete actions, permanent committees and

alliances between the educational and neighborhood sectors.

The combination of institutionalizing groups and

securing independent financing should sustain program activities. 

training and expansion into the respective geographic area of operation. In just two years,

Mancomunidad’s program reached almost nine percent of the population in the four municipalities.

Undeterred by its disappointment with PDVSA, the

organization tried again and secured funding from

three Venezuelan donors, including PDVSA, for

tree nursery in a former landfill, which it plans to

use as a training center producing 40,000 trees for

sale annually. Pursuant to an agreement between

Venezuela and the European Union, mancomunidad will run the recycling facility as a business

and earn income to reinvest in future projects. 

For more information contact:

Office of Evaluation

Inter-American Foundation

901 N. Stuart Street

10th Floor

Arlington, VA 22203

www.iaf.gov