Venezuela
Living Earth has been active in Latin America since the early ’90s with projects in Venezuela and Brazil. Fundación Tierra Viva (FTV), our Venezuelan partner, was developed through our work there in 1993.
Following the implementation of its first project, one focused on education in Lake Valencia, Tierra Viva became fully independent from its founder organisation Living Earth. Tierra Viva is now a fully autonomous NGO working in a number of areas in Venezuela, and since its conception has continued to work in partnership with Living Earth Foundation on a range of projects.
Aims and work of Tierra Viva
Tierra Viva is a Venezuelan non-governmental organisation that encourages sustainable development through environmental programmes with a strong educational focus. Their programmes combine work on environmental education, the conservation of natural resources and the improvement of quality of life by encouraging the development of participatory projects through partnerships with educational establishments, communities and businesses.
In order to achieve its aims Tierra Viva ensures its work incorporates, and is based upon, a number of key tools:
- Dissemination and Information : Tierra Viva is active in disseminating information about the work it is doing, both to provide support to its own projects and to those projects developed by others, in order to improve the management of natural resources.
- Networks: Tierra Viva is a member of the co-ordinating committee of the non-governmental environmental organisations network – ‘ARA’. The ARA network is made up of about 20 members and acts as a mechanism of communication, exchange of opinions, awareness raising and education within environmental organisations of Venezuela.
- Methodology: The methodology used by Tierra Viva is based on action-learning and team working. This methodology is one of the common elements of all their projects and programmes and is key to the values of the organisation.
- Research: Research is crucial in identifying the key problems and needs of the area and sets the framework for ensuring that needs identification remains dynamic and relevant. The team collates relevant information from two sources – literature studies and consultation of stakeholders. By involving stakeholders from the start, and by using techniques that are based on participation and respect for participants, the projects encourage solution-focused approaches to the problems that are identified.
- Developing materials: The development of educational and training materials is a systematic process involving users and external organisations at the design, writing and editing stages of production to ensure the materials’ quality, relevance and validity. Methods such as feedback from different users and audiences to evaluate materials helps to guarantee that these contribute to the aims of the project effectively. The activities involved in producing the materials, such as the collection of information that will form their content, and their design and evaluation, are co-ordinated with other research, training and educational events.
- Capacity building: Through a series of workshops, the training needs of the participants are identified and techniques are demonstrated to build their action competence to positively change their local environment. The workshops also support the participants in their development of relevant skills, through the exchange of ideas with others in similar situations and by providing examples of good practice.
Projects
Fair Trade
This project centered on developing a Fair Trade strategy to support the trade and marketing of products made by community based organizations in Venezuela.
Cuenca – Tools for the sustainable development
This project builtupon FTV’s previous work in the Environmental Education in Lake Valencia project and was centered around sustainable use of water in the region.
Sustainable Development of the Orinoco Delta
Tierra Viva and Living Earth established this project in the Orinoco Delta to build the capacity of the local communities and of key local organisations, so that the the quality of life of local people could be improved and sustainable use of natural resources in the region encouraged.
Environmental Education in Lake Valencia
FTV, in partnership with Living Earth Foundation, sought to promote the development of participative environmental projects for schools and communities of the Lake Valencia area, which addressed environmental issues.
For more information on any of Fundación Tierra Viva’s work please visit: http://tierraviva.org/