Africa – Green Agriculture & Climate Change
http://kofiannanfoundation.org
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. It has been defined as „an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:Satisfy human food and fiber needs Make the most efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls Sustain the economic viability of farm operations Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. Read More: > Here <
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold. Read More: > HERE <
AGRA ALLIANCE works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. Smallholders–the majority women–produce most of Africa’s food, and do so with minimal resources and little government support. AGRA aims to ensure that smallholders have what they need to succeed: good seeds and healthy soils; access to markets, information, financing, storage and transport; and policies that provide them with comprehensive support. Through developing Africa’s high-potential breadbasket areas, while also boosting farm productivity across more challenging environments, AGRA works to transform smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive system, and do so while protecting the environment.
AFRICA LOSES ROUGHLY $4 Billion in soil nutrients each year, costing farmers in lost productivity and eroding the continent’s ability to feed itself. But simple solutions can reverse the trend. AGRA’s programs in soil health are working to restore 6.3 million hectares of degraded farmland over 10 years. Whether it’s setting Africa’s first digital soil map to monitor the problem and inform decision making or promoting the use of lime to counteract western Kenya’s acidic soils or increasing the use of fertilizer microdosing by farmers in the Sahel, AGRA is focused on stemming the crisis and transforming Africa’s soils form a curse into blessing for smallholder farmers.
www.globalhealthfreedom.org www.foodfreedomejournal.org
Father Godfrey Nzamujo is the founder and director of the Songhai Centre, a pioneering farm, training and research centre in Porto Novo, Benin. Begun in 1985 on a single hectare of land, the Songhai project has expanded to six sites in Benin and one in Nigeria. With the motto ‚Commitment to Excellence‘, Songhai symbolises Nzamujo’s belief that Africa’s ecological characteristics are advantages rather than impediments. Father Nzamujo was awarded the Hunger Project’s Africa Prize for Leadership in 1993, and is the author of Songhaï: When Africa lifts up its head. Stirring revolution in African Rice: www.new-ag.info
Songhaï aspires to develop alternatives allowing Africans to stand on their feet through agricultural entrepreneurship, in an integrated development framework enhancing agriculture, industry and services. This development is centred, above all, on human development, the realization of local resources and the appropriation of foreign techniques and technologies.
VISION To establish an entrepreneurial platform of integrated development, an enabling environment to find social, economic, technical, organizational solutions that will take Africans out of poverty, pulling them towards autonomy and sustainable socioeconomic development.
VOCATION To draw Africa into a development mentality which consists in developing new strengths in spite of socioeconomic, cultural and environmental constraints.
Acacia Senegal – Sudan Miracle Commodity II
www.satsentinel.org/take_action
http://notonourwatchproject.org
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com
Sudan (Listeni /suːˈdæn/), officially the Republic of Sudan, is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and tenth largest in the world by area. The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt, with which it was united politically over several periods. After gaining independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1956, Sudan suffered 17 years of civil war followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Northern Sudanese (with Arab and Nubian roots), and the Christian and animist Nilotes of Southern Sudan.This led to a second civil war in 1983, and due to continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d’état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan.
Sudan then achieved great economic growth by implementing macroeconomic reforms and finally ended the civil war by adopting a new constitution in 2005 with rebel groups in the south, granting them limited autonomy to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011. Rich in natural resources such as petroleum and crude oil, Sudan’s economy is currently amongst the fastest growing in the world. The People’s Republic of China and Japan are the main export partners of Sudan. Read More: > HERE <
Who we are – Our mission is to focus global attention and resources towards putting an end to mass atrocities around the world. Drawing upon the powerful voices of artists, activists, and cultural leaders, Not On Our Watch generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced. We encourage governing bodies to take meaningful, immediate action to protect those in harm’s way. Where governments remain complacent, Not On Our Watch is committed to stopping mass atrocities and giving voice to their victims. Founders: Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman, Jerry Weintraub
A Message From George Clooney and John Prendergast – A new state is being born in Southern Sudan against a backdrop of decades of war between the South and North of Sudan. A peace deal in 2005 ended the latest round of open conflict, but the possibility of a return to war remains high as Southern Sudan prepares for independence.
One of the biggest risks in this dangerous moment is that an incident on the highly armed border could lead to wider conflict. The government in Khartoum has armed militias in contested bordering regions, the government air force has bombed border areas, and both sides have massed military units and equipment along the hottest border spots.
These areas have witnessed some of the most deadly conflict in the world since World War II. The former director of national intelligence says that Southern Sudan is the place in the world most likely to experience genocide.
We can’t allow another deadly war, and we surely cannot stand by in the face of a genocide threat.
Soon, the people of Southern Sudan will vote for independence, placing millions of civilians in the potential path of war. George Clooney and the Enough Project recently spent time in Sudan along the border between the north and south and saw what a return to war could look like. This video from the trip highlights the challenges Sudan faces as it works toward holding a peaceful referendum and avoiding a return to civil war. It’s not inevitable. We can stop this war before it starts. Visit www.SudanActionNow.org to find out more.
We were late to Rwanda. We were late to the Congo. We were late to Darfur. There is no time to wait. With your support, we will swiftly call the world to witness and respond. We aim to provide an ever more effective early-warning system: better, faster visual evidence and on-the-ground reporting of human rights concerns to facilitate better, faster responses.
This is why we have launched the Satellite Sentinel Project. There has never been a sustained effort to systematically monitor potential hot spots and threats to human security, in near real-time, with the aim of heading off humanitarian disaster and war crimes before they occur.
Previously, when mass atrocities occurred in Darfur, the Government of Sudan denied its involvement. Since photographers could not get access, it took years to amass evidence of genocide. But now we can witness in near real-time and put all parties on notice that if they commit war crimes, we will all be watching, and pressuring policymakers to take action.
We want to cast a spotlight – literally – on the hot spots along the border to record any actions that might escalate the chances of conflict. We hope that if many eyes are on the potential spoilers, we can all help detect, deter and interdict actions that could lead to a return to deadly violence. At the very least, if war crimes do occur, we’ll have plenty of evidence of the actions of the perpetrators to share with the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council.
The world is watching because you are watching. This is our opportunity to prevent a war, to deter genocide. Make your voice heard. Click here to take action in support of peace in Sudan.
- www.looktothestars.org
- 10.01.11 VIDEO Kofi Annan speaks to the BBC in an interview about the Sudan referendum
- www.ourworldisnotforsale.org
- www.otherworldsarepossible.org
- Acacia Senegal – Sudan’s Miracle Commodity *
- Articles on Africa , Traditional Medicine
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- Meet UNHCR Refugee Agency, friends at fb <
Yoga of Himalayas – Nuns & Communities
www.muktinath.org Chumig Gyatsa
Nepal (नेपाल) (/nɛˈpɔːl/ Nepali: नेपाल ), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People’s Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world’s 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and the country’s largest metropolis. Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized. Read More: > HERE <
The Tibetan Nuns Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and supporting nuns in India from all Tibetan Buddhist lineages. It supports nuns interesting in study and higher ordination. Tibetan nunneries have historically been well established in Tibet, certainly from the 12th century and with traditions reaching back as far as the eighth century. Before the Chinese invasion in 1949, there were at least 818 nunneries and nearly 28,000 nuns living in Tibet. Traditional education in the nunneries included reading, writing, and lessons in ancient scriptures and prayers taught by the senior nuns or lamas from monasteries. Read More: > HERE <
The vision behind the Pundarika lotus symbol is the immaculate wisdom and compassion of Dharma. It is Pundarika’s hope to manifest this vision by bringing the timeless wisdom of great Tibetan masters to the modern West.
Under the guidance of Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Pundarika Foundation was established in 1994 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization and as a 501(c)(3) church in 2006 (FEIN No. 84-1295990). Pundarika is a volunteer organization that relies on the generosity of students’ time and commitment. It has the support of over 2,000 students throughout the world who attend retreats, practice Dharma under the inspiration of Rinpoche and contribute time, money and prayers to its success.
Missions and Goals: „You can awaken a sense of responsibility for all the other sentient beings who are exactly the way you used to be, tormented by negative emotions. You can begin helping them–first one, then two, then three and finally all sentient beings.“ Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Pundarika Foundation’s primary mission is to support the teaching activities and humanitarian work of Tsoknyi Rinpoche by: Keeping alive the wisdom of the Dharma, Sustaining practitioners who preserve the teachings of the Buddha as a vital tradition, Helping people experience inner peace, to better face the challenges of modern life with compassion and sanity, ~For Recent Accomplishments, please click here ~
Produced by Chariot Videos – www.chariotvideos.com . Blessings tells the story of 3000 nuns living in the remote nomadic region of Nangchen in Eastern Tibet who practice an ancient yogic tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Despite near extinction during the destruction of the Cultural Revolution, these remarkable practitioners have emerged to rebuild their monasteries by hand.. stone by stone. Now, their wisdom tradition is once again vital and growing. In 2005, Tsoknyi Rinpoche III led a small group of western students to meet these amazing women. Narrated by Richard Gere www.gerefoundation.org/, with music by Ani Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbetts, Blessings is the story of this extraordinary journey.
Rinpoche’s first visit to Chumig Gyatsa led to the immediate construction of 10 small rooms. Since then, their nunnery has been repaired and enlarged, and the nuns were able to perform a full Buddhist ritual practice for the first time. Twenty young girls were ordained and joined the community. Today, the 51 nuns divide their time between Kathmandu and Muktinath. Also, a health clinic (Chumig Gyatsa Gargon Abbey and Clinic) was constructed that serves the nuns and the local community. This year, a new large shrine hall is being constructed.
Ancient practices leading to enlightenment – The nuns’ story is a classic example of dedication and tenacity. Organized in nunneries comprised of several “Ani houses” (dwellings where up to 15 nuns live together), they perform their spiritual practices in a group, teaching and helping each other all their lives. Many nuns do three-year, nine-year or even lifetime retreat. On retreat, each nun sits all day in meditation posture doing her yogic practices and meditation.
The nuns’ daily routine captures a timeless scene from the past. A typical day starts around 3:30 a.m., as the nuns wake and immediately start their first three-hour practice session. After a short break for breakfast, they resume their second session, ending at lunch. The third session occupies the afternoon, and after a light evening meal, they complete their fourth practice session. They then continue sitting throughout the night, practicing dream yoga.
Many of the nuns are accomplished masters of difficult yogic practices such as tummo (the yoga of inner heat). They perform yearly rituals for the public that include a long procession around the center in the dead of winter in sub-zero temperatures, with only a sheet wrapped around their bodies. During the night, hundreds of the most adept nuns wet their sheets repeatedly in buckets of melted snow and continue their procession, drying the sheets again and again with the inner heat generated by their yogic practice.
This very rare and awe-inspiring event, as well as the realization of the elder nuns, has gained them respect and renown throughout Tibet. In a culture where female practitioners have struggled to gain respect, these nuns have risen to a high level of status, with many monks and lamas seeking their teachings and instruction.
* Tsoknyi Nangchen Nun at Gebchak Gonpa *
The nuns also serve the community through spiritual support and counseling, giving love, compassion and emanating peace directly into people’s minds. This is a tangible example of the power of spiritual influence.
„Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.“ ~ H. H. the Dalai Lama
The values that nuns have—peace, love and compassion—affect an entire community and continue to branch out to the rest of the world. In summary, the nuns‘ lives exemplify the power of living Dharma and its realization to transform the hearts and minds of the surrounding communities.
- www.developmentwatch.net
- www.minesandcommunities.org http://stopminingtibet.com
- http://amuletforums.com/archive/offering-15-000-sangha-t2686.html
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- Meet Millenium Goals friends, fans at fb < www.endpoverty2015.org
Save Biodiversity – Herbs & Food Regulation
www.gmcontaminationregister.org www.un.org/humanrightsday/2010
www.anh-europe.org/freedom-health-choice
www.saveourherbs.org.uk/Petition.html
The Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, 2004/24/EC, was established to provide a regulatory approval process for herbal medicines in the European Union (EU), and came into force on 30 April 2004 . Previously, there was no formal EU wide authorisation procedure, so each EU member stated regulated these types of products at the national level. Under this regulation, all herbal medicinal products are required to obtain an authorisation to market within the EU. Those products marketed before this legislation came into force can continue to market their product until 30 April 2011, under the transitional measures defined in the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive. Once this time limit has expired, all herbal medicinal products must have prior authorisation before they can be marketed in the EU. Read More: > HERE <
Ayurveda (Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद; Äyurveda, the „science of life“) or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine.In Sanskrit, the word ayurveda consists of the words Äyus, meaning „longevity“, and veda, meaning „related to knowledge“ or „science“.Evolving throughout its history, ayurveda remains an influential system of medicine in South Asia.The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India.The Suśruta SaṃhitÄ and the Charaka SaṃhitÄ were influential works on traditional medicine during this era.Over the following centuries, ayurvedic practitioners developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments and diseases. Read More: > HERE <
Health Choice – Have you heard the hype about future restrictions on natural health products? Find out how the ‚boil-the-frog-slowly‘ method masterminded by governments and transnational corporations is out to restrict YOUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE in the area of natural healthcare.
Read on…… find out here what’s really going on. This is about your future, and that of the next generation. Where in the world are restrictions most imminent?
> European Union (EU) – Canada – United States of America (USA) – New Zealand <
As a consequence of moves to harmonise global food laws, concerted attempts to control consumer access to natural heath products are being made by governments and trans-national corporations.
At a global level the regulatory framework is being developed through the Codex Alimentarius Commission (see our Codex campaign page).
The system of control essentially moves natural health products from a category of food to products requiring pre-market authorisation, where the authorisation systems being used or proposed are very onerous and so lock out large numbers of products (e.g. around 50% of pre-2004 products in Canada).
All this is being enacted under the often conflicting guises of ‘consumer protection’ and ‚free trade‘, nearly always creating a situation where big business gets what it wants while our freedom to choose natural health products is dramatically curtailed.
Inappropriate EU legislation could effectively steam-roller ancient and effective medicine cultures, such as Ayurveda, out of existence.
Certain combinations of herbal products, and those containing significant levels of vitamins and minerals, will be prohibited.
The EU’s Human Medicinal Products Directive (HMPD), issued ostensibly to protect consumers from medical disasters such as the thalidomide tragedy, now has a scope so broad that it can be used to classify certain foods, herbs and nutrients – even water – as drugs.
Many herbal products would be evaluated by inappropriate pharmaceutical criteria, rather than by practicing medical herbalists and others with specific expertise in the field of traditional medicines.
The cost of complying with these pharma-friendly criteria will be prohibitively expensive for many small to medium size enterprises and there could be serious consequences for small herb-producing farmers and communities in non-EU countries.
As you may know The Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive 2004/24/EC (THMPD) of the European Union will have long-term and far-reaching implications for Ayurveda and other Traditional Systems of Medicine (TSMs), specially for the manufacturers and practitioners of these systems. / Senate Bill S510 Makes it illegal to Grow, Share, Trade or Sell Homegrown Food — Section 510(k) and the device approval process. Food Freedom warns about the consequences from this bill.
Jede(r) von uns benutzt im täglichen Leben Heilpflanzen in Form von Tees, chinesische, ayurvedische Mittel, Kräutermischungen etc. Dies soll alles verboten werden! Lest selbst: Ab April 2011 soll das Gesetz für Nahrungsergänzungsmittelund Heilkräuter (THMPD – Traditional Herbal Medical Product Directive) EU-weit durchgesetzt werden.
Das bedeutet:Die auf Teemischungen basierende Kräuterheilkunde wäre dannwahrscheinlich um die Hälfte der dort eingesetzten Kräuter beraubt, da es wenig „wissenschaftliche Forschung“ über gebräuchliche, einheimische Kräuter gibt und diese dann ohne aufwändige Forschung keine Zulassung alsArzneimittel bekämen.
Fast alle chinesischen und ayurvedischen Heilpflanzen und ein guter Teil der europäischen Heilpflanzen sollen mit dieser EU-Novelle verboten undaus dem Handel genommen werden.
Die Gründe liegen auf der Hand: Die Pharmaindustrie hätte dieNaturheilkunde „Schachmatt“ gesetzt und könnte diesen wachsenden Marktfür sich übernehmen.Jetzt sind wir alle gefragt und können noch Einfluss nehmen.In Deinem, Ihrem, Eurem und unserem Interesse.
www.sourcewatch.org/Global_Corporations
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www.abtei-st-hildegard.de ( WHO owns Hildegard ? )
Korean Buddhism Jogye 2012 Conference
www.ohchr.org/HRDay2010.aspx www.hrw.org/north-korea
www.attacreport.com/concentration camps
www.buddhachannel.tv/Won Buddhism
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism. Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new holistic approach to Buddhism. This approach is characteristic of virtually all major Korean thinkers, and has resulted in a distinct variation of Buddhism, which is called Tongbulgyo („interpenetrated Buddhism“) by Korean scholars. Korean Buddhist thinkers refined their predecessors‘ ideas into a distinct form. Korean Buddhism has also contributed much to East Asian Buddhism, especially to early Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan schools of Buddhist thoughts. Read More: > HERE <
The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓ä敎 曹溪宗) is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1,200 years to Unified Silla National Master Doui, who brought Seon (known as Zen in the West) and the practice taught by the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, from China about 820 C.E. In 826, the „Nine Mountains of Seon“ adopted the name „Jogye-jong“ and all were instrumental in the development of the nation during Unified Silla and thereafter. During Goryeo, National Masters Bojo Jinul and Taego Bou led major Seon movements. The Jogye Order was thus established as the representative Seon order until the persecution of the Joseon Dynasty. Read More: >HERE<
Korea (Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – South and North Korea, respectively (cf. etymology)) is a territory of East Asia that was formerly unified under one state, but now divided into two separate states and a region in northeastern Asia. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
Korea was united until 1948, when it was split into South Korea and North Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a free market, democratic and developed country, with memberships in the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, has a centrally planned industrial economy, with memberships in the United Nations, ISO, Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and other international organizations. Read More: >HERE <
The 2012 World Fellowship of Buddhist Conference will be held in Korea hosted by the Jogye Order. The decision came during the 25th WFB Conference on November 13 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The 26th WFB Conference will be organized by the Jogye Order and the Jogye Order’s Central Council of the Laity. The plan is to have the conference coincide with the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu City and the very popular Lotus Lantern Festival.
Director of Social Affairs Ven. Hyegyeong said, “The reason for coinciding the conference with the expo and the Lotus Lantern Festival is that it would be a good way to show the world the beauty and richness of Korean Buddhist tradition and to promote Korean Buddhism. We will have a tentative six-day visit plan with half the time spent in Yeosu City and the conference, and the other days to see the Lotus Lantern Festival.”
Jogye Order plans to make strong efforts in seeing the conference to be successful. In this way, the success can be carried over to the 2013 World Religious Leaders Conference, also hosted by the Jogye Order.
The WFB first began in May of 1950 in Sri Lanka as Buddhist representatives from 27 countries met to transcend sectarian barriers. This year marks the 60 year anniversary. Now, 153 WFB branches in 40 countries exist to unify Buddhists from all traditions and uphold the Buddha’s teachings. The conference is held every two years. There are seven WFB branches in Korea including the Jogye Order and the Jogye Order Central Council of the Laity.
Korea hosted the 17th WFB Conference in 1990 in Seoul. Now the conference returns after 22 years. The opportunity to host the WFB conference will be a chance to showcase the excellence of Korean Buddhism and share with the world Korean Buddhist cultural treasures such as templestay, temple food, and the Lotus Lantern Festival.
The 25th WFB Conference, with the theme “Solving Social Issues with Dharma,” was held on November 13 in Colombo. Along with the conference, a Board of Directors Meeting, a symposium, and the 60-year Commemoration Ceremony were held until November 17. More than 500 representatives from North Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, and other countries attended this year’s conference.
Documents the creation of a Buddhist painting by the Buddhist nun artist, Seol Min, who has dedicated her life to keeping the tradition of Buddhist painting alive. / The secret of Korean temple cooking popularity is in its eco-friendly and traditional recipes. Recently, a temple of Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism opens the restaurant for temple cooking. All the recipes are based on Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, but its color and shape has been upgraded even for non-believers to enjoy its taste. Arirang Today will listen to the Buddhist nun, Dae-an, who has been putting an effort to achieve the internationalization of Korean cuisine in temple cooking.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to face regular, significant food shortages. A joint Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission took place between September 21 and October 2 this year to assess the main cereal harvest and estimate the food gap for the marketing year 2010/2011.
The mission estimates that DPRK faces a cereal import requirement for the 2010/11 marketing year (Nov/Oct) of 867,000 metric tons.
The mission recommended that 305,000 tons should be provided as international food assistance to about five million of the most vulnerable people, including young children, their mothers, the elderly, and poor people in regions with high malnutrition. Planned commercial imports by the government (325,000 tons) and recommended food assistance do not fill the entire uncovered food deficit, and leave a gap of 237,000 tons. The gap will need to be filled by the DPRK government and direct assistance from other countries.
While malnutrition rates among children have decreased the last decade, one in every three children remains chronically malnourished or ‘stunted’, meaning they are too short for their age, and a quarter of all pregnant and breast-feeding women are also malnourished. The mission noted that a small shock in the future could trigger a severe crisis which would be difficult to contain if these chronic deficits are not effectively managed. One in four pregnant or breastfeeding mothers is also malnourished.
17 November 2010 – > North Korea Faces Serious Cereal Deficit, Food Shortages and Undernourishment to Continue
At the household level, assessments during 2008 and 2009 indicated a marginal improvement in food security. However, current rations provided by the DPRK government can meet less than half of the daily calorific needs for the 68% of the population receiving public food rations.
Most people struggle to make up the deficit through alternative means as they do not have the necessary purchasing power.
Mountain Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
NGO Development Projects Active in Tibet
About ICIMOD – The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living downstream – now, and for the future.
International Mountain Day, celebrated on December 11, gives us an opportunity to reflect on the relevance of mountains for the world. This year the International Mountain Day theme focuses on indigenous peoples and other minorities living in the mountains. The purpose is both to highlight the threats and challenges faced by these communities, and to acknowledge the invaluable knowledge they have and the contributions they can make towards overcoming global challenges of poverty and loss of diversity in a rapidly changing world.
A majority of the world’s indigenous women and men live in mountain regions, many on the margins of society and facing poverty and exclusion. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region has some of the highest diversity of indigenous peoples and other minorities in the world. An ICIMOD report identified more than 600 living languages in the Himalayas, 400 spoken by less than 100,000 people. According to current forecasts, ninety per cent of all languages could disappear within 100 years. The loss of these languages not only erodes an essential component of a group’s identity, it is also a loss to heritage for all humankind.
The UN General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, marking an important step in international efforts to preserve the identity of indigenous peoples. However, implementation has a different speed and different levels of commitment in different countries.
In agricultural terms, mountains are often considered ‘marginal lands’, unsuitable for modern commercial farming which focuses on cultivation of single crop varieties for large markets. Indigenous mountain people and other mountain communities continue to use traditional practices and techniques including sophisticated terracing systems, water transportation and irrigation schemes, and a combination of pasture, forestry and farming practices. Indigenous women and men serve as custodians of this traditional knowledge on how to farm under difficult mountain conditions, and how to conserve important reservoirs of agricultural biodiversity.
They sustainably farm a wide variety of crops that are adapted to a range of different elevations, slope conditions, and micro-climates, and this knowledge will be of great, if as yet little noticed, value in the world’s efforts to adapt to climate and other drivers of change. The autonomous adaptation practiced by mountain communities consists of community-based interventions that address underlying causes of vulnerability and reduce the risk of possible adverse impacts of climate change by building upon the existing rich indigenous knowledge base on adaptation to environmental change and helping to strengthen the resilience of the communities. Women especially play a critical role in gendered indigenous knowledge. Their roles and expertise have yet to be acknowledged, but has great potential for adapting to multiple drivers of change.
Indigenous mountain communities are connected to the land, the environment, and natural resources in ways that are often inextricably intertwined and therefore expressed in spiritual and socio-cultural terms. Respecting this worldview, and preserving the languages, music, artwork, folk tales, culture, meanings, and myths that express it, is critical for the survival of indigenous communities in mountain areas. This ‘intangible heritage’ also enriches the global community, providing inspiration and insights for realising a more sustainable relationship between humankind and the environment.
A scene from Tibetan Documentary „Leaving Fear Behind,“ shows a nomad school in Tibet (Amdo) working to preserve Tibetan Language and culture as it’s very existence is under threat from Chinese Government policies. Find out more: http://studentsforafreetibet.org Leaving Fear Behind: The Film the Chinese Government Doesn’t Want the World to See. // sumit sadhak practicing handstand in himalyas on the bank of ganga river one of the most important places for yogis.
The involvement of indigenous mountain communities is an important prerequisite for sustainable mountain development. Therefore, as governments work toward addressing mountain development priorities, it is critical that they live up to their commitments outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We hope that this year’s International Mountain Day will help to increase awareness of the central role of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples for mountain development, and to motivate all citizens, policy makers, and development actors to recognise the importance of their contribution to sustainable development. We trust that the Day will encourage organisations to invite indigenous and traditional mountain communities to participate actively in national and international efforts to understand and adapt to the multiple drivers of change, including climate change, in the mountains of the world.
With best wishes, Andreas Schild http://www.icimod.org
Culture and Development – Placing culture at the heart of development policy constitutes an essential investment in the world’s future and a pre-condition to successful globalization processes that take into account the principles of cultural diversity. It is UNESCO’s mission to remind all States of this major issue.
As demonstrated by the failure of certain projects underway since the 1970s, development is not synonymous with economic growth alone. It is a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence. As such, development is inseparable from culture. Strengthening the contribution of culture to sustainable development is a goal that was launched in connection with the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1998). Ever since, progress has been made thanks to a corpus of standard-setting instruments and demonstration tools such as cultural statistics, inventories, regional and national mapping of cultural resources.
In this regard, the major challenge is to convince political decision-makers and local, national and international social actors to integrating the principles of cultural diversity and the values of cultural pluralism into all public policies, mechanisms and practices, particularly through public/private partnerships.
This strategy will aim, on the one hand, at incorporating culture into all development policies, be they related to education, science, communication, health, environment or tourism and, on the other hand, at supporting the development of the cultural sector through creative industries. By contributing in this way to poverty alleviation, culture offers important benefits in terms of social cohesion. Read more: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en
The Challenge of Human Rights and Cultural Diversity – United Nations Background Note by Diana Ayton-Shenker:
The end of the cold war has created a series of tentative attempts to define „a new world order“. So far, the only certainty is that the international community has entered a period of tremendous global transition that, at least for the time being, has created more social problems than solutions.
The end of super-power rivalry, and the growing North/South disparity in wealth and access to resources, coincide with an alarming increase in violence, poverty and unemployment, homelessness, displaced persons and the erosion of environmental stability. The world has also witnessed one of the most severe global economic recessions since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
At the same time, previously isolated peoples are being brought together voluntarily and involuntarily by the increasing integration of markets, the emergence of new regional political alliances, and remarkable advances in telecommunications, biotechnology and transportation that have prompted unprecedented demographic shifts.
The resulting confluence of peoples and cultures is an increasingly global, multicultural world brimming with tension, confusion and conflict in the process of its adjustment to pluralism. There is an understandable urge to return to old conventions, traditional cultures, fundamental values, and the familiar, seemingly secure, sense of one’s identity. Without a secure sense of identity amidst the turmoil of transition, people may resort to isolationism, ethnocentricism and intolerance.
This climate of change and acute vulnerability raises new challenges to our ongoing pursuit of universal human rights. How can human rights be reconciled with the clash of cultures that has come to characterize our time? Cultural background is one of the primary sources of identity. It is the source for a great deal of self-definition, expression, and sense of group belonging. As cultures interact and intermix, cultural identities change. This process can be enriching, but disorienting. The current insecurity of cultural identity reflects fundamental changes in how we define and express who we are today. Read More: * HERE*
Human Rights Day 10 December 2010
Human rights are „rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled“.Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human.Human rights are thus conceived in a universalist and egalitarian fashion. Such entitlements can exist as shared norms of actual human moralities, as justified moral norms or natural rights supported by strong reasons, or as legal rights either at a national level or within international law. Read More: > HERE <
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR), and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and engages the United Nations‘ Special Procedures. Read More > HERE <
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.
One year after holding its first meeting, on 18 June 2007, the Council adopted its “Institution-building package” [Word file] providing elements to guide it in its future work. Among the elements is the new Universal Periodic Review mechanism which will assess the human rights situations in all 192 UN Member States. Other features include a new Advisory Committee which serves as the Council’s “think tank” providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues and the revised Complaints Procedure mechanism which allows individuals and organizations to bring complaints about human rights violations to the attention of the Council. The Human Rights Council also continues to work closely with the UN Special Procedures established by the former Commission on Human Rights and assumed by the Council.
The High Commissioner’s statement is available as a video which will be of special interest to broadcasters and for use at particular events / Video about ordinary human rights defenders from various parts of the world. Human Rights Day, marked annually, is this year dedicated to human rights defenders who battle against discrimination.
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights. The formal establishment of Human Rights Day occurred at the 317th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on 4 December 1950, when the General Assembly declared resolution 423(V), inviting all member states and any other interested organizations to celebrate the day as they saw fit. Read More: > HERE <
The theme for Human Rights Day 10 December 2010 is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.
Human rights defenders acting against discrimination, often at great personal risk to both themselves and their families, are being recognized and acclaimed on this day.
Human rights defenders speak out against abuse and violations including discrimination, exclusion, oppression and violence. They advocate justice and seek to protect the victims of human rights violations. They demand accountability for perpetrators and transparency in government action. In so doing, they are often putting at risk their own safety, and that of their families.
Some human rights defenders are famous, but most are not. They are active in every part of the world, working alone and in groups, in local communities, in national politics and internationally.
Human Rights Day 2010 will highlight and promote the achievements of human rights defenders and it will again emphasize the primary role Governments must play in enabling and protecting their role. The Day is also intended to inspire a new generation of defenders to speak up and take action to end discrimination in all of its forms whenever and wherever it is manifested.
The story does not end after 10 December 2010. The focus on the work of human rights defenders will continue through all of 2011.
Visual Designs – We would like to invite you to develop your own initiatives and make use of the visual designs. Read our “Users’ guidelines” (PDF), complete the Form and Waiver of Liability (PDF) and send it to us at: human rightsday@ohchr.org.
International Year of Forests 2011
http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/
http://www.illegal-logging.info
The year 2011 was declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable forest management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations. Forests are an integral part of global sustainable development. According to World Bank estimates, more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. The forest product industry is a source of economic growth and employment, with global forest products traded internationally in the order of $270 billion. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that every year 130,000 km² of the world’s forests are lost due to deforestation. Conversion to agricultural land, unsustainable harvesting of timber, unsound land management practices, and creation of human settlements are the most common reasons for this loss of forested areas. Read More: >HERE<
Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the preservation of their land, language, religion and other elements of cultural heritage that are a part of their existence as a people. This can be used as an expression for advocacy of social organizations or form a part of the national law in establishing the relation between a government and the right of self-determination among the indigenous people living within its borders, or in international law as a protection against violation by actions of governments or groups of private interests. Read More: > HERE <
Welcome to the International Year of Forests, 2011 (Forests 2011) Web site, a global platform to celebrate people’s action to sustainably manage the world’s forests. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.
Here, you will find information regarding events being organised throughout the International Year as well as interactive web tools and resources to promote dialogue on forests. Tell us how you plan to celebrate “forests for people” during 2011, so that we may showcase your stories and initiatives through this website. www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011
United Nations, New York, 2 November 2010 – Member States of the United Nations have adopted a new 10-year global strategy designed to halt the loss of the world biological diversity, with countries agreeing to draft national implementation plans to safeguard genetic resources within two years. / This video shows how palm oil is threatening Southeast Asia’s tropical peatlands. Due to drainage of the swamps, the peat oxidates and releases huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. For more information, see www.ckpp.org
United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) –In October 2000, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), in its Resolution 2000/35 established the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), a subsidiary body with the main objective to promote “… the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…”based on the Rio Declaration, the Forest Principles, Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the outcome of the IPF/IFF Processes and other key milestones of international forest policy. The Forum has universal membership, and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies. www.un.org/esa/forests/index.html
The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) was formed During the III Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP III) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November 1996. The IIFB is a collection of representatives from indigenous governments, indigenous non-governmental organizations and indigenous scholars and activists that rganize around the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other important international environmental meetings to help coordinate indigenous strategies at these meetings, provide advice to the government parties, and influence the interpretations of government obligations to recognize and respect indigenous rights to the knowledge and resources.
http://iifb.indigenousportal.com/2010/11/01/closing-statement cbd
The CBD is an important international environmental convention, because it contains numerous passages that recognize traditional resource and knowledge rights, the most important of which is Article 8(j).
CBD – UN Convention on Biological Diversity
* Small island states are looking at ways to evacuate their entire populations, says UN chief
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species, which is the product of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution. 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. READ MORE: > HERE <
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty. The Convention has three main goals: 1. conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);2. sustainable use of its components; and 3. fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. In other words, its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development. Read More: >HERE<
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development. Read More: > HERE <
Bio Diversity, preventing Deadline Life http://www.cbd.int/ – After suffering decades of obscurity, biodiversity, and the importance of saving it, is finally rising to the top of the international agenda. But will political declarations translate into the resources and action that are so urgently needed?
The United Nations General Assembly dedicated a high level summit to biodiversity which gave much-needed political impetus for a sustained global response to the crisis facing the natural world.
IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre explains why the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Nagoya on 18 October, is so important for the future of our planet. / Millenium Development Goals for 2015 -In the year 2000, 189 leaders from around the world met at the historic Millenium Summit in New York.According to the then Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, the UNs role for the next millenium will be crucial; making it a focal point for joint efforts in a world that presents worrisome statistics that endanger the perpetuation of generations to come.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. The stated goal of the organization is to help the world find pragmatic solutions to the most pressing environment and development challenges. Read More: > HERE <
IUCN, which helped develop the Convention and plays a key role in its implementation, will be present at the conference, trying to ensure that the latest biodiversity science underpins the decisions taken there and that governments commit to an ambitious, yet realistic plan to halt the loss of biodiversity.
Environmental migrants are people forced to migrate away from their homeland due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment. When the migration is considered to be forced and not a matter of choice, the term environmental refugee is also used. Additionally, if the causes for the migration are believed to be due to global warming related environmental disasters, the term climate refugee is sometimes used. Read More: > HERE <
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR; www.unhcr.org), also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes in 1954 and 1981. Read More: >HERE<
COP 16 Climate Change and Agrar Solutions
Kofi Atta Annan (born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his founding the Global AIDS and Health Fund to support developing countries in their struggle to care for their people. Read More: > HERE <
The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held in Cancún, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010.[1] The conference is officially referred to as the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 6th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (CMP 6) to the Kyoto Protocol.In August 2010, Ban Ki-moon stated that he doubts member states will reach a new global agreement to address global warming, but after the Tianjin talks in October Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said, „This week has got us closer to a structured set of decisions that can be agreed in Cancun … This is the greatest societal and economic transformation that the world has ever seen.“ Read More: > HERE <
AGRA www.agra-alliance.org works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. Smallholders–the majority women–produce most of Africa’s food, and do so with minimal resources and little government support. AGRA aims to ensure that smallholders have what they need to succeed: good seeds and healthy soils; access to markets, information, financing, storage and transport; and policies that provide them with comprehensive support.
Through developing Africa’s high-potential breadbasket areas, while also boosting farm productivity across more challenging environments, AGRA works to transform smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive system, and do so while protecting the environment.
www.google.com/cop15 Learn about the impacts of our changing climate, and how groups are working to cope with them.
http://www.ienearth.org Established in 1990 within the United States, IEN was formed by grassroots Indigenous peoples and individuals to address environmental and economic justice issues (EJ). IEN’s activities include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect our sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities.IEN accomplishes this by maintaining an… (read more)Mission:In 1991, near the sacred Bear Butte in South Dakota, near 500 Native people came together at the outdoor 2nd Annual IEN Protecting Mother Earth gathering. At this gathering, this Unifying Principle and the Environmental Code of Ethics were written.
Mission Statement – The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas have lived for over 500 years in confrontation with an immigrant society that holds an opposing world view. As a result we are now facing an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of all natural life. In 1991, near the sacred Bear Butte in South Dakota, near 500 Native people came together at the outdoor 2nd Annual IEN Protecting Mother Earth gathering. At this gathering, this Unifying Principle and the Environmental Code of Ethics were written.
Unifying Principles – The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas have lived for over 500 years in confrontation with an immigrant society that holds an opposing world view. As a result we are now facing an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of all natural life. We believe in unified action, sharing of information, and working together with mutual respect. We recognize we must assert our sovereignty and jurisdictional rights through the application of our traditional laws and recognizing our traditional forms of leadership of our indigenous nations. We stand on principles of empowering and supporting each other to take direct, informed action and affect our ability to protect our lands from contamination and exploitation. By attempting to fulfill our responsibility to defend our mother earth we are assuring the survival of our unborn generations.The members of IEN are unified in our recognition that the traditional teachings, lifestyles, spirituality, cultures and leadership of our people as well as the survival of our future generations, are entirely dependent upon our respectful relationship with the natural world and our responsibility to the sacred principles given to us by the creator.
„SNAP-SHOT“ of environmental and economic justice issues in indigenous lands (US-CANADA): 1. Toxic contaminants, agricultural pesticides and other industrial chemicals that disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples, especially subsistence and livestock cultures.2. Inadequate governmental environment and health standards and regulations.3. Clean up of contaminated lands from mining, military, and other industry activities.4. Toxic incinerators and landfills on and near Indigenous lands.5. Inadequate solid and hazardous waste and wastewater management capacity of Indigenous communities and tribes.6. Unsustainable mining and oil development on and near Indigenous lands.7. National energy policies at the expense of the rights of Indigenous peoples.8. Climate change and global warming.9. Coal mining and coal-fired power plants resulting in mercury contamination, water depletion, destruction of sacred sites and environmental degradation.10. Uranium mining developments and struggles to obtain victim compensation to Indigenous uranium miners, millers, processors and Downwinders of past nuclear testing experiments.11. Nuclear waste dumping in Indigenous lands.12. Deforestation.13. Water rights, water quantity and privatization of water.14. Economic globalization putting stress on Indigenous peoples and local ecosystems.15. Border justice, trade agreements and transboundary waste and contamination along the US/Mexico/Canada borders and other Indigenous lands worldwide.16. Failure of the US government to fulfill its mandated responsibility to provide funding to tribes and Alaska villages to develop and implement environmental protection infrastructures.17. Backlash from US state governments giving in to the lobbying pressures of industry and corporations against the right of tribes to implement their own water and air quality standards.18. Protection of sacred, historical and cultural significant areas.19. Biological diversity and endangered species.20. Genetically modified organisms impacting the environment, traditional plants and seeds and intellectual rights of Indigenous peoples – bio-colonialism.21. Economic blackmail and lack of sustainable economic and community development resources.22. Just transition of workers and communities impacted by industry on and near Indigenous lands.23. Urban sprawl and growth on and near Indigenous lands.24. Failure of colonial governments and their programs to adequately consult with or address environmental protection, natural resource conservation, environmental health, and sacred/historical site issues affecting traditional Indigenous lands and its Indigenous peoples.25. De-colonization and symptoms of internalized oppression/racism/tribalism.26. And many others ..
Compiled by the INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/350.org , www.350.org
- Watch the UN Climate Talks in Cancun, Mexico – LIVE www.oneclimate.net
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming
- http://www.environmentallawresource.com , http://earthjournalism.net
- http://www.indigenousclimate.org , http://www.hecac.org
- http://www.earthpeoples.org/CLIMATECHANGE/Ind.PeoplesGuide .pdf
- Articles on CLIMATE CHANGE
- Meet Indigenous Environmental Network, friends, fans at fb
- Meet Eco Walk the Talk, friends, fans at fb
- Meet International Forum on Globalization, studies, friends, fans at fb
- Meet COP 16, Cancun, studies, friends, fans at fb
- Meet 100 Million Voices for a Real Climate Deal in Mexico 2010 at fb
- Peace, Paix, 和平, Salam, Shalom, Pace, Mir, Friede, Paz, Shanti, Heiwa…
Monks lead march to save Himalayas
The Drukpa Kargyu school (Dzongkha: or simply Drukpa school, is a branch of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the Sarma or „new“ schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Within the Drukpa Lineage, there are further sub-schools, most notably the eastern Kham tradition and middle Drukpa school which prospered in Ladakh and surrounding areas. In Bhutan the Drukpa Lineage is the dominant school and state religion. Read More: > HERE <
www.live2love.org On 19th September 2010, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, founder of Live To Love, a new world-wide charity specializing in building the world’s most advanced eco-friendly schools and teaching young women leadership skills, received the United Nations‘ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Award for those efforts.At a star-studded event headlined by American actress Christie Brinkley, Ghanian-American hip-hop artist, Blitz the Ambassador American saxophonist, Dave Koz and joined by heads of state and leading dignitaries gathered to honor governments and individuals making substantial contributions toward fulfilling the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa was feted for Live To Love’s efforts to “create compassion into action.”The annual MDG Awards provide a platform to raise awareness about the critical work of the United Nations and honor and celebrate the exceptional work of select national governments and individuals contributing to the achievement of the MDGs around the world.
Guru Rinpoche highlighted many times in his teachings and biography that so long as the descendents of the famous and great Tibetan King Trisong Deutsan is there, his blessing will always be there. As we all know Trisong Deutsan is the direct emanation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom. These days, our beloved king of Ladakh, Trinlay Namgyal, has not been well, and he is definitely a genuine descendent of Trisong Deutsan. This is the reason why I went to Ladakh for a day trip and stayed there only for an hour.
Out of respect and care, I went to Ladakh to visit the king who has been my good friend for a very long time. I had never been to Ladakh for such a short trip. Even if I wanted to stay, I had no choice, there is already the Sikkim Eco Pad Yatra program starting soon. I am very happy that I saw him, I hope he was happy to see him. He was very seriously sick inside, but he has no pain. I am writing not only because he is a dear friend of mine, but I believe in Guru Rinpoche’s words and I know for sure that the king definitely carries the blood of Trisong Deutsan and therefore the blessing of Guru Rinpoche.
A short video showing the walking pilgrimage journey from Lahaul to Ladakh (from 23rd May to 1st July 2009) undertaken by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, His Eminence Kyabje Khamtrul Rinpoche, several Rinpoches, monks and nuns and lay followers – about 750 humans and 320 mules. /Join His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa and 750 nuns, monks, & friends of the Drukpa Lineage as they trek 400 kilometers across the Himalayas in a grassroots movement to elevate environmental awareness, promote education for women, and celebrate the heritage of a culture in peril. www.walking.drukpa.com OPTION C (22nd-28th December 2010) & OPTION D (24th-28th December 2010) ARE NOW AVAILABLE.
Now, I am on the way preparing for the Sikkim Eco Pad Yatra and catching up with my busy schedule. Let’s see how it will go. It seems that it’s being arranged quite well, due to help from my friends and students, especially Drukpa Publications whom I asked to arrange this through my own office. Just as our last pad yatra in Ladakh last year, this time also I took the opportunity to ask Rigzin Namgyal to arrange this for us. I know that Rigzin Namgyal along with Lotus’s help is trying his best to make all of us very comfortable and successful. Maybe next time I should be fair enough not to demand him that badly in making these difficult arrangements, such as in locations unfamiliar for him, but this time I have to apologise that I did that.
For the forthcoming Sikkim Eco Pad Yatra, I have 2 very special guests who will be joining with us, that is Gyalwa Lorepa and Drukpa Yongdzin Rinpoche. I am sure that all of you will see all the updates at the Drukpa Facebook or from different channels. I will leave you here until I return from the Pad Yatra. Take care and let’s move on and get ready for the Pad Yatra and a new year.
- http://www.khoryug.com
- http://ladakh.drukpa.com/monasteries.htm
- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/
- Article on UN Millenium Goals
- Meet Drukpa Order, studies, friends, fans at fb
- Meet Mind & Life Institute, studies, friends, fans at fb
- Meet Ecotourism, studies, friends, fans at fb
- Meet Ecobuddhism, studies, friends, fans at fb
Traditional Food, Medicine & Biodiversity
The N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian: Николай Иванович Вавилов) was a prominent Russian and Soviet botanist and geneticist best known for having identified the centres of origin of cultivated plants. He devoted his life to the study and improvement of wheat, corn, and other cereal crops that sustain the global population. While developing his theory on the centres of origin of cultivated plants, Vavilov organized a series of botanical-agronomic expeditions, collected seeds from every corner of the globe, and created in Leningrad the world’s largest collection of plant seeds. Read More: > HERE <
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty. The Convention has three main goals: 1. conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);2. sustainable use of its components; and 3. fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. In other words, its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development. Read More: >HERE<
Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations is an important contribution toward the reduction of hunger and poverty in developing countries. This is where the greatest plant diversity originates and where the need for food security and the further development of agriculture is most urgent.
About VIR: “The scientific network of VIR includes the institute’s headquarters with 9 plant resources departments, 13 fundamental research laboratories, and 12 experiment stations in different geographic zones of Russia. Its chief activities are Plant Genetics Resources (PGR) collections, conservation and study.”
This recent news item was originally reported on Science Magazine’s Science Insider news feed. Earlier reportage on this story came from The Scientist blog. Top Photo: Alaska wild “berries” from the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee (public domain). Bottom Photo: VIR, Pavlosk Exp. Station http://www.greendump.net
Last week, we described the plight of the Russian Pavlovsk Experimental Station: Plans for a housing complex threaten some 5,000 rare plants, including varieties found nowhere else on the planet. A court judgment last week meant that only the president or prime minister could save the plants, which scientists said would take years to relocate. Now government telegrams and a presidential tweet hint that the plants might have a chance. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com
Russia Defers Razing of Seed Repository – modest reprieve for a seed bank that is home to the world’s largest collection of European fruits and berries. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com
The Vavilov Institute in Russia is the oldest seed bank in the world with a collection of over 325,000 samples of seed. Video from The Vavilov Institute from The Seed Hunter on National Geographic Channel http://natgeotv.com
Vavilov Institut Alblinse, Russian Housing Plan Threatens Seed Bank
The Institute of Plant Industry http://www.vir.nw.ru/ was established in 1921. Nikolai Vavilov was the head of this institute from 1924 to 1936 and had, and still has, the world’s largest collection of plant seeds. During the early 1930s, he became the target of the Lysenkoist debate and was exiled. In 2010 the plant collection at the Pavlovsk Experimental Station was to be destroyed to make way for luxury housing
IRRI http://irri.org Rice Research is a nonprofit research and education center established to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability
Navdanya http://www.navdanya.org is a network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 16 states in India.Navdanya has helped set up 54 community seed banks across the country, trained over 500,000 farmers in seed sovereignty, food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture over the past two decades, and helped setup the largest direct marketing, fair trade organic network in the country.
ARCHE NOAH: http://www.arche-noah.at Wir sehen unsere Arbeit als Antwort auf die restriktive globale Saatgutpolitik. Die Vielfalt an Kulturpflanzen ist Lebensgrundlage für kommenden Generationen. Und Lebensqualität für uns alle ! Wir sind ein Verein, der sich seit fast 20 Jahren für den Erhalt alter Kulturpflanzen einsetzt, mit über 8.000 Mitgliedern, Förderern und aktiven ErhalterInnen.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault – Cultural plants for the future. http://www.regjeringen.no Since the climate conditions change so rapidly, it is extremely important to ensure the genetic diversity of all the cultural plants of the world. In these genes, we will find the necessary qualities to make effective cultural plants in the future. This is absolutely necessary to secure a satisfactory food supply for the global population. Within the next 40 years, the world’s food production must be doubled, says the Norwegian minister of agriculture and food, Lars Peder Brekk.
Was wären die Schwaben ohne ihre Linsen? Trotzdem stellten Ende der 50er Jahre die letzten Landwirte “auf der Alb” den Anbau von Linsen ein, da die Importe zu billig waren und den Verbrauchern egal war, woher ihre Linsen kamen. Im Pflanzenbau herrschte damals der Zeitgeist “höher, schneller und immer mehr”. Hauptsache, der Ertrag von Weizen, Mais und Kartoffeln stieg. Egal, wie viel “Chemie” dazu auf den Acker kam. Diese Ideologie war den hiesigen Bio-Bauern schon immer ein Dorn im Auge.
Außerdem vermissten sie ihre Heimatfrucht aus der Kindheit: “Die alten Bauern bei uns in der Gegend haben uns erzählt, wie sie noch Linsen angebaut haben, zusammen mit Gerste ( GERSTE IM AYURVEDA ) und Hafer, als Stützfrucht für die zarten Pflanzen. Beim Linsen essen haben wir davon geträumt, wieder Alb-Linsen auszusäen”, erinnert sich Woldemar Mammel. Der Bioland-Bauer aus Lauterach auf der Alb baut bereits seit den 80er Jahren wieder Linsen an und begeisterte auch andere für seine Idee. Mittlerweile machen elf Bäuerinnen und Bauern in der “Öko-Erzeugergemeinschaft «Alb-Leisa»” mit und bewirtschaften 30 Hektar mit Albleisen.
Unterstützung bekommen sie von anderen Verfechtern guter Esskultur: Vor zwei Jahren hat Slow Food Deutschland die Alb-Linse in die “Arche des Geschmacks” aufgenommen, um dieses traditionelle landwirtschaftliche Erzeugnis der Schwäbischen Alb vor dem Vergessen zu retten. Die Sache hat nur einen Haken: Die original schwäbischen Alb-Linsen waren bis vor kurzem unauffindbar und so mussten sich die Bio-Bauern mit französischen und italienischen Sorten behelfen. “Niemand hatte es für nötig gehalten, diese einzigartigen, im Bundessortenregister eingetragenen Linsensorten aufzubewahren”, beklagt Mammel.
Doch die verschollenen Linsen berührten auch andere schwäbische Herzen: 2006 machten sich unabhängig voneinander der private Pflanzenzüchter Klaus Lang und Klaus Amler von der Stuttgarter Agentur Ökonsult auf die Suche. Beide werden ein Jahr später in Russland fündig! Das Wawilow-Institut in St. Petersburg, das seit 1925 für die Genvielfalt der Nutzpflanzen kämpft, hat die zwei Sorten aufbewahrt.
RICE: Rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda (c. 1500-800 BC) and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts. Today, the majority of all rice produced comes from India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, and Bangladesh.
Asian farmers still account for 92-percent of the world’s total rice production. Rice is grown in all parts of India. Genetics shows that rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River Valley. Read More: > HERE <
- www.pranapositive.com/shm/Save Herbal Medicine
- Articles on Biodiversity
- IRRI Rice Research/Climate Change /Bioversity/Eco Crises
- www.intlcss.org International Crop Science Society
- ARCHE NOAH, Erhaltung/Verbreitung Kulturpflanzenvielfalt
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NaturalNews.com is an independent news resource that covers the natural health and wellness topics that empower individuals to make positive changes in their personal health. NaturalNews offers uncensored news that allows for healthier choice.
Skate Aid & Green Helmets in Afghanistan
Der Grünhelme e. V. ist eine deutsche Hilfsorganisation mit Sitz in Köln. Der Verein wurde im April 2003 auf Initiative von Rupert Neudeck und Aiman Mazyek mit der Idee gegründet, ein „Peace Corps“ aufzustellen, wie es der US-Präsident John F. Kennedy bereits in den 1960er Jahren initiieren wollte. Vorsitzender ist der bekannte Flüchtlingshelfer Rupert Neudeck. Anfang 2010 trat auch Peter Scholl-Latour dem Kuratorium bei und fungiert als Berater. Politisch neutral, sowie nationalitäts- und religionsübergreifend setzen sich die Grünhelme besonders für den Bau und Wiederaufbau von sozialen, ökologischen, kulturellen und religiösen Einrichtungen in ehemaligen Kriegs- und Krisengebieten ein. Betont wird dabei die Begegnung, der christlich-islamische Dialog und die Zusammenarbeit von Christen und Muslimen. Read More: > HERE<
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, commonly known as Afghanistan, is a landlocked and mountainous country in south-central Asia.It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east,[note] Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The territories now comprising Afghanistan have been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BCE. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Read More: > HERE <
The Titus Dittmann Foundation – For more than 30 years now, for us everything revolves around skateboarding. From the beginning we recognized the enormous power of the skateboard. Skateboarding knows no frontiers and wars, colour of skin or hate, rich or poor: Skateboarding unites and promotes a sense of identity and purpose especially in the development of young people. From early days we have promoted national and international skateboard-projects. In 2008, when we supported an initiative in Kabul I came to realize once more how ideally instrumental skateboarding is in overcoming differences in areas of conflict. After my first visit to Afghanistan, it was clear to me: I need to stay with it to achieve even more.
In January 2010 I established the Titus Dittmann Foundation. With the skate-aid initiative we utilize the power of skateboarding and our entire potential to bring hope on four wheels to young people, whether in Afghanistan, Africa or with the continuing work in Germany. Please help us, we rely on your support to achieve our aim and bring a share of happiness and security to children who have been deprived of their childhood. I thank you for your interest and hope you can help to promote this project with any contribution you can make. Sincerely Yours, Titus Dittmann
Help Across the board, the means to an end: * Fundraising for the individual projects* Collecting skateboards and gear for free distribution to the various initiatives* Gathering and utilizing know-how, manpower and contacts to the skateboard, media and business world* Public relations, lobbying and information services
With skate-aid, under the umbrella of the Titus Dittmann Foundation, we support humanitarian aid projects for children and young people worldwide through skateboarding to promote a sense of identity and purpose.
The supported projects:* Grünhelme* Sentinel Boardriders* Skateistan* Society Of Skating* CV-Afrika-Hilfe e.V.* Skaters Palace* Hai Duong Kinderheim* Don Bosco* MylifE
http://www.youtube.com/user/skateaidorg , www.chomsky.info
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher,cognitive scientist, and political activist. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics, and a major figure of analytic philosophy. Read More: > HERE <
The organization GRUENHELME e.V. (GREEN HELMETS) was founded in Germany in April 2003. The association is working as a humanitarian agency and consists of nine members. The executive Committee consists of Dr. Rupert Neudeck as chairman (Neudeck was founder of the NGO Cap Anamur), Aiman Mazyek (spokesman of the Central Committee of Mulims) and Josef Grundner (a logistician and specialist in houses and school construction who worked several in Kosovo and Afghanistan on humanitarian base).
The association is supported by several well-known personalities in Germany, such as Wolfgang Thierse – President of the German Parliament, Prof. Amin Farhang – Minister for Reconstruction in Afghanistan, Dr. Norbert Bluem – former Minister of Labor, Hans-Juergen Wischnewski – ex-Minister of State, Prof. Barbara John – Responsible for Affairs of Foreigners in Berlin, Marieluise Beck – Parliamentary Secretary of State.
The dialogue between different religions and cultures is not new. There is no lack of conferences, summit meetings, papers and good intentions. But what is missing is the aim to transfer these intentions into real actions. Our main interest is the reconstruction of villages, schools and ambulances in destroyed regions. We always collaborate with the local population. We want to revive John F. Kennedys idea of a Peace Corps and we aim to unite young christian and muslim Germans as well as other people with the same understanding and the intention to work together and create something.
Current projects Irak: In the slums of Bagdad (Shishan), a school was built for 2,100 children. The inauguration of the schools took place on September 30th 2003; children and teachers had been waiting impatiently for that moment. Northern Irak: Since October 15th 2003, a team has been at Zurnaj in the district of Makhmoor south of Erbil. 60 houses, once destroyed under the regime of Saddam Hussein, are now reconstructed. Two schools are being built, one for the Kurdish and one for the Arab population. During the current crisis, the projekt had to be interrupted for two weeks.
Afghanistan: In Totechi (engl. “the flutist”), a village of 369 families, two schools for boys and girls were built. At the same time, the 750 pupils undertook to plant one tree respectively as a sign against erosion. On March 5th 2004, the first stone for the next school in Talab was set, with the governor of Herat Ismael Khan and the German consul Dr. Axel Weishaupt present. In Sang Kutal a school for 750 pupils is being constructed, in Siad Kamarak a school for 800 pupils. Besides, in Totechi, a workshop for joiners has been established, the next workshop will be set up in Qarabagh; young craftsmen are trained here. A gynaecologal ward is planned. One school for up to 1000 pupils costs about 45,000 Euro. We are searching for staff who are able to work in practice and who are willing to radically invest three months of their lifetime. We are not looking for dreamers, each staff member has to be psychologically and physically stable and must be able to bear the challenges of the work! The commitment does not involve any expenses, but there is no working contract or salary either. The association only pays for the flight, acommodation and catering in the project (no single rooms), insurance and a monthly pocket-money of 100 Euro. At the moment, eight staff from Germany are working in the projects together with numerous local people.
Our bank account no is 20 00 008 at Deutsche Bank München, bank code: 700 700 24 All donators that indicate their full address get a receipt.
(mehr …)
New York College & World Found. of TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM, includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the Western world. TCM practices include such treatments as Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, dietary therapy, and both Tui na and Shiatsu massage. Qigong and Taijiquan are also closely associated with TCM.
Much of the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine derives from the same philosophy that informs Taoist and Buddhist thought, and reflects the classical Chinese belief that the life and activity of individual human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment on all levels. Read More: > HERE <
New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NYCTCM) by Dr. Chi Chow was started in 1996. Dr. Chow felt that the New York City area had need for a school which taught Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) much as it is taught in China, and which at the same time could help students relate this approach to Western medical practice. Her vision included small classes, master-apprentice type teaching relationships in clinic, and the flexibility to accommodate students’ schedules by offering classes mostly on weekends. From its first trimester in Spring of 1996, NYCTCM has embodied this approach.
The mission of the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to prepare compassionate practitioners who are solidly grounded in the tradition of Chinese medicine, who are able to integrate this tradition within the Western health care system, and who have a spirit of innovation that enables them to adapt a 4000-year-old medicine to 21st-century needs.
NYCTCM Core Values: COMPASSION – In addition to knowledge of TCM theory and mastery of techniques necessary to apply that theory, NYCTCM graduates will bring the emotional qualities of empathy, respect and compassion to all their treatment sessions. TRADITION – NYCTCM graduates will have a thorough understanding of and deep respect for traditional Chinese principles of treatment, including their cultural and philosophical context. INTEGRATION – NYCTCM graduates will have a fundamental understanding of the Western medical approach, and will be able to integrate their practice of TCM within the Western health care system. INNOVATION – NYCTCM graduates will have a spirit of innovation that enables them to adapt a 4000-year-old medicine to 21st-century needs.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and health-care practitioners about classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and natural self-healing. Through our educational programs, publications, and practitioner resources, we hope to advance the practice and integration of authentic traditional Chinese medicine in Western society.
The TCM World Foundation’s objectives include:* To serve as a source of information on the philosophy, principles, theories, modalities, and practice of authentic TCM and the classical Chinese internal martial arts, such as Qigong and Taiji.* To support the practice of authentic TCM to widen health-care options for the public.* To support an expanded concept of health and healing in contemporary medicine.* To educate individuals on the steps they can take in prevention and self-healing.* To foster a dialogue between Western and Eastern medical schools and communities in the US to improve the quality of training for practitioners of TCM.* To facilitate forums for interdisciplinary collaborations.* To foster balance and harmony in the individual, the community, society, and the world as a whole.
The Foundation’s educational efforts focus on the full system of TCM, which includes: herbal therapy, acupuncture, acupressure, internal martial arts, the prescription of foods for healing, and Chinese psychology. The educational components of the Foundation are geared toward the general public and health-care professionals as well as organizations from both the mainstream and complementary and alternative medicine communities.
Nan Lu, OMD, LAc, is the founding director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation and its sister organization, the Tao of Healing. Dr. Lu holds a doctorate from Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medcine, Hubei, China, and is a New York State-licensed acupuncturist. Classically and university-trained, Dr. Lu is a master herbalist as well as an internationally recognized Taiji expert and Qigong master and the best-selling author of three TCM books published by Harper Collins.
His continuing educational efforts also include the following web sites: www.tcmworld.org, www.tcmconference.org, www.breastcancer.com. http://www.youtube.com/user/masternanlu
Possessing a gift of cross-cultural communication, Dr. Lu lectures internationally and frequently partners with doctors of Western medicine using a preventive and complementary approach. His specialties include women’s health, cancer and immune system disorders and stress management.
Build Hope – Sivananda Sevashram
SERVE, LOVE, GIVE, PURIFY, MEDITATE, REALISE. So Says Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj
Swami Sivananda Saraswati (September 8, 1887—July 14, 1963) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a well known proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism. He lived most of the later part of his life near Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh. He is the founder of The Divine Life Society (1936), Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy (1948) and author of over 200 books on yoga, vedanta and a variety of other subjects. He established Sivananda Ashram, the location of the headquarters of The Divine Life Society (DLS), on the bank of the Ganges at Shivanandanagar, at a distance of 3 kilometres from Rishikesh.
Sivananda Yoga, the yoga form propagated by him, are now spread in many parts of the world through Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, but these centres are not affiliated with Swami Sivananda’s original ashrams which are run by the Divine Life Society. Read More: > HERE <
His Holiness Swami Sivananda was born in Pathamadai in Thirunelveli district, South India. Ever since his childhood, His Holiness was totally devoted to serving others. He worked very hard and graduated in Medicine. As a doctor he earned money but could not obtain peace of mind. He realized that earning a lot of money does not mean earning peace and happiness. Instead, spiritualism alone can help one attain MUKTHI or MOKSHA. His mind was in search of peace and was in a quest for the ultimate purpose of being born in this world. He felt that everyone must have a goal in life and one must lead one’s life with purpose and meaning.
Swami Sivananda proceeded to Rishikesh in North India, where he realized his goal while sitting on the banks of Ganges. He advocated non-violence, truth and worship. Many were impressed by his simplicity and teachings. He gathered a lot of followers and in due course, a mission was started in a small hut which today proudly stands as SWAMI SIVANANDA SARASWATHI SEVASHRAM at Rishikesh. His teachings were simple and he saw God as Omnipotent. He advocated the principle that „ONE CAN FIND GOD IN HIS/HER OWN HEART BY BEING HONEST AND LEADING A SIMPLE LIFE“. He believed the teachings of the Quran, Bhagavath Gita and Bible to be the same. He also believed that there was no need for one to go in search of God, as one can find God in their own hearts by not being selfish, but by making sacrifices for others. Many devotees all around the world were fascinated by his teachings and started several missions in Yoga, Siddha and other spiritual awakenings.The late founders of Sivananda Ashram, Sri S. V. Iyer and Dr. V. Mangalam, started this organization after being enlightened by Swamiji that the only real happiness a human being could find was by serving others.
We hope Swamiji’s teachings inspire and motivate all of us to do what we can to help others lead a better life.
Shri. S. V. Iyer and Dr. V. Mangalam, an elderly couple, started Sivananda Saraswathi Sevashram in 1945 with just 3 kids and with the blessings of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. More popularly known as „Sivananda Ashram/Orphanage/Gurukulam“, the organization has grown to be a very well known and well recognized social institution in the country today.
We are a „National Awardee“ institution recognized by the Government of India in 1983.
Sivananda Saraswathi Sevashram is a non-profit organization with the primary objective of protecting orphans, destitute women, the physically handicapped, AIDS-affected children, and the elderly.
With the experience of more than 60 years of recorded services to thousands of poor orphans, Sivananda Orphanage effectively helps transform/grow these orphans to productive citizens. We not only provide food, education and shelter, but also instill character and morals to help them grow, learn and eventually become independent.
Many, including former Prime Minister of India, Shri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru have visited our ashram and witnessed our committed work. We currently look after 300 children and 80 elderly, all of whom are accepted and cared for with love and affection.
