BIND's experiences with the promotion of organic agriculture played a major role in convincing the island's provincial governments as Asia's organic food island.
The fairly traded green products of BIND-assisted communities "invades" mainstream marketing outlets like the Glorietta mall trade exhibit in Metro-Manila.
Bacolod City's local government engaged BIND to replicate its successes in rural organic agriculture, to vacant lots for the food security of its urban poor.
The year 2005 saw new food security expansion areas while mature BIND-assisted communities moved on from subsistence to diversified green production systems of processed food to handicrafts and integrate them toward the market economy.
BIND food security programs have expanded multi-stakeholder participation, with various agencies and institutions providing the communities with technical, policy environments and additional network to enhance and strengthen sustainable development work at the rural community level. It has forged formal tie-ups with various civil society organizations, government line agencies or government-owned corporations.
From organic agriculture to self—governance to value-adding small community-based enterprises, women and men took part in conservation and community scientific researches, accessed credit, in healing themselves and others with natural and proven medicinal and herbal plants, sharing seeds and technology with other farmers, in engaging government agencies to obtain tenurial security and access government services and resources, in fair trade principles advocacy — all toward the attainment of food security and revitalized rural local economies.
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Dr 1 Adela Arcade, Don Vicente Bldg., Locsin St.,
Bacolod City 6100, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Telefax 6334) 433 8315; Telephone: (6334) 432 1510
E-mail: bindbcd@globelines.com.ph
URL: www.bindnegros.org
