Terrain V01 - Journal - Page 45
Sterling College | 43
Gross National Happiness
Centre Bhutan
Chokortse, Bhutan
The Maati-Paani-Asha
Center
Umarkhed, India
The Gross National Happiness Centre
Bhutan (GNHCB) is a non-profit civil society organization under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Ashi
Kezang Choden Wangchuck. The GNHCB was established to carry forward
the vision and philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as introduced
by His Majesty the Fourth King Jigme
Singye Wangchuck in the early 1970s.
GNH draws inspiration from a “middle
path” of sustaining a balanced development that recognizes both the tangible and intangible aspects of wellbeing.
GNH is not opposed to material and economic progress; rather, it rejects the
notion of pursuing economic growth as
the only end-goal. GNHCB is using its
$25,000 EcoGather subgrant to build organic mushroom farming infrastructure
and curriculum and may also experiment
with small-scale, closed loop hydro and
aquaponic demonstration facilities.
The Maati-Paani-Asha Center (MPA
Center) is focused on breaking the vicious, interconnected, and reinforcing
cycles of climate change, environmental depletion, and poverty and establish
cycles of regeneration, self-sufficiency,
food security, and hope (irrespective of
gender, economic status or caste). The
MPA Center is a project of the Student
Education and Support Association
(SESA) which supports access to education as a way to combat rural poverty. Operating alongside the MPA Center
and SESA is Gopikabai Sitaram Gawande
Mahavidyalaya (GSG), a nationally accredited college offering education to
help address the region’s high levels of
poverty, hunger, illiteracy and morbidity.
Together and through EcoGather, we will
be working on farming training and transition initiatives, indigenous knowledge
collection, and development of a model
educational farm.
Photo: Compliments of GNHC of Bhutan
Photo: Lauren Dunteman, Compliments of the MPA Center
The Center for an
Agricultural Economy
Vermont, USA
The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) is a non-profit organization
based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom that envisions a future with thriving landscapes, healthy local food, and
vital, equitable communities. To this
end, CAE supports the development of
place-based agricultural economies and
communities and a healthy, regenerative regional food system by promoting
local foods and the people who produce
them. Through education, outreach, infrastructure, and technical services, the
CAE uses partnership and collaboration
to achieve a food system that can support working lands and working people.
Together, CAE and EcoGather will create
courses in Supply Chain Development
& Institutional Markets, Innovative Financing for Farm and Food Businesses,
and Food Safety.
Photo: Elizabeth Rossano, Compliments of CAE