Discover our 2023

In the high-mountain region of Ladakh (India), perched at an average altitude of 4500m, it is very difficult for children to have access to quality education. This is what the Siddhartha School offers them, while preserving Ladakh’s unique tradition and culture, and raising awareness of the issues surrounding the region’s growing tourism, development and future.

Touched by the success of this school, its history and the atmosphere it exudes, FdnF financed a school bus for these children 18 years ago. Today, it is no longer authorized to operate.

In view of the growing number of pupils, coming from increasingly remote villages, FdnF is financing a replacement bus to enable these children to continue to reach the Siddhartha school in complete safety.

Sawed is already eleven years in the making and more than half a million Swiss francs spent on developing an alternative offer for farmers, gradually freeing them from the cruel constraints of the global market in non-fertile seeds. Acquiring land, selecting suitable seeds, developing plantations, harvesting seeds and storing them – these were the objectives of the first two phases of this project, in which FdnF believed from the outset. Today, the available stocks allow us to enter the pre-commercialization phase, i.e. the conditioning of seeds with a view to marketing. Our special thanks go to the Fédération genevoise de coopération, without whom this project would not have reached this stage of development, and we look forward to further developments in 2023, thanks also to private institutional donations.

Since December 2022, FdnF has been supporting a new ecological project in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

Schoolchildren collect plastic waste found on the ground – and there’s no shortage of it: over 4 tonnes have already been collected by 9,500 schoolchildren in six months! A shredding machine then presses and heats this waste until it is transformed into plastic panels, enabling the creation of furniture. In exchange for their support, the schoolchildren receive the first pieces of furniture created, including desks and chairs. Once equipped, the school will be able to sell what it produces, in order to provide schooling for the most disadvantaged, for example, or to subsidize the canteen.

Would you like to see how it looks in pictures? https://youtu.be/ZyL9sUiT5BM

How can forests be planted in areas inhabited by peasant populations who are often starving and in need of wood? This complex dilemma in sustainable development may well find an answer in the so-called edible or nourishing forest. In fact, this forest is divided into several levels, each with its own role. The lower levels are home to market garden plantations, while the higher levels are made up of primary tree crowns. In the middle strata, fruit trees and various bushes are planted, helping to reintroduce local biodiversity. Unlike traditional reforestation, local populations benefit from the fruit and vegetable harvests, and are therefore more inclined to respect the non-edible part of the forest. Convinced by the success of two pilot edible forests tested in Haiti with our partner OJUCAH, Fdnf is committed to the real launch phase in 2023.

We all have books lying dormant on our shelves. Some we’ve loved, perhaps read several times, others we haven’t even opened or finished.

Some say they can change lives. Could they? In any case, they open up horizons and facilitate access to education and culture.

On the initiative of an energetic young Togolese lawyer, FdnF collected almost a hundred kilos of books from people working/volunteering with FdnF for young people aged 12 to 20.

These books were shipped to Togo for a new lease of life, much to the delight of the students at Lycée Avedji in Lomé, who now have their own library! We like to think that our books are in their hands!