Project Title: PROmoting Local INNOVAtion in ecologically oriented agriculture and natural resource management

Goal : To develop and institutionalize partnerships and methodologies that promote processes of local innovation in environmentally sound use of natural resources, particularly in dry and marginal areas.

Objectives :

• Document local innovations and experiments by resource-poor farmers and communities;
• Srengthen partnerships between farmers, development agents, research scientists and other actors to refine local innovations and to encourage others to try them out;
• Increase awareness and skills in participatory innovation development (PID) through a variety of learning mechanisms;
• Develop and expand mechanisms that give farmers more influence over formal research, extension and education;
• Integrate local innovation and PID approaches into formal agricultural research, development and education institutions;
• Povide fund through Local Innovation Support Fund (LISF) to innovator farmers for joint experimentation.

Major Activities:

• Documentation and database preparation.
• Formation of Local Innovator Groups.
• Provide Funds through LISF for joint experimentation.
• Thesis support to IAAS students on local innovation research.
• Capacity building: orientation and training programmes, farmers' exchange visit to innovators.
• Conceptual development in involving women in gender and other social issues (in documentation and PID).
• National Working Group (NWG) meeting for review & sharing.
• Integration of PROLINNOVA into academic institution (IAAS).
• Video documentary preparation (Nepali & English).
• Innovation Fair peparation.

Funding Agencies :  Directorate General for International Co-operation (DGIS), Netherlands (ETC Netherlands) .

Collaborators: District Agriculture Development Office Mustang, Ecological Services Centre (ECOSCENTRE), Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Practical Action Nepal, TUKI Sunkoshi.

Geographical Location : Chitwan, Kaski, Mustang, Tanahun, Jumla, Rupandehi, Gulmi, Ilam and other project sites of LI-BIRD and partner organizations.

Duration :   January 2007 to  December 2010 (2nd Phase).

Project Team : Puspa Raj Tiwari, Anuja Shrestha.