The Entry Form Circa 2009

Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities ENTRY FORM

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Enter Your Blueprint for Change!

This is your opportunity to share your innovation. Here are some tips for success:  Read the guidelines and criteria before sharing your innovation; this will help you to define your ideas and work.  Be as detailed as possible in explaining your innovation.  If your innovation is in an idea or pilot stage, please be especially clear on the potential impact and proposed model.  Add videos and documents to your blueprint at the bottom of the page. Bring your story to life!  Invite your network to provide feedback on your blueprint and then revise and refine your blueprint with the feedback you receive.  Remember that the Changemakers' unique open source format makes your blueprint viewable online by the entire community and public.  The sooner you share your innovation the more exposure and insight you gain through the community!

Stay in contact with us to tell us about your experience.

1. Name your project. (250 characters or less) CULTIVATION AND CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL /HERBAL PLANTS FOR TREATMENT AND NUTRITION 2. Country your work focuses on: (20 characters or less) KENYA 3. Website URL 4. YouTube Upload  Place your video embed code here from YouTube, Google Video and other video sharing websites. 5. What stage is your project in? Operating for less than one year  Idea phase  Operating for less than a year  Operating for 1-5 years  Operating for more than 5 years 6. What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars? <$50

 <$10  <$50  <$100  >$100 7. Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words. (300 characters or less) Create a forum of local herbalists, farmers, conservationists, researchers from Jomo Kenyatta University and herbal-pharmaceuticals to share, document and utilize knowledge on herbal/nutritional plants. With the acquired knowledge, farmers will establish medicinal / herbal plants’ sanctuaries in their farms and community established farms.

8. What makes your idea unique? (1500 characters or less) The is a first in attempting to bring together 4 distinct groups of persons with very varied educational and cultural experiences, all who rely on herbal plants to treat human and livestock ailments and supplement nutritional requirements of both. The groups have practiced this art since time immemorial; each has their own clients and value system. They all derive their income and livelihoods from the herbal plants. This idea attempts to conserve these plants threatened with imminent extinction. Our shared documentaries will contain both the treatment therapies and propagation skills. The created sanctuaries (portions within farm lands wholly dedicated to growing all the medicinal plants found within that particular community) will be both harvest fields for ripe materials as well as sources of propagation materials.

9. What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)  Children & Youth  At risk youth  Behavioral issues  Boys' development  Child care  Child exploitation  Child labor  Child protection  Child soldiers  Early childhood development  Education  Education reform  Girls' development  Mentorship  Play  Youth development  Youth leadership  Development & Prosperity  Adult education  Architecture  Business  Communications  Community development  Conscious consumerism  Consumer protection  Corporate social responsibility  Design  Economic development  Employment  Energy  Fair trade  Financial services and markets  Food security  Fundraising  Globalization  Housing  Hunger  Income generation  Information technology  Infrastructure  Labor  Marketing  Mentorship  Microfinance  Networking  Philanthropy  Poverty alleviation  Rural development  Scholarships and grants  Social Enterprise  Sustainable development  Technology  Trade  Transportation  Travel and tourism  Urban development  Environment & Sustainability  Animal rights  Biodiversity  Climate change  Conservation  Energy conservation  Environmental justice  Green business  Green consumerism  Pollution  Population  Renewable energy  Rural  Sustainable agriculture  Sustainable design  Urban  Waste and recycling  Water  Wildlife conservation  Health & Fitness  Aging  Disability  Food  Health care  Health education  HIV/AIDS  Infant mortality  Mental health  Recreation  Reproductive and maternal health  Sanitation  Sexuality  Sports  Substance abuse  Wellness  Human Rights & Peace  Abuse and violence  Child exploitation  Civil rights  Conflict resolution  Crime prevention  Criminal justice  Disability rights  Food security  Gay and lesbian issues  Gender equity  Human trafficking  Hunger  Indigenous cultures  Intercultural relations  Land rights  Mediation  Men's issues  Migration  Racial equality  Security  Terrorism  Tolerance  Vulnerable populations  Women's issues  Public Participation & Engagement  Arts and culture  Citizen participation  Citizen sector  Corruption  Cultural preservation  Democracy and voting  Disaster relief and crisis management  Ethics  Intergenerational relations  Journalism  Law  Media  Men's Issues  Mentoring  Public policy  Social work  Spirituality  Sports  Transparency  Volunteerism  Women's Issues  Youth leadership

10. What impact have you had? (1500 characters or less) To date 50 local farmers, 20 herbalists, 2 scientists and 2 herbal plant conservationists have been identified and the idea shared with them. A quarter of these farmers have started setting up sanctuaries with different types of herbal plants. The conservationists are in the process of identifying the plants most endowed with medicinal value. The herbalists and the scientist are agreeing to a larger extent with each other and a scientific verification of what the herbalists have practiced over time is scheduled. Emerging herbal-pharmaceuticals are in the process of contracting local farmers to grow such plants for their manufacturing plants. A high level of awareness has been created among the farmers who are now selectively clearing non-beneficial plants in favor of the herbal/medicinal plants. Meanwhile, the local farmers are anticipating the way forward from the initiators of the herbal/medicinal/nutritional plants’ initiative; this idea is meant to take this process forward.

11. Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing. (900 characters or less) My organization is addressing the imminent extinction of medicinal/herbal plants from various localities. The increasing awareness that herbal plants are a cheaper and possibly more effective forms of treatment as compared to orthodox medicine has led to very stiff completion for the herbal/medicinal plants by both traditional practitioners and pharmaceutical companies. Some of the plants are up to 50-100 years old and their destruction without replacement and/or replenishment is likely to be disastrous. Therefore, controlled harvesting of such plants or their parts thereof, as practiced by traditional medicine practitioners is called for.

12. Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful. (900 characters or less) a) Identify more farmers, herbalists, conservationists and scientists and recruit them into the program b) Strengthening and streamlining sharing forums for farmers, herbalists, conservationists and scientists c) Scale up and intensify the establishment of individual farmers and community sanctuaries d) Champion formation of an umbrella organization for herbal sanctuary owners to minimize exploitation by middlemen and increase their collective bargaining power e) Establishing links between the herbal sanctuary owners to the already existing market

13. What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years?

Success in Year 1: (600 characters or less) Aggressive recruitment and marketing of the sanctuary owners and their associations to as many stakeholders as possible. Wide and free sharing of the indigenous and acquired knowledge and the farmers valued herbal plants as much as they value the other traditional crops. Other institutions buying into and seeing the value of this idea will be approached to provide technical, extension and financial support.

Success in Year 2: (600 characters or less) The scientist will verify through scientific research the various herbal therapies which the herbalist has administered for a long time.

Success in Year 3: (600 characters or less) The herbal plant conservation idea and or philosophy will be disseminated for adoption by most farmers in the locality. Through proper documentation, herbal pharmaceuticals will be interested to contract farmers to grow certain herbs in their farms at a fee, thereby improving their economic empowerment and security.

14. Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (100 characters or less) YES

15. What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?  Step 1: (600 characters or less) a) Sharing the herbal plant sanctuary idea to donor institutions to give financial support b) Strong community support to facilitate preservation of medicinal plants found in their farms by the herbal plant sanctuary owners.

 Step 2: (600 characters or less) Accurate documentation and research to ensure authentic content, information that is worth of academic and business uptake

 Step 3: (600 characters or less) Adoption of the documented information by herbal pharmaceuticals, who shall in turn contract farmers to grow the herbal plants for a pay .The moment the local farmers realize economic returns from their conservation work, this will motivate them thereby making the idea self-propagating.

16. Describe the expected results of these actions. (900 characters or less) The first priority of these actions is to conserve medicinal plants which have forested and sustained human life but are facing extinction. Aggressive awareness to the community at large will be conducted to highlight the value of these herbal/medicinal and nutritional plants, which constitutes most significant aspect in the entire process. Since the farmers clear bushes in order to make a livelihood, these plants will have to be value-added to provide a livelihood to the farmer and the herbalist. Manufacturers will desist from the tendency of harnessing such raw materials from natural forests in an ad hoc manner and instead adopt an organized and sustainable way of liaising with the farmers to enable them obtain the raw materials.

17. What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation? (1500 characters or less) A doctor friend has a lot of interest in medicinal/herbal and nutritional plants. Within his small compound in Nairobi city he has developed a model sanctuary of the idea expressed in this write up. Three years ago, I worked with a friend on a project supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. Due to lack of funds the strongest and the only available therapy we could recommend was in medicinal/nutritional plants. The recovery rate for our clients was more than 98%.

I have four cases of men who died at age 90 and above and never visited any hospital nor relied on modern medicine. Of the four, one is my father. These factors left a lasting mark in my life. It downed on me that preservation of these life-giving plants could mean saving millions of lives now and in future.

18. Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea. (1500 characters or less) The social innovator (Herman Katutu) lives and works with local farmers in Mwingi District in the Eastern Province of Kenya. He has worked with civil society organizations in the said region for the last 12 years before resigning to concentrate on his drive in seeking the ultimate solution to rural poor communities through technology transfer. (A good number of civil societies are unknowingly creating and promoting poverty instead of alleviating it). He has initiated three other institutions addressing various segments of development. Right now the innovator is involved in the coordination and establishment of these herbal plants sanctuaries, promotion and ordinary cultivation of drought-resistant crops and conservation which is at its initial stages.

19. How did you first hear about Changemakers? (250 characters or less) Through a newspaper advert

20. What would prevent your project from being a success? (1500 characters or less) Failure to own the project by the community support and financial inadequacy

21. Is your initiative connected to an established organization? (yes/no)  If yes, provide organization name. (250 characters or less) INUKA COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

22. How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years) (250 characters or less) Less than one year

23. Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board? (100 characters or less) YES

24. Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no) (4 characters or less) YES 25. Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no) (4 characters or less) YES 26. Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no) (4 characters or less) YES 27. Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation. (900 characters or less) The implementation of this project relies heavily on different institutions and disciplines. Government institution such as the provincial administration have come up strongly to rally community support behind this idea. The Ministry of Agriculture has to bring in the aspect of plant propagation skills. Jomo Kenyatta University will aid in leading the scientific research and through them ensure accurate documentations – and has so far given a number of talks to local farmers and neighboring communities. Private pharmaceutical companies will bring in the critical element of purchasing their raw materials from the mature sanctuaries and in so doing encourage the farmers to grow more medicinal plants.

28. How many people will your project serve annually? 100-1000  Fewer than 100  100-1000  1001-10,000  More than 10,000 29. What is your organization's business classification? Non-profit/NGO/citizen sector organization

 Non-profit/NGO/citizen sector organization  For-profit  Government  Not registered

30. What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization? (50 characters or less) Four (4)

31. Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.) NO  African Development Bank  Ashoka  Asian Development Bank  AusAID (Australia)  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation  Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation  Caribbean Development Bank  CASE Social Entrepreneurship Awards  CIDA (Canada)  DFID (United Kingdom)  Draper Richards Foundation  Echoing Green  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  European Union (Any EU Government)  Fast Company Social Capitalist Award  Ford Foundation  Fulbright Fellowship  Garfield Weston Foundation  Global Fund for Women  Goldman Environmental Prize  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation  Hewlett Foundation  Howard Hughes Medical Institute  Inter-American Bank  Inter-American Development Bank  Islamic Development Bank  J. Paul Getty Trust  Kellogg Foundation  Kresge Foundation  Li Ka Shing Foundation  Lilly Endowment  MacArthur Foundation/Grant  Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Award  Mellon Foundation  Nobel Prize  Packard Foundation  Pew Charitable Trusts  Robert Bosch Foundation  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  Rockefeller Foundation  Schwab Foundation  Skoll Foundation  Starr Foundation  Tech Awards  TED  United Nations (UN)  United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)  United Nations Development Progam (UNDP)  USAID (United States)  Wallenberg Foundation  Wellcome Trust  World Bank  World Food Programme (WFP)  World Health Organization (WHO)  World Wildlife Fund (WWF)  None of the above 32. CONFIDENTIAL: Current annual budget, in US dollars: (50 characters or less) $10,001-50,000 33.  Less than $1,000  $1,000-$10,000  $10,001-50,000  $50,001-100,000  $100,000-250,000  $250,001-500,000  $500,001-1 million  More than $1 million

Contact Information Title (e.g. Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.): MR. First name: Hermann Last name: Katutu Your job title: Program Development Officer Name of your organization: INUKA COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM Organization type (e.g. NGO, business, government program, academic program, individual, other – please specify) Annual budget/currency (this will not be published/made public): $ 80,000 Mailing address: C/o Masyuki Daniel, Box 10498 (00100), Nairobi. Kenya. Telephone number: +254-734-699-416 Fax number: Country: [email protected] Alternative email address:

References (References may be contacted for finalists only) Reference #1 name and title: Mr. Daniel Masyuki Reference #1 contact information: [email protected]; Tel: +254-722-673-643, +254-732- 673-643 Reference #2 name and title: DR. MISRA NYONGESA Reference #2 contact information:

Location (This will be the address used to plot your entry on the map.) Project Street Address: Project City: KITHYOKO Project Province/State: EASTERN Project Postal Code/Zip Code: 90144 Project Country: KENYA

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By entering this competition I affirm that all information presented herein is truthful and accurate to the best of my knowledge, and that I have read and accepted the terms and conditions stated in the Competition Guidelines. I acknowledge that Ashoka reserves the right to request a financial statement, conduct a due diligence or contact external references to verify information provided by the finalists. I also agree to participate in Changemakers online discussion by answering relevant questions aimed to clarify aspects of my project. By submitting my entry and supporting materials, I agree to give permission to Changemakers and Ashoka to use my name, photograph, and entry content in Changemakers and Ashoka material--at their sole discretion--in conjunction with media, outreach, and marketing Changemakers Collaborative Competitions and open sourcing social solutions™. Changemakers may retain my material for archival purposes. My competition entry is my guarantee that I or the organizations I am representing in the current competition are the author and copyright holder of the material. When I submit a photograph, document, or text for display on the Changemakers website, I agree that I will not receive monetary compensation for its use by Changemakers, and I accept that it may be necessary to resize my photo or adjust certain elements of the photo such as brightness, contrast, etc, for clarity and layout. Print and digital photos will not be returned.