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NEF has a staff of forty based in a principal office in Douentza, Mali. NEF works in the Fifth Region of Mali including the circle (district) of Mopti.
1) Combating Climate Change: NEF has worked for the past two years in the Tarabe-Korombana region of the Niger River's inland delta to assist 46 villages with approximately 50,000 inhabitants cope with changes in rainfall, temperature and river flow. These changes make customary farming practices untenable and threaten basic livelihood.
- NEF introduced vegetable gardening to women in 13 villages, by starting with literacy classes and providing manuals for gardening. Dozens of women who never farmed before started growing new crops and gained income and extra sources of nutrition.
- NEF collaborated with farmers in 15 villages to devise and develop irrigated rice cultivation that replaced flood planting which no longer is reliable.
- NEF led communities to restore the Nyanga marsh, with its rice cultivation and wildlife, and the Jamadwa Lake, with its fish and grasses for livestock feed.
- NEF organized replanting of palm groves and introduced eucalyptus plantations in order to limit desertification and provide sustainable wood fuel supplies.
NEF's project is supported by Oxfam/Novib, a Dutch foundation, which recently extended the project for three years with a budget of $900,000.
2) Women's Microfinance: NEF began providing microfinance to women in the Mopti region in 1992 and now has lent more than $5.3 million to more than 25,000 women. In 1998, NEF created Nayral NEF, a women-owned association, to assume ownership of this activity which also includes money transfers and deposits. Dutch, US, Malian and international governmental and private organizations have supported NEF in developing the association and its business.
3) Niger River Basin: NEF is designing a project, in partnership with the International Institute of Environment and Development, to confront the decline of the quantity and quality of the Niger River as it passes through four West African countries: Guinea, Mali, Niger and Benin. More than 4 million people depend directly on the 4,200 mile-long river, even as they mis- and over-use it. The project will identify and train 9,000 people to lead their largely rural and subsistence-based communities in appropriate use and protection of this water resource.
NEF's History in Mali: NEF signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Mali in 1984 and began working in the Douentza district of the Mopti region which just had suffered a severe drought. NEF's initial efforts focused on emergency food aid and reconstitution of cattle herds. NEF in 2007 concluded a five-year natural resource management project, funded by the Dutch Embassy that instituted good forestry practices and water conservation. The Government of Mali in 2005 appointed NEF for two years to develop commune support centers in the Mopti region as part of its decentralization program.
Latest Reports From the Field:
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Reports From the Field ; Mali - Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Here's How NEF-Mali Changed the Lives of 768,200 People
NEF (Near East Foundation) takes special pride in providing this overview of our work in poverty reduction and community organizing in one of the poorest regions of one of the poorest countries in the world. For the past 15 years, NEF-Mali has been spearheaded by our Country Director Yacouba Deme's exceptional leadership skills and extraordinary innovativeness.
A committed humanitarian and "can-do" individual, he has led a team of over 40 people in developing multi-faceted, grass-roots appro ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Mali - Wednesday, April 09, 2003
NEF President, Board Member Visit Foundation Program in Mali
NEF President Dr. Ryan LaHurd and Dr. Linda Jacobs, a member of NEF Board of Directors and its Executive Committee, accompanied by Dr. Carol LaHurd, traveled from New York to visit NEF/Mali projects recently.
NEF/Mali country director Yacouba Dème and his staff hosted the group and introduced them to NEF/Mali’s program with visits to the capital, Bamako, and to Douentza, Bore, Takouti, Bagui, Grimari, Sevare and Mopti. To gain a sense of context, the they also traveled to Timbuktu and Djenne ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Mali ; Morocco - Thursday, March 07, 2002
“Experience Makes The Difference” - NEF In Mali, Why It Makes Sense
Since the early 1990s, NEF has worked through its Walde Kelka and Tarabe Korombana programs to facilitate a revival of traditional forest management practices in northern Mali. NEF was among the earliest of organizations building community-based institutions as an antidote to the repression and historically poor performance of state natural resource agencies. Through a process of community organizing, legal education, and reintegration of traditional institutions and knowledge, these internatio ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Mali - Monday, January 01, 2001
Radio Daande Douentza/RDD - NEF Supports Solar Powered Radio In Mali
In July, 1993 NEF opened a locally controlled radio station in Mali (broadcasting initially in Peuhl, and later in Dogon and Bozo) to serve isolated and vulnerable populations. Radio Daande Douentza/RDD offers traditional music played by local musicians and interviews with local people. It's all part of a growing commitment to community education and economic social development. These are interspersed with short stories and features about local history and brief information pieces about improved ... (more) |
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