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The Gift that Keeps Giving

Posted on June 24, 2008 by Kaitlin Bruno
Topics: Agriculture, Climate and Environment, Economic Development, Food, Humanitarian Aid
Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/swissfrog/632096066/">Swiss.frog's photostream (flickr)</a>
Photo: Swiss.frog's photostream (flickr)

Working Villages International (WVI) is an NGO with a unique take on how to eliminate poverty in Africa. Their new initiative, Village Reliance, aims to combat poverty directly, rather than dealing only with its effects. They want to give people the skills and tools to take control of their own lives and bring themselves out of poverty.

The goal of this program is to build a village that will be environmentally and economically self-sustainable for people living in the Ruzizi Valley of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They are building from scratch a model village which will have full employment, private ownership of small farms and businesses, zero carbon footprint and total 100 percent recycling. This project is a practical demonstration that it’s possible to profoundly increase living standards in rural Africa without hampering local culture and ingenuity.

In the future, WVI hopes to spread these villages across the DRC and the entire continent.

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Keywords: Sustainable Development, eradicating poverty, community, Africa

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