CONSERVATION THROUGH POVERTY ALLEVIATION INTERNATIONAL INC
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April 30, 2010
I am in awe of Cay Craig's commitment and what she has accomplished on such a tight budget. The overall concept is very well thought out and avoids many of the pitfalls that have bedevilled developing economy aid projects. She has much to teach others contemplating similar ventures.
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If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Have a huge impact on rural economic development in Madgascar while preserving and re-building native forest habitats.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 30, 2010
I have been contributing to the CPALI cause for about three years now, because it combines two vitally important goals: ecosystem preservation and reduction of poverty. Moreover, the organization works directly with silk farmers, without bureaucracy or overhead, to teach them the best practices. CPALI provides frequent and substantive updates about their ongoing projects, so that donors and volunteers stay connected with the organization. I work for a nonprofit fair trade organization, and am convinced that the only way to alleviate global poverty is, not through aid, but rather via organization such as CPALI which restore dignity and provide a means for people to earn a fair working wage.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
seeing the beautiful products made of silk.
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
dedicated, driven and sincere.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About once a year
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
April 30, 2010
I have the highest respect for the people at CPALI and their accomplishments. As a three-month volunteer, I witnessed a tireless work ethic, genuine desire to improve the lives of people around them and courage. I was in Madagascar at the early stages of CPALI's efforts. The challenges CPALI faced in establishing a novel wild cottage silk industry in such a remote place were daunting. Nothing was known about wild silk moths native to the area, rearing techniques needed to be developed, local people seemed to be resistant to change and knew nothing of silk production and the area in which they worked was remote even for the Malagasy staff. Supplies were difficult to locate, access to internet at the time was very limited and hurricanes were not uncommon. As a team, CPALI staff and director had the collective expertise, forethought and resilience necessary to tackle such challenges. Even though I was a temporary volunteer, CPALI staff respected my ideas and thoughts and made me feel like an integral part of the team. I saw them treat others similarly.
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
tireless, committed and genuine.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
One time
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2007
April 30, 2010
CPALI has recognized that the issues of environmental preservation and poverty alleviation are inextricably linked—to improve the habitat around subsistence farmers living near endangered habitats, the people need alternatives to traditional farming practices that could be accommodated by the pace of natural restoration, so long as population density was low. Starting from that premise, CPALI has invented, adapted and is now deploying technologies well suited to redress the ecological and economic conditions in Madagascar. It is a brave undertaking that has been pursued effectively by the whole CPALI organization, with important contributions from the beneficiaries who live near the Makira Protected area, the field team based in Maroantsetra, Madagascar, the design and commercialization team based in the US and scientific and commercial partners from around the world. Managing this far flung enterprise, in the face of the recent political unrest in Madagascar, has required diligent coordination, careful budgeting and skillful execution that is unusual in so young an organization.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Madagascar, where I watched the team come together and saw the tough conditions and in the US where I watched the marketing and product development steadily advance towards sustainability.
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
wholeheartedly supportive.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
expand to other, pan-tropical environs and include other social services along with its enterprise teachings.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
April 30, 2010
Cay Craig couples exceptionally broad knowledge of ecological systems with a very deep and genuine commitment to help the world’s poor. Her interests are not just theoretical: She has been working over a decade to get CPALI started on a shoestring, and to bring outstanding partners on board. She has demonstrated the power of this approach, which is a model for creating shared value; but she really can’t go further without an infusion of funds. Projects like this are just what are needed to tighten the feedback loops, and to provide the economic incentives that are lacking for indigenous peoples to conserve natural resources. The beneficiaries will be biodiversity, the world’s poor, and hence all of humanity.
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Dedication and innovation
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 30, 2010
I met Cay Craig while living in Madagascar and became involved with her project on a volunteer consulting basis. I visited the training and research site as well as a number of the participating farm sites. Having worked with other NGOs in developing nations, I was quite impressed with ingenuity of CPALI's methods in combining ecological goals with the critical needs of the village and rural people. Moreover, I heartily applaud the participatory voice of the farmers in the project, the peer training and recruitment of new farmers and above all the commitment of getting the financial proceeds of the project back to the farmers.
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
watching and at times being part of a highly committed team with such unique approaches to problem-solving. I have great admiration for Cay's determination and perseverance in finding a way to get it done!
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 30, 2010
I was so impressed with an article I read in the Boston Globe that I sought out Cay and Bob to get more information about their work and also introduced them to a friend with years of experience in what major foundations would require before making major grants. In the last year or so, I've watched with pleasure as they've made huge strides toward taking off. Madagascar is an ecology on the edge; making protection of the forest economically rewarding for the people who live there is the secret to success. Fortunately, Cay's expertise in silk worms (a PhD in the field) helped her choose the right species to protect the forest and develop an ecologically sound industry.
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
serious and impressive human beings.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
recruit more farmers and begin to reverse the destruction of Madagascar's forests.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 30, 2010
Dr. Cay Craig has amazing vision but also incredible realism. I am constantly amazed at how much CPALI has accomplished with so little money. Craig and the rest of the CPALI team have paid incredible attention to the needs of the farmers who have partnered in this conservation effort, taking careful account of the amount of effort farmers will need to invest and the other risks involved so that farmers can have a realistic view of what they are taking on. The farmers I met were very enthusiastic: they want to restore their forests, and the CPALI project offers them a realistic chance of doing so as well as a sustainable source of income. CPALI has also offered young Malagasy science graduates an opportunity to take on leadership roles, thereby investing in different levels of Madagascar's society. Product development and placement are finally reaching an exciting phase, with some leading designers taking a keen interest in the possibilities offered by this unique silk product.
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If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
reforest many parts of Madagascar, while allowing subsistence farmers to gain considerably increased income while working their own land and provide beautiful silk products to the developed world!
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every month
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 30, 2010
CPALI has done an outstanding job of being responsive to what we requested our funds be used for, namely support for expansion of the field (farmer) program and the CPALI demonstration sites. CPALI has provided frequent update and complete financial disclosure. I have had the privilege of traveling to their sites to see the work they are doing on the ground in Madagascar, have talked to their farmers and have also positively evaluated their responses to the program. It has been a pleasure to work with them.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Madagascar, in the field.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
expand it.
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Seeing that a sustainable green business is possible in such an isolated and impoverished area.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
fantastic!
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
implement its program throughout Madagascar, as well as in many other environmentally sensitive sites in developing countries throughout the world.
Ways to make it better...
more people knew about CPALI, and if they had more funds to work with.
In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...
a disorganized Malagasy government, people that don't quite understand the program and need to be educated about it.
One thing I'd also say is that...
Dr. Catherine Craig is doing a fantastic job!
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every month
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
April 29, 2010
I have watched CPALI flourish in Madagascar since 2007, when it started as a tiny team of American and Malagasy entomologists trying to determine which native silk worms existed in the isolated northeastern region of Madagascar, what their food plants were, and other fundamentals of their ecology so as to better understand prospects for effective rearing, as an alternative source of local income generation to aleviate pressure on surrounding protected areas. I have been extremely impressed with CIPALI's evolution since I last visited the project in December 2009. CPALI has added skilled local staff, effectively strategized how rural farmers could rear silk worms as a sustainable source of income generation that also encourages native tree planting, and identified prospective international markets for their beautiful organic silk. CPALI is a rare example of “conservation enterprise” that gives local farmers a financial stake in respecting and maintining protected areas for the benefit of future generations. CPALI Director Dr. Cay Craig has incredible vision. This project deserves all the help and support we can offer it!
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The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Mamy, a Malagasy entomologist who has grown into an highly skilled manager of the project and Denis, a wonderful rice farmer and local tree nursery specialist who is learning to train farmers in the region to plant host trees and rear silworms.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every six months
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
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