Archives: Blogs
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Culinary tastes and your nutritional needs
Sometimes all it takes to satisfy a craving is to grab that juicy piece of steak to clear the urge. However at what expense? Food is evolving at a fast pace in today’s ever-changing world. You can transform any type of food with available recipes on digital platforms; multiple food apps deliver food at your…
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Promoting healthy diets from the bottom up in Uganda
Mathias Kigongo is the Chairperson of Buikwe District in Central Uganda. The political head of the district, Mr. Kigongo is also a practicing farmer. He is well aware of the challenges people in Buikwe face in diversifying what they grow and what they eat. Mr. Kigongo has been collaborating with Slow Food Uganda and…
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Full kitchen, full heart
Cooking is so much more than simply feeding ourselves to nourish our bodies. It’s about tapping into the creative, cultural, and emotional sides of the foods we’re eating. It’s about the art of planning and preparing our meals – buying natural and diverse ingredients, and watching those ingredients come to life in a tasty and…
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Putting clean cooking on the agenda
A Q&A with Rita Poppe From September 23 to 29, the city of New York will host the annual climate week. Besides panel discussion, concerts and exhibitions, the Climate Action Summit of the UN Secretary-General will be organized. In the same week, the SDG Summit will also take place, bringing together the climate and development agenda. Prior to…
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Breve cronología de aprendizaje
Es difícil contar una historia sobre un tema con el que recién te conectás. Saber por dónde empezar, con qué frase atraer la atención de la persona que lee las líneas de un texto. ¿Qué preguntas se deben plantear para intentar responderlas y no morir en el intento? Todo eso pensé cuando me dispuse a…
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Campañas como herramientas de comunicación de la sociedad civil
Una se imagina un laboratorio como un lugar lleno de personas de batas blancas. Una laboratorista se detiene, mira a la cámara y dice: “Uno de cada tres doctores recomienda…” Pero, ¿qué tal si sustituimos las batas por camisetas de la bandera de la diversidad? ¿Y si sustituimos ese diálogo por: “Una de cada tres…
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Hope for reaching ‘Beyond Maize’ in Zambia
Drums started to beat loudly, the sound ricocheting off the walls in a frenzy. A dancer, decked out in traditional, celebratory Zambian dress, moved to the beat as he danced his way to the front of the room. Small bells jingling with every step, he gradually approached the speakers waiting for him next to the…
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Trade unions to the rescue
Minaye flowers in Bishoftu (about 50 kilometers from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia) was, just like many farms, not immune to rampage and disruptions of day-to-day operations whenever there was conflict between staff and management. A year now, the farm has not had any riots. Not that there haven’t been disagreements between the workers and their…
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‘Weaponized’ dress code and Kenyan workplaces
The degraded quality of the citizenship of Kenyan women is clearly seen in just how quick society is in restricting female autonomy, including basics like choice of dressing. These unwanted and unnecessary policing of women is seen in Kenyan workplaces all across the country where dress codes are used to reproduce sexism and misogyny that…
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Musings on renewable energy ‘gatherings’
The Green and Inclusive Energy (GIE) regional meeting in Dar es Salaam was a blast; literally and figuratively. The convening brought together Hivos East Africa GIE partners in a three day program of sharing, learning and networking. It may be difficult to describe what stood out for me –ranging from the partner stories; media engagement;…
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Briquetting: From agricultural waste to fuel
Guest blog by Ann Songole and Bob Aston The silence could have easily been mistaken for inactivity except that there was a systematic production work in progress. On this particular day, ARTI Energy, a briquette manufacturing company in Salasala in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania had hosted 12 organizations that were attending a Hivos Green and…
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“Give me a chance to lead”
It is said some people are born leaders while others are trained or given opportunities that transform them to become leaders. But what chances does someone with a low level of education and one who has been denied various opportunities to be better due to societal and cultural norms have to be in leadership position?…