case studies undp: women's medicinal plant producers network quibdo, colombia

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: WOMEN'S MEDICINAL PLANT PRODUCERS NETWORK QUIBDO, Colombia

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Colombia

WOMENS MEDICINALPLANT PRODUCERSNETWORK, QUIBD

Empowered live

Resilient nation

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that woor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practitionthemselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succto scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Yearsthe Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver HugheWen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la ParBrandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Womens Medicinal Plant Producers Network, Quibd, and in particular

guidance and inputs o Maritza Parra, President. All photo credits courtesy o the Womens Medicinal Plant Producers Network, QuibMaps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Womens Medicinal Plant Producers Network, Quibd, Colombia. Equator Initiative C

Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf


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PROJECT SUMMARYIn 1996, six women rom the small communities o Tanadoand Samurindo in the Choc Region o Colombia partneredwith an environmental NGO to add value to the harvestingand processing o aromatic and medicinal plants. Lowprices and the time spent in collecting these plants madethis traditional livelihood a relatively unproductive activity.With training and unding support, this women producersinitiative developed an organic certication process, andbegan sustainably harvesting, processing, and marketing amixture o wild herbs under the brand name Tana OrganicSpices.

The network named Red de Mujeres Productoras yComercializadores de Plantas Medicinales y Aromaticas deQuibd has continued to grow in numbers and strength,and currently brings together 200 women Aro-Colombianwomen who cultivate herbs and medicinal plants in amilygardens or sale to womens groups that specialize in value-added processing.

KEY FACTSEQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2004

FOUNDED: 1996

LOCATION: Tanado and Samurindo, Colombia

BENEFICIARIES: 200 women

BIODIVERSITY: Tumbes-Choc-Magdalena hotspot

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WOMENS MEDICINAL PLANTPRODUCERS NETWORK, QUIBDColombia

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 5

Biodiversity Impacts 6

Socioeconomic Impacts 6

Policy Impacts 7

Sustainability 8

Partners 8


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he Choc region o Colombia, home principally to black andmestizo indigenous communities, is characterized by high levels

biodiversity and many endemic species. The region orms part the Tumbes-Choc-Magdalena Biodiversity Hotspot (ormerly

he Choc-Darin-Western Ecuador Hotspot) that extends or 1,500

ilometres along the western coastal ank o the Andes mountains.rom the Panama Canal, the hotspot extends south and east

hrough the west coast o Ecuador and into north-western Peru.he Colombian Choc is thought to be the most oristically diverse

rea in the Neotropic ecozone o South and Central America, with anstimated 5,000 vascular plant species.

he economic activities o the communities in the Choco regionave traditionally involved the sustainable use o orest and subsoil

esources. In recent decades, however, the regions natural heritageas come under severe pressure rom extractive gold mining and

orestry. These industries have contributed to an indiscriminateooting o resources, the breakdown o cultural and social relations,nd the destruction o practices that support ood security and

he livelihoods o local populations. The poverty rate in the regions around 82 per cent, only 29 per cent o houses have ull access

o public services, the inant mortality rate is above the nationalverage, and lie expectancy is only 55 years.

A women-led initiative

n 1996, six women rom the communities o Tanado and Samurindoecided to seek a sustainable solution to challenges related toroduction and sale o aromatic and medicinal plants. They relied

n the traditional practice o gathering and marketing these localmedicinal plants and spices as a source o income to support their

amilies. Low prices and the time spent collecting these plants madet a relatively unproductive activity, however. With the assistance

Fundacin Espav, an NGO based in the city o Medelln, a studywas carried out to identiy available productive, organizational, and

ommercial options or value-added processing o medicinal and

aromatic plants.Local demand was recognized or Verdura Chocoana a mix

o wild culantro, oregano, white basil, purple basil, poleo, galland long onion. Together with partners rom the neighboucommunity o Quibdo, by 2002 the project had expande

encompass a network o 75 Aro-Colombian women who cultherbs and medicinal plants in amily gardens or sale to wom

groups that specialize in value-added processing. The netwonamed Red de Mujeres Productoras y Comercializadores de Pla

Medicinales y Aromaticas de Quibd has also developed an orgcertication process under the brand name Tana Organic Spiprocessed organic products are packaged and sold in urban ce

across Colombia. The network has continued to grow in numand strength, and currently brings together 200 women.

Background and Context


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55

Key Activities and Innovations

everal key eatures o the initiatives work have distinguished itrom similar enterprises, and have made it a case o best practice

n its eld. The network is dened by its separate but integratedpecialised components: women are employed in either cultivation

or processing according to their expertise and traditional livelihood

practices.

Combining modern and traditional approaches

he methods employed are based on traditional practices, butave been adapted to meet modern requirements and to increase

productivity. For instance, women have cultivated complex

ousehold agro-ecosystems with numerous species and ood

arieties, including aromatic, medicinal and spice plants. This hasbuilt on the tradition o women growing spices in their householdplots: now, women plant not only species needed or spice

production, but also those with medicinal and aromatic properties,s well as wood and ruit plants. Because they are located adjacento womens homes, these gardens help to maintain the equilibrium

between their income-generating and household activities.

he initiative has emphasised the importance o reintroducingpecies in danger o being lost, and o valuing the use o species

ultivated principally by women. These species include CulantroEryngium foetidum), Amazonian basil (Ocimum micranthum),

poleo (Satureja brownei), and oregano (Coleus amboinicus). This has

elped to deepen local knowledge o the systems o reproduction,ultivation, management and control o diseases, soil requirements,

arvest, and processing or these species.

Research has also been carried out on two species turmericCurcuma Longa or C. domestica), and Vanilla planifolia, a species oanilla orchid. The ormer is a species that was introduced into the

egion, and the latter is a wild variety in the process o domestication.oth hold potential or use, harvesting and processing by women in

he network. This research has been participatory, in that it has beenriven by the interests o the womens network and the interests

o the researchers rom Fundacin Espav, and has been targtoward nding viable income-generating alternatives that imp

the management o resources. This participatory research prohas been incorporated into the daily lie o the women as experiment, evaluate and adapt the practices they learn.

As a strategy to encourage organic production and imp

the competitive position o the initiatives products, the orgproduction certication process was an innovative investment

has underpinned much o the success o the network in reacurban markets since 1996. Market access has proved critical toinitiatives commercial success, using both new and tradit

markets to acilitate access to the greatest number o consume


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Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTSThe initiative is located in a biodiversity hotspot under threat rommining and orestry industries. To conserve the species o plants

hat constitute the base o their product line, the network respectsegulations regarding medicinal herb extraction and production.

The sustainable collection and processing o medicinal plants andherbs ofers a local alternative green economy that promotesound environmental stewardship. Fundamentally, the initiative

has decreased pressure on orests, and thereby improved theonservation o important plant and animal species in the region.

Promoting soil conservation and agricultural diversity

Various practices adopted by the networks member womenproducers have improved land and agricultural management. The

process o increased cultivation o diferent crop species in discretereas that do not exceed 1,500 m2 allows or rotational harvesting,

nutrient recycling, and the conservation o habitats. Areas orgrowing parcels o a diversied range o crops are demarcated,

voiding specialization o production, pest outbreaks, diseasesnd, by extension, the loss o soil ertility. Cultural practices orrop management have also been promoted, including thinning,

ransplanting, and weeding, while organic biocides have beenused in place o chemical pesticides.

This has also helped to ensure the survival o traditional knowledgeon soil management, an important local strategy or resilience and

daptation. Incorporated within this are new practices such as soildisinection and management o organic solid waste. Waste was

raditionally thrown into local rivers; the project has encouragedts conversion into organic ertiliser instead, with an average o ve

pounds o waste a day producing around 20 kg o nutrient-richompost per month. Member armers have also begun harvesting

ainwater or use in washing herbs. They are then drained usingentriugal manual machinery, beore the herbs are dried using solar

driers.

The usion o traditional methods with modern practices

important acet o the work o the Quibd network. It has allowewomen members to incorporate cleaner, greener arming pracwithin existing systems, combining traditional knowledge o

herbs and their culinary and medicinal uses with new technoloor their processing into value-added products. This has contrib

to the high uptake rate o these organic arming methods andgrowth o the network.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The production and sale o condiments has generated a signic

higher income or members o the womens network. Incimprovements have come through both improvements in

quality and volume o production generated compared toproducts traditionally sold in the Quibd market, and also rom

guarantee o more consistent incomes available to women sellithe network.

The 200 Aro-Colombian women rom mestizo communitiChoc who make up the network receive up-ront paym

or their herbal produce, contributing directly to houseincomes. Ater its inception in 1996, the initiative develope

organizational structure that enhanced its nancial sustainabincluding the development o organic certication. By 2002

initiative registered average monthly sales in the national mao $2,500,000 Colombian pesos (approximately USD 865 at exchange rates, or USD 10,380 annually).

Member armers are paid immediately, increasing typical a

incomes by around 25%. In 2002, average income rom the enteror member armers was approximately USD 88 per month.

women in charge o the gathering, processing, assembly marketing o the product, meanwhile, earned around USD 115

month. The production o Verdura Chocoana supplements o


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raditional, low-impact subsistence activities, such as raising ducks,hens, or chickens, shing, small-scale orestry, harvesting non-

imber orest products, and hunting.

Another important contribution to poverty reduction comes romhe overall decrease in the purchase o chemical inputs or the

production o primary herb and medicinal plant materials, which

rees up these resources or other household needs.

A vehicle for womens empowerment

The project and its results have greatly contributed to improvinghe position o women in the community and in the wider region.

At rst, the activity o organizing women met with some resistance

within amily units, but this was resolved over time as the initiativecemented its role in contributing to household incomes. This has

esulted in improved living conditions and wellbeing or amilies,meaning that today womens membership in the network is seen as

both desirable and empowering.The project has also become a model or its community and

institutional aspects, both or its successes and or its mistFundamentally, it has provided evidence at the national level

community business enterprises based on the use o local resoucan be successul.

POLICY IMPACTS

While there are not concrete examples o the initiative afe

national policies, it has gained signicant attention at the natlevel as a model or local rural development. In 2000, it awarded third place in the national Procomn-Eternit Award

Colombian community-based organisations. A year later it recean Honorable Mention in a corporation exchange competitionthe theme Promoting Business Services with Equity, and in 200

business plan entry was a winner in the First Bio-Business Conorganized by the Alexander Von Humboldt Institute and Corpora

Andina de Fomento (CAF).

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Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITY

A signicant contribution to the initiatives sustained success since996 has been the process o community organizing, an innovative

trategy in the region, in which women are protagonists in theirwn development. The methodology used in the bio-enterprise

evelopment process was comprised o ve stages:

Building relationships: through periodic visits to the communities,the project sought to establish trust between producers and the

central enterprise.Pre-diagnostic and post-diagnostic studies: once groups o

producers were established in communities, the initiativestechnical staf made visits to producer households and workareas to test the application o diferent organic techniques

through participatory workshops. This helped to identiypotential challenges and solutions or producers, tailoring the

initiatives approach to meet specic community needs.Planning phase: ater local needs and resources were identied,community members began designing a plan to improve local

working conditions, test new biological production methods,and participate in research into the diferent characteristics o

locally-available culinary herbs and medicinal plants.Growth of the network: once community groups were established,

meetings were organized with all o the potential producers in

the area. These meetings were led by the core group, assisted byFundacin Espav, and allowed new members to discuss market

opportunities and production and technical problems.Evaluation and constant feedback: this ongoing phase involves

training workshops, visits to project sites, and discussionsled by the core group to continuously rene and improve the

production process by iterations.

Various social and cultural characteristics o Choc Departm

including the absence o a vibrant business culture, the low valuao business strategies as an option or social development,relatively weak economic inrastructure, have made the Wom

Network a critical step in development in the region in genThe project has broken with a tradition that assigns value to o

based only on their potential or exploitative activities.

A high level of social ownership

The project has developed and consolidated social capital to out the required processes o production, while meeting the cr

or social, environmental and economic sustainability. The netwhas given rise to important new skills, processes and personal vathat have ensured the integrated sustainability o the initiative

whole. Its organizational component has taken into consideratiospecic cultural and economic realities acing its women mem

in order to guarantee its stability in the ace o challenges to groand the inherent internal conicts associated with these typinitiatives. On a technical level, agro-production technologies

been developed using local resources so that they are accessibtraditional, local producers.

PARTNERS

The Espav Foundation is a non-prot organisation ounded in by a group o proessionals working with social movements

indigenous black communities in the Pacca Region o ColomIt provides technical support to communities to aid them

developing their alternative uses o orest resources and biodiveThe oundation continues to provide this support not only in

Pacca Region, but in all regions o Colombia where opportunexist or sustainable use o threatened orest areas.


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FURTHER REFERENCE

Womens Medicinal Plant Producers Network, Quibd Video (Vimeo) vimeo.com/24482012

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

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case studies undp: women's medicinal plant producers network quibdo, colombia

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