642009

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Grant Proposal for SPI/Sierra Leone and SPI/Togo
Earth and Peace Education Associates/Association
of Rural Development/Togolese Foundation for
Peace
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Introduction

• Earth and Peace Education Associates
  International (EPE)
• EPE aims to educate towards an integrated vision
  of social and ecological peace its services are
  described in www.globalepe.org
• EPE premiers its SPI Program with two of its
  Partners in West Africa
• Dr Thomas Mark Turay of Sierra Leone
• Association for Rural Development
• Mr. Assouan Gbesso, MA Peace Ed. of Togo
• Togolese Foundation for Peace

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Project Summary

• The Sustainability and Peace Institute (SPI)
  model of rural West African development would be
  the first application of an educational and
  training model that explicitly integrates peace
  and sustainability education.
• As such it trains community leaders to become
  adept in conflict resolution and in fighting
  poverty while protecting the environment by the
  use of photovoltaic applications for water and of
  solar cooking.
• The Institute itself when not used for training
  purposes doubles as an ecotourism center as a
  main revenue stream for its operations.

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Project Logo

• This Ashanti gold weight of two lizards with a
  common belly is a depiction of the proverb
  indicating cooperation rather than competition.

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Problem Statement

• Fuel wood scarcity and lack of clean water are
  two major problems in rural West Africa and so
  is the lack of an integrated vision on rural
  development that can give hope to the villagers.
• Statistics on those economic, social and
  environmental hardships are well documented less
  so, rural anomie and hopelessness, which is also
  a contributor to the trek to urban areas for
  work and other purposes
• Sierra Leone and Togo are among the poorest
  countries as the following table shows. (Source
  World Bank African Database 2004CD-ROM)

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Comparing Sierra Leone (A) and Togo (B) with
SubSaharan (C) and Other Developing Countries (D)
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Objectives-1

• Specific, measurable project objectives are
• The building of the two Institutes according to
  their ecologically strong architectural plans,
  including the installation of PV (photovoltaic)
  panels to provide electricity for computers,
  lighting, refrigeration and perhaps cooling
• The development of a curriculum that integrates
  social and ecological peace and teaches the
  skills of doing PV installations and of
  organizing eco-tourism programs
• Set numbers of community leaders to be trained

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Objectives-2

• The project objectives address the identified
  rural problems/challenges by
• Training community leaders who are able to bring
  hope and vision by the integration of social and
  ecological values in their approach to rural
  development
• By having these community leaders engage in the
  practical projects of PV water pumping and of the
  use of solar ovens and ecostoves
• Developing pride in local customs and
  environmental beauty that is shared in domestic
  and foreign ecotourism

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Key Benefits

• Regional rural empowerment in an Anglophone and
  Francophone West African country
• Demonstration and replication potential for other
  African rural regions emphasizing integrated
  education and renewable energy applications
• Reduction in unplanned urbanization
• Anti-dote against corporate economic
  globalization that would make the local economy
  export oriented

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Statement of Work-1

• Finalizing the deeds to the land for the two
  institutes and ecologically clearing the land for
  the construction of access roads and buildings
• Sierra Leone
• Brushing and stumping of site at Mayagba village
  begun strong support of local authorities,
  colleges, local and expatriate opinion leaders
• Togo
• Land donated near Sotouboua in central Togo full
  support of the local prefect (district
  commissioner) and local NGOs

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Statement of Work-2

• Acquiring the building materials for the two
  Institutes
• Sierra Leone
• Cement blocks are being readied by local
  population
• Togo
• Materials are being acquired

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Statement of Work-3

• Acquiring computers and other resources for the
  running of the Institutes
• Sierra Leone
• No resources yet
• Togo
• No resources yet

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Statement of Work-4

• Staffing of the two Institutes
• Sierra Leone
• Several will be drawn from a local development
  organization Association for Rural Development
• Togo
• Several will be drawn from the Togolese
  Foundation for Peace.

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Project Timetable
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5 year budget- SPI Sierra Leone
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5 year budget- SPI/Togo
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Key Personnel-1
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Key personnel-2

• Dr. Frans C. Verhagen
• Environmental sociologist with a concentration on
  sustainability theory and practice in northern
  and southern countries
• West African experience from 1963-8--Ghana
• Certificate in African studies from Columbia U.
• Coordinator for West African Division of
  AFPREAAfrican Peace Research Education
  Association, co-convener of the International
  Peace Research. Associations Ecology and Peace
  Commission
• Founding co-president of EPE. www.globalepe.org

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Key personnel-3

• Dr. Thomas Mark Turay
• Ph.D. from OISICanada and professor of conflict
  resolution and multi-culturalism at St. Francis
  Xavier UniversityCanada
• Faculty at University for Peace, Costa Rica
• President, Association for Rural Development,
  Sierra Leone
• Former Director of Caritas, Sierra Leone

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Key personnel-4

• Mr. Assouan Gbesso (Paulin)
• MA candidate in Peace Education, University for
  Peace, Costa Rica 2004-5
• MA in African Literature
• Coordinator, Fondation Togolaise pour la Paix,
  Sokode, Togo

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Key personnel-5

• Dr. Ursula Spring-Oswald
• Professor/researcher National University of
  Mexico
• Former minister of ecological development in
  state of Morelos, Mexico
• Former president of IPRA and member of its
  Council, Ecology and Peace Commission
• Author of 30 books and many more articles

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Evaluation

• Ongoing evaluation of the SPI model will take
  place, particularly for replication purposes
• Journal will be kept by the Institute directors
  that will be electronically sent to its
  international board of directors on a monthly or
  quarterly basis
• The quality assurance steps that are planned
  are
• At the Institute
• At the village level.
• The results of these steps are fed into the
  curriculum and in the final replication report
  for other African countries

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Endorsements

• West African endorsements
• Over a dozen from organizations and individuals
  in Sierra Leone and Togo (See background paper
  for details)
• AFPREAthe African Peace Research and Education
  Association
• North American peace and development researchers
  and practitioners
• Dr. Budd Hall, Dr. Ed O. Sullivan, Mr. Trevor
  Cook, Ms Hetty van Gurp, Dr. Charles Emmrys, Mr.
  Howard Gray
• UN endorsements for both the Conference and the
  SPI model in process are
• UNDP, UNEP, UPEACE, UNESCO National Commission
  of Togo and Sierra Leone
• Individuals in process
• Kofi Annan, Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Wangari Maathai,
  Noel Brown, Princess Irene of the Netherlands,
  Dr. Carol Lancaster, William Powers, others.

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Questions?To be directed toDr. Frans C.
Verhagen New York City1-718-275-3932
Gaia1_at_rcn.com www.globalepe.org
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Conclusion

• Without vision people perish. Proverbs 2918
• The SPI model of rural West African development
  educates community leaders for social and
  ecological peace and thus brings hope and vision
  for a sustaining future.
• .the verb sustaining holds open the actively
  normative questions that the idea of
  sustainability raises. We are required to probe
  What truly sustains us? Why? And how do we know?
  Conversely, we must ask What are we to sustain
  above all else? Why? And how may we do so?
  Aidan Davison, Technology and the Contested
  Meanings of Sustainability, 2001 p.64
• True morality consists not in following the
  beaten track, but in finding the true path and
  fearlessly following it. --Ghandi