Category Archives: Updates

AwF partners with NOVUS Int’l to build aquaculture center in Haiti

Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), with generous support from NOVUS International, has funded a new project in Haiti to train local people in sustainable aquaculture methods. The goal – to produce nutritious food using the resources locally available.

Malnutrition has been a chronic problem in Haiti for many decades. In response, The Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, USA will help establish an aquaculture learning center and demonstration farm in Haiti, train two “Haitian Aquaculture Specialists” who will be responsible for assisting others interested in producing fish, produce a technical manual (in Creole) and provide training resources to facilitate duplication by other schools, community organizations, small businesses, or families, and assist with developing a practical aquafeed based on local ingredients.  

More AwF-UA farmer-to-farmer programme trip reports now available

We recently received three more reports from the AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme, which are now posted on our Projects page. They are:

• INDIA: AwF-Toleo Foundation Sunderbans Project (Report by AwF-UA Volunteer, October 2010) PDF
• MEXICO: AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme (Training Report, September 2010) PDF
• THAILAND: AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme (Trip Report by AwF Director and Volunteer, September 2010) PDF

Workshop – Tilapia aquaculture in Haiti – 28 February 2011, New Orleans, USA

AwF is co-sponsoring a workshop on Tilapia Aquaculture in Haiti, which has been organized to explore the current efforts, needs and opportunities for collaboration to alleviate the desperate need for food security and income generation in Haiti.

The Workshop is being held on the 28^th February 2011 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center. This is the day before the Aquaculture America 2011 conference in New Orleans. Click here for more details.

Other Workshop sponsors include:

• The World Aquaculture Society
• Novus International
• Marine Biological Laboratory Program in Sustainable Aquaculture

Please contact Bill Mebane bmebane@mbl.edu and copy John Hargreaves jhargreaves01@yahoo.com to reserve a seat. Attendence is limited to 45.

We would appreciate your help in disseminating this announcement to others in your network that may be interested in attending, especially those currently working on aquaculture projects in Haiti.

YSI Foundation responds generously to Christmas appeal

The AwF Board of Directors would like to publicly thank the YSI Foundation for its generous contribution of USD 1,000.

In response to our Christmas appeal to Donate a fish pond – give a family food security for life, YSI Foundation president, Susan G. Miller, sent a check for $1,000 “to assist with this excellent program.”

Our sincere thanks for such a wonderful gift and your continued support!

Charity dinner fundraiser at Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2011

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the AwF Charity Dinner to be held on Tuesday 18 January 2011 at 6:00pm in the Oman Hall at Le Meridien, Kochi, Kerala, India. Click here for details. All proceeds raised will be used to further the mission of AwF to alleviate poverty through sustainable aquaculture development.

For Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2011 conference details, click here.

Oman Hall, Le Meridien Kochi

The correlation between income growth and life expectancy

Hans Rosling’s famous lectures – The Joy of Stats – on BBC Four combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport’s commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before – using augmented reality animation.

In this spectacular section of ‘The Joy of Stats’ he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes.

Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

Take a look, click here.

In our own small way, AwF is helping to move those data points upwards and to the right.

Donate a fish pond – give a family food security for life

A family proudly displaying their harvest of fish.

Christmas – the season of giving – is upon us and what better way to share the spirit than to provide food and a secure future to those most in need.

Your donation of US$ 100 is sufficient to construct a family pond measuring 100 square meters, provide an initial stocking of fish, and training so that a family will have a secure source of food for years to come. 

Since many families have four or more children, a donation of US$ 100 will have a direct positive impact on a family of six.   

Your generous support can help so many. Please consider donating a fish pond to support a family in the developing world. 

Click Here to make a secure on-line donation to AwF today.

Thank you!

AwF Volunteer database update – do we have your current information?

We are currently updating our list of Volunteers, which now numbers close to 300 people. If you have applied to become an AwF Volunteer in the past, we would appreciate hearing from you along with your current contact information and any changes in your profile. Please use the AwF Volunteer Form posted on our Volunteer page. This PDF form can be opened in the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free download), filled out and saved to your computer. Then send an email with the attached PDF form to AwF Volunteer Coordinator. If you are no longer able to volunteer, please let us know so that we can remove you from our list.

Thank you!

Brief visit to the Women in Aquaculture and Mid Hills AwF project by Peter Edwards

Peter Edwards

In November 2010 AwF Technical Advisory Group member Prof. Peter Edwards was able to pay a brief visit to our project in Nepal, which is in its second phase (see under NEPAL on our Projects page for details).

Here are his comments:

Building on a successful small-scale aquaculture project in the lowland Terai region of Nepal , AwF has funded the extension of the model to the Mid Hills region of the country.

I visited 6 family level ponds built in Phase One of the project in Dhamilikuwa Village , Lamgung District, interviewing three pond owners. They all expressed satisfaction at being introduced to the culture of carps and tilapia, consuming as well as selling table fish and tilapia fingerlings to neighbours.

I also attended the opening ceremony of a training programme for about 20 women for Phase Two of the project which was being conducted by Hare Ram Devkota as part of his M.Sc. Internship through the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science. A training manual in local language had been prepared and distributed by Mr Devkota to the participants.

Congregations from Crumlin & Glenavy (Northern Ireland) turn up trumps for AwF again

At an interdenominational service in Northern Ireland, the congregations of several churches donated their harvest collection, totalling more than £200, to Aquaculture without Frontiers. 

Through the initiative and kindness of AwF (UK) Director Scott Peddie, over £900 has been raised for AwF through multiple fund-raising activities over the past sixteen months. 

Members of the Crumlin & Glenavy Clergy Fellowship after the Interdenominational Harvest Service

Left to Right: Rev. Patsy Holdsworth, Rev. John Murdock, Fr. Brendan Smyth, Rev. Dr. Scott Peddie, Rev. John Farr & Rev. Liz Hewitt. Missing from the picture are Rev. John Rutter and Fr. Sean Dillon