Sowing Change
Powered by CARE + WWF
Sowing Change is a livelihood-to-leadership initiative launched by the CARE-WWF Alliance that supports Indigenous and local communities in designing and driving solutions to the environmental challenges they face. The program is rooted in the lived experiences, leadership, and deep knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities.
© WWF-US/Jerry Mushala
© Faith Tanui, WWF-UK
Indigenous and local women, in particular, are water gatherers, food producers, healers, and stewards of traditional ecological knowledge. They witness firsthand the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate disruption on their lands and ways of life. By centering their voices and leadership in resource decision-making, Sowing Change helps forge solutions that are not only culturally grounded and equitable, but also resilient and enduring.
In each of 20 countries across the globe, we hope to reach:
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1,000 local entrepreneurs
Support more than 1,000 local entrepreneurs with financially sustainable nature-based businesses
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100 acres
Bring nearly 100 acres (more than 40 hectares) of landscape under sustainable management
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1 million people
Strengthen resilience in 1 million people in one country
Impact
Sowing Change has worked with communities in the coastal department of Nariño in Colombia and continues to work with communities in the Kilimanjaro Amboseli-Chyulu landscape near the southern border of Kenya. The Alliance plans to extend to several other areas throughout East Africa and Latin America, as well as Southeast Asia.
Sowing Change in action
© WWF Colombia
Sowing Change starts by supporting the development of nature-based enterprises that bake in environmental sustainability, reflect community knowledge and priorities, and connect to viable markets. These local businesses build on existing relationships with the land, water, and biodiversity—strengthening local economies while contributing to ecological restoration.
New entrepreneurs develop their businesses through skills building, learning exchanges, and access to technology to expand information and networks. Participants also engage in community decision-making around nature-based solutions that help communities enhance resilience in the face of changing weather patterns and unexpected natural events.
Through these projects, communities gain greater access and resources to address many of the challenges they face. Additionally, there is increased community leadership in, and increased flows of financing for, communities to launch and strengthen small-scale enterprises that contribute to healthier ecosystems.
From a network of local leaders, Sowing Change supports a growing global nature and climate movement—a movement powerful enough to restore local ecosystems, improve sustainable food sources, and and create resilient communities across the world.
Why it matters
© JERRY MUSHALA/WWF-UK
Biodiversity loss and climate change are deepening global inequalities and threatening the survival of those who have contributed least to the creation of these crises—especially Indigenous peoples, women, and youth. Yet, they hold generations of traditional knowledge, cultural wisdom, and proven stewardship practices that are vital to protecting nature and building climate resilience.
Locally-led solutions are often the most effective and enduring because they are rooted in place-based knowledge systems, community relationships, and holistic approaches to both ecological and social well-being. Centering local and Indigenous peoples—especially women and youth—in the design and implementation of solutions ensures that responses are equitable and sustainable.
About the CARE-WWF Alliance
© WWF-US / Jerry Mushala
© True Vision Production Ltd. / CARE-WWF Alliance
The CARE-WWF Alliance works to ensure that all individuals who want to participate in and lead community solutions have access to the skills, information, and resources they need to thrive. Our approach builds local capacity to expand and scale programs, ensuring sustainable and lasting change.
Sowing Change draws from CARE models that enhance participation in community programs by linking them to the resources, support, and information they need to invest in their businesses, families, and communities. Sowing Change also draws upon decades of WWF expertise in landscape restoration and climate science, collaborating with Indigenous peoples and local communities to conserve the natural resources on which they depend and ensuring that decision-making reflects the value of nature from a local to a global scale.
With a joint presence of WWF and CARE offices in more than 40 countries, the Alliance leverages the existing expertise and partnerships of both organizations, working with local organizations and the private sector to enhance local efforts through capacity sharing and resources.
