Investing in community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Trafigura Foundation is supporting an initiative to make livelihoods and communities across the region more resilient in the face of challenges being exacerbated by extreme weather conditions and natural disasters.
The challenge
People living in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean face multiple challenges, including poverty, lack of economic opportunities, and violence and insecurity. In rural areas, sudden floods, fires, or hurricanes on top of already harsh and worsening environmental conditions can quickly exhaust household resources. Food insecurity adds to the factors prompting many people to migrate in search of a better future.
The solution
The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is a US government agency that invests in community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IAF engages with leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs in underserved areas to create more prosperous, peaceful and democratic communities and provide alternatives to irregular migration.
The IAF seeks to address the multiple challenges of the region through a multi-pronged approach by investing in areas including food security, natural resource management, and enterprise and skills development. Its new strategy incorporates environmental and community resilience and adaptation as a core pillar.
Partnership impact
Through its Resilient Roots initiative, IAF will assist organisations across the region to strengthen sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, conservation and disaster preparedness.
With support from the Trafigura Foundation until 2027, the initiative aims to:
Provide funding and technical assistance to 20 organisations
Enable 35,000 people in agriculture and food systems to apply improved management practices or technology
Bring 15,000 hectares of land under improved management
Lift the share of participating households with diversified incomes to 60–80%