Siemenpuu Foundation’s programme 2022―2025 aims to improve rural communities’ (of over 125,000 people) equal opportunities to develop sustainable livelihoods and participate in the decision-making regarding their environment.
The programme supports strengthening the diverse and multi-voiced civil society, which strives for environmental justice, particularly by advancing collaboration and networking. In all projects, biodiversity and climate sustainability are strengthened.
About 40 projects are funded in the programme. Supported projects are designed and implemented by local CSOs in target countries. Projects are identified through calls for project proposals, which are predominately public. See more details from the Calls for project funding page.
The programme’s five main target countries are Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique and Myanmar. In addition, especially if Siemenpuu is unable to continue financing activities in any of the main target countries, projects will be funded in Nepal. Siemenpuu’s networks in the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia and India will stay important for the networking and communications activities.
Programme’s themes are Biocultural rights, Energy justice, Feminist agroecology and Community forests.
Both Siemenpuu’s and Southern partners’ activities are guided by the following five crosscutting objectives adopted by the Siemenpuu Foundation:
- Strengthening of biodiversity and communities’ diverse life-heritages and cultures which are adapted to live by the regenerating local biodiversity.
- Advancement of climate justice. Strengthening of local communities’ climate resilience and development of alternatives to a development model based on fossil energy and overexploitation of natural resources.
- Promotion of systemic change for a just transition to ecological democracy. In the face of global systemic crises (as manifested by climate change and biodiversity loss, shrinking space of civil societies, and growing global inequalities), the underlying systemic factors need to be addressed and alternatives to the current dominant worldviews and practices developed.
- Strengthening of the civil society. Support environmental, indigenous and other human rights-based people’s movements and local and indigenous communities, as well as their cooperation locally and globally.
- Advancement of equality and human rights. In particular, address various forms of multiple discrimination and promote the rights of women and the rights of persons with disabilities.
The objective of Siemenpuu’s communications and global education in Finland is to raise awareness on the programme themes and strengthen active citizenship for global justice.