Tourism has an important economic role in Jordan, contributing to about 12 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Despite its significant economic potential, however, many Jordanians harbor doubts about tourism’s value and reputation. These stigmas are culturally- and gender-based, hinging on unfamiliarity with the sector and historically weak standards for hospitality training. Without domestic…
In one of the largest Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)+ initiatives of its kind in the world, almost 9,500 Afro-Colombian and indigenous families are rallying around a plan that could preserve the rainforest for the next three decades. The rainforest is well worth preserving, but why now? Known as the Choco Bio-Geographic…
Agriculture is an important part of the Sri Lankan economy, engaging one-third of the working population. However, most farm households have limited knowledge of modern production methods and struggle to access commercial markets. These obstacles constrain their ability to compete in the market and increase their incomes. In response to these challenges, USAID and Chemonics…
Rwanda has ambitious plans to strengthen its health care system by improving patient data management. To this end, Chemonics’ USAID-funded Rwanda Family Health Project is assisting the Ministry of Health to expand an electronic medical records system called OpenMRS as a key sector priority to improve health care facility services. Developing countries often have to manage their…
Crowds of people speaking different languages. A never-ending display of camera flashes. Tourism brings waves of visitors to countries around the world each year, and those visitors leave with souvenirs and lasting memories. But if we turn 180 degrees and focus on the tourism destination, we see a completely different impact. “Tourism is an important…
Standing among shelves stacked high with row upon row of giant cheese wheels, Eko-sir Pudja Livno production manager Marijan Puda looks like a proud father. “Our main product is Livanjski cheese,” he says. “That is our pride and joy. It is a cheese which is recognized worldwide and has won many awards in both domestic and European…
In many countries, most businesses are small or microenterprises. It can be difficult for these businesses to grow, because they often do not have access to loans, and the people who run them may not have any business training. This is the case in El Salvador. Micro- and small businesses (with fewer than 10 and…
Powerless. That’s how La Ode Agus Rianto, from the Wakatobi Office of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, once described his community in the face of rising tides and unpredictable weather. In many of Indonesia’s coastal communities, bigger storms increasingly make it too risky for fisherman to go out and do their jobs,…
In countries like the United States, many patients take for granted that the medication they pick up at their local pharmacy, whether for heart disease or the common cold, meets high quality standards. That the right amount of the active ingredient is present. That it has not deteriorated. That it does not contain harmful agents.…
Sometimes, individuals have to advocate for themselves to gain access to their legal rights. Bibirajab Boymakhmadova knows this first hand. Bibirajab is a female farmer in Tajikistan, and one of over 30 shareholders in a mid-sized farm called Khirobon. In Tajikistan, the government has passed a series of laws to restructure collective farms, allowing agricultural…
The stage lights brighten slowly, casting shadows across an audience sitting quietly in a theater. Three men and two women, already standing on stage and dressed in everyday clothes, start to act out a vignette. The performance takes perhaps 15 minutes, and then they freeze in place. End scene. Then the auditorium lights come on,…
The Feed the Future Uganda Commodity Production and Marketing Activity, implemented by Chemonics, aims to sustainably increase production and marketing of maize, beans, and coffee. In particular, the project promotes conservation farming practices to reverse widespread soil degradation and helps farmers stabilize yields by mitigating the effects of weather variability. To achieve these goals, the program…