Grants
The Indigenous Stewardship InitiativeSM
Keepers of the Earth Fund
In 2006, First Peoples Worldwide established Keepers of the EarthTM to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to subsistence hunting and gathering, access to sacred sites, and traditional and cultural practices—all with an understanding of balancing biodiversity protection with sustainable economic development in Indigenous territories. First Peoples’ asset-based development strategy recognizes the great and diverse resources (land, natural resources, traditional knowledge, water, culture, etc.) possessed by many Indigenous Peoples. First Peoples recognizes that when Indigenous communities manage and control their own assets, the basis for improving community economic well-being is established. In addition, the technical capacity to manage, utilize or leverage assets according to culturally appropriate methods must be built.
In furtherance of its mission to employ these principles on a practical level, First Peoples instituted the Keepers of the Earth FundTM, launched in 2007, to provide small grants directly to Indigenous communities. The Fund was shaped during a groundbreaking meeting held in Belize City in August 2006 that provided an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to voice their ideas, concerns, needs, and experiences to name and outline the objectives and mechanism of the Keepers of the Earth Fund.
First Peoples believes that Indigenous communities represent the future, and that by investing in Indigenous-led projects and giving them the tools to control Indigenous asset development in the community, a community insures that it will survive and thrive well into the future. Through the Fund, First Peoples partners with Indigenous nonprofits and Indigenous organizations working in rural communities seeking ways to preserve, strengthen, or renew Indigenous culture and traditional knowledge and practices among Indigenous communities.
First Peoples recognizes how important financial resources are to the success of any conservation program, especially those that have very little to begin with. As an Indigenous-led organization, we are deeply dedicated to making grants directly to grassroots Indigenous organizations. First Peoples addresses the concerns of international grantmaking by acting as a bridge between donors and recipient Indigenous organizations.
The first Keepers of the Earth FundTM grants were made in 2007 through the Tides Foundation. In our first year of regranting, First Peoples has been able to fund projects in fifteen countries spanning across four continents and touching over 35 Indigenous communities. First Peoples Worldwide was founded in 1997 following Rebecca Adamson’s visit to meet with Indigenous San communities in Botswana. This trip would serve as a catalyst for founding the Keepers of the Earth Fund. A decade after first conceptualizing it, the Keepers of the Earth Fund, was launched and has become not only a reality, but a success!
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First Peoples Worldwide - A Tides Center project
3307 Bourbon St · Fredericksburg, VA 22408 · (540) 899-6545
info@firstpeoplesworldwide.org
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| © Copyright 2007-2008, First Peoples Worldwide
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