News
Forging Connections, Improving Lives in Nepal
October 23, 2016
Judging by geography alone, Kumar Thapa lives an isolated life. Thapa’s hillside plot of land in the midwestern Nepalese district of Surkhet is surrounded by the tomato and chili plants that he carefully cultivates. There’s a quiet here that is broken only by the sounds of human labor – weeds being pulled or crops being […]
The Light of Opportunity in Indonesia
October 22, 2016
In so many ways, life has changed little on the rugged Indonesian island of Sumba. Like generations before them, Sumbanese men head to sea each morning in slender fishing boats, while women tend small gardens and, if they’re lucky, raise a pig. The importance of tradition is palpable among islanders, and impossible to miss in […]
Fighting Exploitation with Opportunity
October 21, 2016
It must have seemed like a welcome chance to forge a new life. Promised the opportunity to earn the sort of income that would provide for themselves and their families, 54 Cambodian men made the difficult trek from their homes to what they thought would be jobs as fishermen in Malaysia. Instead, they became victims […]
Combating World Hunger
October 19, 2016
It’s the 30th anniversary of the World Food Prize and the Sasakawa Africa Association. Winrock has a connection to both. By Amanda Hilligas I’ve just returned from the 2016 Laureate Award Ceremony of the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa. Often referred to as the Nobel Prize for Agriculture, the World Food Prize is an award […]
Friend of the Farmer
October 11, 2016
Dr. Jeff Mutimba grew up on a small farm in Zimbabwe, which was then called Rhodesia. He rose early in the morning to do chores and wash in the river before running to school. After school he would weed or take the family’s few cattle to a communal grazing area. Mutimba was lucky. The farm […]
La Thi Kim Ngan
October 3, 2016
This portrait is part of the USAID Vietnam Clean Energy Program’s series on women champions in the Vietnamese construction sector, featuring women who have made strides in this male-dominated field, coming from diverse backgrounds and with different interests, but bound together by the common themes of a strong work ethic, love of country, a strong […]
Winrock International Announces New Board Members
September 22, 2016
LITTLE ROCK, AR – SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 – Winrock International, the U.S.-based national and international economic development organization, today announced the appointments of Samar Ali and William Rockefeller to its Board of Directors. Ali, the first Arab-American board member in the organization’s history, brings a wealth of experience from both the public and private sectors, […]
Video: Burmese Coffee Arrives in America
September 17, 2016
The story of Burmese specialty coffee is what happens when everything goes right: when the crop is promising, the growers are willing to embrace new production methods and the market is ready for a new coffee origin. As implementer of the USAID-funded Value Chains for Rural Development project, Winrock International is proud to be a […]
A Culture of Innovation at Winrock International
September 16, 2016
Winrock International was born on an Arkansas mountaintop — and now has 120 projects in 46 countries. Innovation is part of its DNA. After Winthrop Rockefeller’s death in 1973, trustees of his estate created the Winrock International Research and Training Center to further his wish that the farm be “venturesome and innovative” and provide tools to help people help themselves. And it’s done just that […]
Winrock and Concordia Form Partnership to Address Labor Trafficking
September 15, 2016
The partnership, the Concordia Campaign Against Human Trafficking, was announced Tuesday, September 20, at the Concordia Summit, an annual global affairs forum in New York City that brings together heads of state, Fortune 50 executives and other thought leaders. Winrock has been fighting human trafficking in the seafood industry for almost a decade through USAID’s […]