(The following essay describes the photos shown in the Graphic Version. Click here to view the photos.)

Photographs by Sean Sprague
Award-winning British photographer Sean Sprague has been capturing grassroots development in action for the IAF since 1977. This selection of photos shares his insights into some of the more than 4,600 projects the IAF has funded over the 35 years of its grants program. With impeccable artistic instincts, Sprague shows the beneficiaries of the IAF’s development assistance in their homes, schools, neighborhoods and workplaces and lets their reality speak for itself. These photos are currently being exhibited at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, which holds the largest selection of Latin American books in the United States

Asociación Servicios Agropecuarios y Desarrollo Rural (AGRODERSA)
Location: La Concepcion, Masaya, Nicaragua (2004)

AGRODERSA taught Fruto Christiano Aguilar to use contoured terracing to combat erosion and improve his pineapple production.

Asociación de Desarrollo Económico y Social Santa Marta (ADESSM)
Location: Lago de Ilopango, El Salvador (2004)

Fish farms provide a source of protein and income for communities around Lake Ilopango where ADESSM assists 100 families with new technologies, organizational development and marketing.

Fundación para el Desarrollo y Fortalecimiento de las Organizaciones de Base (FUNDEBASE).
Location: San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala (2004)

Joaquín Leja benefits from FUNDEBASE’s program to improve food security for some 220 rural families through conservation, organic agriculture, crop diversification, better marketing and stronger grassroots organizations.

Vecinos Mundiales Honduras (VM–H)
Location: Achotes, Danli, Honduras (2004)

VM–H’s program includes adult literacy classes.

Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades Unidas de Usulután (COMUS)
Location: San Francisco Javier, Usulatan, El Salvador (2004)

Through a COMUS program, physical therapist Milagro de Jesus Flores works with a patient with cerebral palsy.

Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN)
Location: Quilombo Santana, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (2005)

Without diesel gas and minimizing maintenance costs, this pump raises water for irrigation several meters above the stream bed. A partnership between FIRJAN and the local government made this project possible.

Fundación Comunitaria Oaxaca, A.C.
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico (2002)

On a plot near the city of Oaxaca, working as a cooperative, landless farmers use organic methods to raise vegetables to supplement their diets and sell in local markets.

Fundación para el Desarrollo de las Comunidades Cafeteras de Honduras (FUNBANHCAFE)
Location: Laguna Seca, Marcala, Honduras (2004)

Working in partnership with local nongovernmental organizations, municipalities, and environmental groups, FUNBANHCAFE assists farmers with the transition to growing organic coffee for the international market and provides technical assistance and credit.

Instituto Palmares de Direitos Humanos (IPDH)
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2005)

Designer Josina Maria da Cunha, in the headdress, is expanding her small business through IPDH’s entrepreneurship training program. With Sondra Soares, IPDH office coordinator, Josina produces clothes that reflect Brazil’s African heritage.

Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN)
Location: Quilombo Santana, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (2005)

Quilombo Santana, a community founded by fugitive slaves, has been transformed by FIRJAN’s introduction of an alternative technology water pump to improve irrigation and increase crop production.

Colegio de Biólogos del Sistema Tecnológico, A.C. (COBIOTEC)
Location: Caobas, Quintana Roo, Mexico (2002)

COBIOTEC promotes rainforest conservation in Quintana Roo, a significant source of chicle harvested from the “chicozapote” tree that is the main ingredient in chewing gum. Arsenio and other Mayan producers work in partnership with COBIOTEC, local businesses and government to improve family nutrition and increase household income.

Movimiento por la Paz, Acción Forestal y el Medio Ambiente (MOPAF-MA)
Location: San Isidro de la Cruz Verde, Nicaragua (2004)

MOPAF supplies food to Centro Domingo Savio’s after school program in addition to helping farmer networks recover a 360-square-kilometer area of the watershed basin around Lake Managua.

Learn more about IAF-supported projects in the next issue of Grassroots Development.