W.K. Kellogg Foundation, UNDP Partner With Rural Communities

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced a partnership with 40 rural communities in southeastern Mexico to strengthen autonomy, sustainability, and resource management in food production, handcrafts, honey production, and community-based tourism. Collaboration will provide these communities access to savings and credit tools, as well as inclusive technical innovations based on local knowledge. These innovations aim to conserve agrobiodiversity through initiatives like native seed conservation, genetic recovery in poultry, beekeeping, and citizen science activities to better understand and protect natural resources.

"The alliance will expand the impact already achieved by local processes supported by both institutions in recent years, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic," said Verónica Fernández de Castro, Senior Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The initiative aims to empower historically marginalized communities by generating local solutions that contribute to their development and align with several Sustainable Development Goals, including Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), and Life on Land (SDG 15), according to Lorenzo Jiménez de Luis, Resident Representative, UNDP Mexico. 

Since 2020, the rural communities in the Yucatan Peninsula and the highlands of Chiapas have faced climate-related challenges, including droughts, floods, and shifts in the rainy season. In response, this partnership aims to equip these communities with the knowledge and tools needed to enhance their food production and water resource management systems.

The project will involve women and young people, focusing on building collaborative networks with other organizations and academic institutions. Over the course of 18 months, the initiative will work with community production groups previously supported by the UNDP, helping them consolidate past achievements and expand their capacity for sustainable food production.

In the Yucatan Peninsula, women will be empowered through self-financing funds and green solidarity networks, with the goal of ensuring the sustainability of their production systems for at least five years. Additionally, 25 Mayan communities will incorporate practices to protect agrobiodiversity, promote collective savings, and ensure water quality. Meanwhile, in Chiapas, the partnership will support the expansion of biocultural, socially inclusive, and human rights-focused initiatives. The project will involve agroecological inputs and safe technologies, targeting the younger generation in rural areas.

To foster knowledge-sharing, a learning community will be established, allowing supported groups to exchange experiences, strengthen capacities, and create new networks, extending the project's impact to rural regions across Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Yucatan.