The Phoenix Fund:

Current Projects

To date, the Phoenix Fund has granted over $750,000. Currently, seven projects are making a difference in India, Nepal, Ethiopia, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kyrgyzstan.

Handmade paper produced at a Mercy Corps-supported factory in northeastern India. Photo: Joni Kabana for Mercy Corps

Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, the Fund is helping increase household income by improving land management, mobilizing 1,000 home gardeners to combine selling and marketing efforts, and begin a plastic waste management system to prevent soil contamination. One-third of Gross Domestic Product in Kyrgyzstan comes from the sale of produce grown in small gardens. Click here for program details.

Nepal
Based upon encouraging results in the Phoenix Fund Cardamom Project, a rapid value chain assessment was conducted along the Eastern Nepal economic corridor in December 2007 to identify other commodities with the potential to significantly impact the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the local economy. Among the potential commodities studied, ginger was identified to have one of the highest potentials to raise incomes among the most people. The expectation is to increase profit margins by 15% for smallholder ginger farmers, and create 60 new jobs. Click here for program details.

• Read the Oregonian article Oregon Entrepreneurs Tour Nepal to See Results of Mercy Corps Seed Money >

Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, awareness about renewable energy sources is in the early stages. With the help of the Phoenix Fund, three new businesses are designing, producing and installing solar systems for water heating. Click here for program details.

Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, unemployment is at 40% and women are one of the most marginalized groups with lower literacy rates, job opportunities or earning power. The Phoenix Fund is establishing 5 women-run businesses in developing cooking fuel briquettes from organic waste. This will bring at least 30 woman-headed households above the poverty line. Click here for program details.

• Read Turning Trash into Cash >

Zimbabwe
Residents of the Murehwa district rely on small scale subsistence farming and have not had access to the commercial market. With help from the Phoenix Fund, 250 farmers are learning how to use new farming equipment and agronomic practices to increase yields and income by producing market cash crops. Click here for program details.

Liberia
In Liberia, the Phoenix Fund is helping 25 farmers learn how to grow quality cocoa by rehabilitating an 80 acre cocoa tree farm. By forming a collective, these farmers will have access to the world market again, as it was before the civil war in this area.

Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s 5th most populous nation, but most residents are energy poor; to cook their food and heat their homes, either firewood must be collected, which is time-consuming and leads to deforestation issues, or costly kerosene is available to those who can afford it. As kerosene is not good for the environment, another solution is needed. British Petroleum’s Alternative Energy department developed a energy-efficient cooking stove that uses biomass pellets. The Phoenix Fund has initiated a pilot in parts of Jakarta and Lampung to test the price points and viability of using existing distribution channels to spurn adoption of the stoves. Microfinance is made available to purchasers and local pellet production is in the works. While the pilot focused on the learnings of selling 200 stoves, the expectation is to scale this program to reach millions of households. Click here for program details.

Pakistan
Despite its high potential for development and economic growth, nearly a third of the country’s population lives under poverty. The economy is in a downward spiral, and a spike in global food prices over the past year has hit Pakistan particularly hard with key commodity prices increased by up to 40%. Livestock is one of the leading sub-sectors of agriculture in Pakistan, engaging between 30 to 35 million people in rural areas who derive up to 40% of their incomes from the sector. Within the livestock sector, milk is the largest and single most important commodity. The demand is projected to grow by at least 5% for the proceeding years leaving a significant gap in the supply and demand situation. This gap is currently met by imported powdered milk. The Phoenix Fund, in large part thanks to Broetje Orchards and Biamp Systems, has funded a pilot program to increase sales by at least 20% for small dairy farmers in the remote areas of Balochistan. Click here for program details.