Hand in Hand-Fund – Founded by the Natural Food Producer Rapunzel Naturkost AG

The Hand in Hand-Fund was founded in 1998 by the Rapunzel Naturkost AG. Since then it has been managed by the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH, German Environmental Aid). The fund supports the growth of infrastructure along with social welfare and especially education and ecological projects in countries that produce the biological primary products. The project will function within the Local Agenda 21.

The natural products producer routes 25,000 Euro a year to these funds. Through this Rapunzel takes responsibility for sustainable and ecologically viable economic practices in countries where the raw materials for Rapunzel products are grown and produced. The link between ecological goals and fair trade is an ideal combination and works extremely well in this case. Since 1998 more than 176 projects with among 780,000 Euro could be supported.

Every year the fund accepts new applicants from around the world from which the groups to receive money are then chosen by the Hand in Hand Committee (representatives from German Environmental Aid, Rapunzel, and a biological product certification organisation) German Environmental Aid handles the project on the organisational and administrative level. The project partners are also visited by Rapunzel employees in order to track the progress and results of the project.

Currently, the GNF project Reduction of Deforestation by Planting Trees and Introducing Improved Cooking Stoves in Burundi is supported by the Hand in Hand Fond.

The following GNF projects were supported by the Hand in Hand Fund in past years

• Protection of the Irrawaddy Dolphin in Indonesia
• Reforestation of Sea Buckhorn Trees in Mongolia
• Ecological Cultivation in Mongolia
• Sustainable Coffee Farming in Guatemala
• Reforestation of Mangroves in India
• Green Filter in Paraguay
• Living Fences in Columbia

ONE WORLD AWARD

Furthermore Joseph Wilhelm, the founder of Rapunzel Naturkost AG, started a new international prize, the so-called ONE WORLD AWARD with the aim of honouring people, projects and initiatives that use the opportunities of globalisation to make this world better and fairer  and to conserve its nature. 25,000 Euro is allocated for the prize and was awarded for the first time in June 2008 and will be bestowed every two years.

On the 19th June 2008, Lal Emmanuel, director of the Nagenahiru Foundation in Sri Lanka was honoured with the first international “One World Award” for his dedication in numerous sustainable projects, especially for the protection and reforestation of mangrove forest.

Further information about the One World Award can be found under: www.one-world-award.de