Region
Central America
20 entries tagged Central America.
Articles — 19
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Transformative social innovation for sustainable rural development: An analytical framework to assist community-based initiatives
This paper develops an analytical framework for understanding how local community initiatives and government structures work together to achieve sustainable rural development. Using a Costa Rica case study, the authors identify that successful social innovation requires 'bottom-linked governance'—where actors across different political levels and sectors share decision-making. They find that bridging roles (network enabler, knowledge broker, resource broker, conflict resolver, vision champion) and power-sharing are critical for social innovation to scale up and transform governance systems.
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Making Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) Work for Development in Tropical Countries
Agricultural innovation systems in tropical low-income countries struggle because capacity development initiatives don't align with national efforts. A study of Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America found that external programs focus on training individuals, while countries actually need institutional strengthening. The research recommends improving south-south collaboration and building institutional capacity to make national agricultural innovation systems more responsive to smallholder farmers' needs.
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Stimulating small-scale farmer innovation and adaptation with Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA): Lessons from successful implementation in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia
PICSA is a participatory approach that trains smallholder farmers to use climate and weather information for agricultural decision-making. Evaluations across seven countries show 87% of trained farmers made beneficial changes to crops, livestock, or livelihoods. The approach succeeds by treating farmers as decision-makers, tailoring information to local contexts, and strengthening extension and meteorological services. Over 200,000 farmers in 23 countries have been trained, and the method is now integrated into policy and training programs.
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Public private partnerships for agricultural innovation: concepts and experiences from 124 cases in Latin America
Public-private partnerships for agricultural innovation in Latin America often lack clear cost-benefit planning despite forming frequently. The paper identifies four conditions for successful partnerships: no single partner can achieve goals alone, partners gain more than they invest, synergy exists, and gains distribute proportionally. Evidence shows private companies participate readily because investments are low or tax-deductible, but both parties need coherent planning to improve partnership viability.
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Grassroots Innovation Using Drones for Indigenous Mapping and Monitoring
Indigenous communities in Peru, Guyana, and Panama are adopting drone technology for territorial mapping and monitoring to defend their lands against illegal resource extraction and environmental degradation. Five implemented projects demonstrate that drones enable indigenous peoples to document environmental damage, strengthen territorial claims, and pursue environmental justice. The technology shows promise as a grassroots innovation tool that supports both indigenous rights protection and sustainable land management.
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Microfinance and Violence Against Women in Rural Guatemala
A study of 883 rural Guatemalan women found that access to microfinance services reduces violence against women, particularly economic and emotional psychological violence. Women with microfinance access experienced significantly less overall violence than those without. However, microfinance showed no effect on coercive control, likely due to entrenched social and cultural norms. The findings contradict Status Inconsistency Theory by demonstrating that women's increased economic independence through microfinance reduces rather than increases violence.
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Tracing the Paths to Sustainable Production and Consumption Through Indigenous Directors, Environmental Innovation, and Sustainability Committees
Indigenous directors significantly drive sustainable production and consumption in Latin American and Caribbean energy firms, with environmental innovation and sustainability committees amplifying this effect. Analysis of 378 firms from 2012–2023 shows indigenous leadership promotes sustainable practices across all performance levels, with stronger impacts at higher quantiles when environmental innovation and committees are present. Regional, policy, and industry factors create substantial variation in outcomes.
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The Role of Farmers’ Umbrella Organizations in Building Transformative Capacity around Grassroots Innovations in Rural Agri-Food Systems in Guatemala
Farmers' umbrella organizations in rural Guatemala catalyze transformative capacity for grassroots innovations in food systems. These organizations enable socio-technical transitions by creating shared sustainability visions, supporting experimentation, providing technical assistance, and connecting farmers across household, community, and institutional levels. Gender and generational gaps limit this potential and require further attention.
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Living lab approaches in rural healthcare: a scoping review
Living labs use user-centered co-design to solve real-world healthcare problems in rural areas. This scoping review examined 11 studies from 2016–2025 across Canada, the USA, Australia, Guatemala, Uganda, and France/Portugal. Studies applied various methodologies including theory-driven frameworks, participatory research, and human-centered design to address cardiovascular disease, diabetes, perinatal care, and other conditions. Most studies did not explicitly use the living lab term, revealing limited adoption of this approach in rural healthcare innovation.
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LOOKING AT NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION FROM THE SOUTH
The paper applies national innovation systems theory to El Salvador's agro-food industry, a low-technology sector in a middle-low income country. The authors argue that El Salvador's emerging sectoral innovation system can effectively contribute to sustainable development goals, but only with sustained public support and proper use of available policy instruments.
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Social innovation, sustainability and the governance of protected areas: revealing theory as it plays out in practice in Costa Rica
This paper examines how social innovation drives adaptive governance in Costa Rica's Juan Castro Blanco National Water Park. Local community mobilization sparked social innovation that produced three key outcomes: satisfied stakeholder interests, effective governance arrangements, and community empowerment. The socially-innovative approach to park management improved both environmental sustainability and social-ecological outcomes across multiple levels.
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Serving rural low‐income markets through a social entrepreneurship approach: Venture creation and growth
Social entrepreneurs in rural Latin America create and grow ventures serving low-income communities by continuously revising goals and building capabilities, embedding operations deeply in communities, and innovating business models suited to resource-constrained environments. The study of three ventures reveals that success requires treating communities as resource sources, not just customers, and adapting distribution, marketing, and management practices to local conditions.
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Synergies at the interface of farmer–scientist partnerships: agricultural innovation through participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras
Participatory plant breeding in Honduras, involving farmer researchers, plant breeders, and NGOs, successfully developed new bean varieties with very high adoption rates among poor farmers. This farmer-scientist collaboration produced synergies that improved food security and addressed agricultural diversity better than conventional breeding alone. Long-term donor support and seed regulatory systems enabling small seed enterprises proved essential for sustaining farmer engagement in research.
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Off-grid Power for Small Communities with Renewable Energy Sources in Rural Guatemalan Villages
Engineers Without Borders implemented an off-grid renewable energy system in a 50-home Guatemalan village, replacing candles with solar power. The system provides electricity for lighting, cooking, and education while eliminating indoor pollution and fire hazards. Community evaluation showed off-grid renewable energy more sustainable than extending the utility grid, with operating costs lower than previous candle expenses.
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Intersectoral collaboration for the development of rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean
Intersectoral collaboration between governments, companies, NGOs, and local communities drives sustainable rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study finds that such partnerships overcome barriers to rural entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Educational policies, gender equality support, and institutional backing prove essential. Intersectoral collaboration emerges as critical—not merely supplementary—for rural entrepreneurship success and regional socioeconomic development.
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The MicroConsignment Model: Bridging the “Last Mile” of Access to Products and Services for the Rural Poor (<i>Innovations Case Narrative</i>: The MicroConsignment Model)
The MicroConsignment Model addresses rural poverty in Guatemala by delivering essential products and services to remote communities. The paper documents how this distribution approach solved real problems: providing clean water to reduce illness in schools, enabling artisans to access vision correction for work, reducing indoor air pollution through improved cooking stoves, and bringing electricity access to families. The model bridges the final distribution gap that prevents rural poor from accessing basic goods.
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Rural Microfinance and Agricultural Value Chains: Strategies and Perspectives of the Fondo de Desarrollo Local in Nicaragua
This paper examines how the Fondo de Desarrollo Local in Nicaragua uses microfinance to strengthen agricultural value chains, particularly in dairy and meat cattle production. The authors present a 'finance plus' approach that combines financial services with broader value chain development to create livelihood opportunities for rural actors. The study demonstrates how microfinance can drive inclusive economic development when integrated with value chain strategies.
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Using renewable energy for rural connectivity and distance education in Latin America
Renewable energy technologies, particularly photovoltaic systems, enable rural connectivity and distance education services across Latin America, especially in isolated communities without grid electricity. Sandia National Laboratories and partners support this expansion through capacity building and technology development, focusing on Mexico and Central America with funding from USAID and the US Department of Energy.
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Innovation in addressing depression and anxiety symptoms in rural Honduran communities: a cross-sectional pilot study
This pilot study applied validated depression and anxiety assessment tools for the first time in rural Honduras, surveying 21 residents of Ojojona. Nearly half the participants showed depression (47.7%) and anxiety (47.6%), with 29% experiencing both conditions. The findings reveal high mental health disorder prevalence in rural Honduras and highlight the need for improved healthcare access and research capacity in these communities.
Media stories — 1
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Poverty Eradication in Guatemala
Guatemala tackles poverty affecting 55% of its population through agricultural technology, digital education, mental health AI platforms, clean water innovations, and solar energy access. USAID's Feed the Future program trains small farmers in modern techniques, reaching 36,800 producers in 2021. Complementary initiatives deploy mobile learning labs in indigenous communities, AI-powered mental health services, pedal-powered water systems, and prepaid solar energy to drive inclusive economic growth.