FAVACA Board and staff would like to remember those who lost their lives or were injured in the Haiti earthquake January 12, 2010.  FAVACA is committed to supporting Haitian organizations in the recovery and rebuilding of the country. FAVACA has been working in Haiti since 1982 and remains dedicated to empowering Haitian partners with the tools and skills to build back Haiti as they envision it!

In September 2011, the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and Americas (FAVACA) launched a professional exchange program between the Florida and Colombia that will give civil society and government leaders from underserved communities in Colombia the knowledge and tools to build leadership capacity, address their communities’ needs and improve opportunities for women. The program will provide hands-on experience in areas such as organizational strengthening, community advocacy, and training in gang and human trafficking prevention, criminal and drug rehabilitation, job creation, and community leadership.

LEPIDOPTERA PEST IDENTIFICATION WORKSHOP IN GRENADA

For the past several years, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has been providing a series of trainings to increase capacity in identification of pests of economic and quarantine importance. Outbreaks of pests in the Caribbean region threatens and in some cases hinders the food security of the Caribbean Region especially since these invasive alien species are not able to be identified and therefore treated by farmers or pests experts in each country.

GUYANA AQUACULTURE INCREASE STANDARDS

The name Guyana comes from an Amerindians word meaning "land of many waters" due to the wealth of lakes and rivers throughout the country. The topography of the northern coast of Guyana consists of low marshy plains and waterways. Due in part to the abundance of fresh water, the aquaculture industry in Guyana has become increasingly competitive on the world stage and is quickly becoming a leading industry in the country. Yet, due to the relatively quick growth, there are no procedures or standards to ensure quality from one aquaculture businesses to the next.

DOMINICA RECEIVES TRAINING IN HORTICULTURE

Over the past year, FAVACA has collaborated with the Caribbean Agriculture and Research Institute (CARDI) on food security issues in particular increasing the production of vegetables. Greenhouse and shadehouse production of vegetables is a new and growing industry in Dominica and farmers need practice in all aspects of the production cycle in particular for solanaceous (tomatoe, potato, pepper) and brassica (broccoli, turnips, cabbage) vegetable production.