Ford Philippines Grants Nearly P1 Million To Four Projects Through The 2007 Ford Conservation And Environmental Grants

Ford awards nearly P1M in grants to four environmental projects.

MANILA - As part of its annual Ecogrants program, Ford Philippines donated nearly a million pesos to four innovative and aspiring organizations dedicated to preserving the environment and culture, two of which are repeat grantees from last year's program.

The year 2007 is the 8th time Ford Philippines is hosting its local Ecogrants program. Since its inception, the Ford Ecogrants have supported 62 projects and gave over Php18-million in grants money.

The Ford Ecogrants is one of the largest and longest-running grant-giving campaigns in the country. The program traces its roots back to the Henry Ford Conservation Awards which originated in Britain in 1982. It aimed to encourage programs that help preserve the local environment, heritage and natural resources.

Judging this year’s entries were: Dr. Cleofas Cervancia, professor and Director of the Institute of Biological Sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences from U.P. Los Baños, Marge Espino, business features editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Director Mundita Lim, head of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Florina Vistal, Vice-President, Government and Corporate Affairs of Ford Group Philippines.

The winners of the 2007 Ford Ecogrants were:

1. Dr. Menandro Acda - for his project entitled “Recycling Waste Chicken Feathers For Low Cost Building Material in the Philippines”. Dr. Acda is a repeat grantee from 2006. His project this year seeks to utilize the thousands of tons of chicken feathers as a binding agent for concrete blocks. The result is a cheap and effective building material which simultaneously rids farmers and the environment of thousands of tons of chicken feathers. The practice of the disposing of feathers through burning contributes to global warming while its burial takes years to decompose due to its keratin composition also badly contributing to the environment. The funding received from the Ford Ecogrants will be used for research and laboratory equipment as well as the procurement and transportation of the chicken feathers.

2. Mr. Rodilo Lebino - For his project entitled, “Conservation and Rehabilitation of T'nalak Production” which seeks to reinvigorate the practices of the ethnic people of Cotabato in the ritual cloth weaving called T’nalak. The Ford grant money will be used to procure the weaving materials and implements for T’nalak production and training natives in the processes of T’nalak production.

3. Clean and Green Foundation, Inc. - the Clean and Green foundations project, entitled “Orchids and Butterflies” seeks to create a greenhouse at the Orchidarium in Manila that will serve as a genuine repository and showcase area of endangered and rare Philippine flora.

4. KLIMA- Climate Change Center – Manila Observatory – This repeat winner’s project entitled “Schools on LOCo2 With The Low Carbon Diet For A Healthy Lifestyle,” which is a continuation of last year’s project seeks to promote awareness among the youth on global warming and harmful CO2 emissions. They aim to achieve this by creating educational and awareness materials in the form of posters, flyers and panels which they then tour around different schools. They also have talks and fora where students can get more information on global warming. The Ford grant money will be used to develop new educational material and awareness-generating campaigns.

Caring for the environment is part of the Ford DNA. This commitment was made way back by Henry Ford during the early days of the company. Today, Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, recognizes Ford’s role as a business leader and also as a responsible corporate citizen and believes that “sustainability” or the effective use of environmental and social as well as economic capital, is essential to corporate growth and prosperity. Over time, business can only succeed financially if it offers products and services that enhance society or the environment.

Rick Baker, President of Ford Philippines echoed this belief, “We can all help, in our own way and hopefully one day, we will have transformed our small, first step into a thousand steps by a thousand different people until true change can take place. We are here today to take another few steps together.”

For more information on Ford Conservation & Environmental Grants Program, visit www.ford.com.ph

Source: Ford

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