Through the prize, we reward initiatives that reflect the spirit of Creating Shared Value by addressing challenges in nutrition, water, or rural development. The Nestlé CSV Prize is awarded every two years and is open to social entrepreneurs and enterprises, small and medium enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, academic institutions and governmental agencies.
This year, more than 600 applications from 76 countries were received. The Board selected an overall winner and two runners-up.
The 2012 winner – Fundación Paraguaya
2012 Prize winner: Schools set up by Fundación Paraguaya give high school students in rural communities the entrepreneurial and practical skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
In 2012, we awarded the prize to Fundación Paraguaya – a not-for-profit organisation in Paraguay – for its self-sufficient agricultural school model.
Fundación Paraguaya’s schools, which are located in poor rural areas of Paraguay, give students a platform to develop the entrepreneurial and practical skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty. The organisation works with each school to identify the most suitable micro-businesses to set up. These can be anything from milk production, farming and organic gardening, to hotel services, beekeeping or egg production. The schools provide students with hands-on training. At the same time, money generated from the enterprises enables the schools to be self-sufficient and cover their operating costs – such as salaries, administration and school maintenance – without the need for government funding.
Around 450 students are currently enrolled in schools that have been set up as part of the programme, and the initiative has already reached more than 700 students in Paraguay. The Nestlé Creating Shared Value Prize is helping to scale up the project further, with CHF 300 000 being used to set up a new school in the Paraguayan city of San Pedro, one of the poorest areas of Paraguay. The school, which opened in August 2013, is the fourth to be set up by Fundación Paraguaya. It already has six full-time teachers and 50 students, ranging in age from 18 to 24. The students are taking part in a four-semester, two-year diploma to become a Promoter in rural agriculture. The course covers a wide range of topics, including planning and management, sustainable agriculture and animal production.
The 2012 runners up
arcenciel, 2012 Prize runner up
arcenciel (lebanon): arcenciel agricultural engineer talks with a farmer in Tannourine.
arcenciel is a Lebanese not-profit organisation running programmes related to agriculture, employment, environment, health, rehabilitation, social and youth. Wataneh, or Lebanese sustainable agriculture network, was launched in 2009 to improve the sustainability and the competitiveness of Lebanese agriculture throughout the value chain. Initially, farmers are helped to improve their yields and the variety of crops produced and to reduce the use of chemicals while increasing the use of environmentally friendly techniques and improving their income.
Excellent Development, 2012 Prize runner up
excellent development (uk): Andrew Musila Silu, Development Director of the African Sand Dam Foundation, overseeing the construction of a sand dam.
Excellent Development, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation, works with local partners to support rural communities in drylands to build sand dams, which provide clean water for life and the opportunity to grow more food to eat and sell. The organisation works with local communities, organised in self-help groups, to identify sections of local rivers where sand dams can be built. The community invests at least 30% of the resources needed to complete a concrete sand dam.