Rainforest Alliance

Tunde Ogunje had his first field placement in a joint arrangement between the University of Minnesota and the University of Winnipeg with two other students from the MDP program of the University of Minnesota. The project is the continuation of the work the University of Minnesota MDP program has been doing over the years, working with the Rainforest Alliance in trying to develop community enterprise from the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) which are created by community concession members in the Maya Biosphere Reserve who spend their livelihood and earn a strong income to create items for the open market. The Rainforest Alliance, and the forestry divisions in the department of Peten in Guatemala certify the NTFPs to be produced and sold worldwide. Tunde worked jointly with his other colleagues to write grant proposal on behalf of the community enterprises of the Mayan Biosphere reserve to address the intentions of Teeccino herbal tea in the United States of America to donate USD$10,000 for reforestation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve with the planting of more Ramon; develop business plan for Cooperativa Agrícola de Apicultores de Peten (COADAP), the honey cooperative helping to commercialize the honey produced by local bee keepers in the Maya Biosphere Reserve; and to study the entire Ramon value chain and develop an Export Readiness Assessment (ERA) for Ramon Seeds in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

“This field placement, which I did remotely because of pandemic-induced restrictions in travels, is a placement of cooperation and collaboration. Not only was I able to use a lot of the skills learnt in the MDP, but I was also able to use some of accounting and business consulting skills and instincts that I have learnt in the course of my career."