What is FBU?

Established in 1953, the FBU is a non profit non religious Ecuadorian NGO, that initiated work in various diverse parts of rural Ecuador . It is an institution that works on rural development projects together with rural communities.

Our mission is "To foster the creative abilities of men and women in rural Ecuador, encouraging the sharing of knowledge and the promotion of citizen rights in order to construct organizational and technological proposals that may improve the quality of life, laying the foundations for collective responsibility, equality, solidarity and respect for nature".

The FBU promotes the participation of the farming communities and the local population in processes of building and strengthening their identities. It's projects are orientated toward production improvement with an agroecological focus, the protection of micro valleys and forests, and environmental education. Other activities undertaken by the FBU are volunteer programs focused on the promotion of cultural exchange, nationally and internationally.

Our history

From its first steps FBU placed emphasis on the education of community leaders in rural sectors and funded schools for indigenous and campesino children.

Towards the end of the 1970´s, the foundation shared in a universal vision of commitment to the marginal social sectors, women, countrymen, indigenous, that were struggling for a more dignified life and for the right to land. In the middle of the 1980's proposals were endorsed for the integrated development of various provinces of the country.

For the foundation, the 1990´s represented a period for reformulating policies and strategies. They incorporated renewed visions of social development, taking into account new social, political and economic conditions

Our work

The FBU, with local government, manages development projects, strengthens initiatives of campesino and indigenous organizations and trains leaders to drive proposals for social development in their communities.

Our actions aim to defend the existence of campesino agriculture in front of processes of concentration of land possession, of the destruction of natural resources through their extraction by large companies; in front of the homogenization of consumption and the exclusion of public investment in the rural sector.

From this perspective we support the management of the available natural resources on the campesinos farms and localities, and develop their knowledge and organizational capacity. We are guided by the principles of cultural understanding, exchange of knowledge, respect for nature, community participation and harmonization.

At the FBU work technicians, specialists and promoters that have knowledge and experience in diverse areas such as agroecology, environmental education, small businesses, marketing, alternative energies and management of natural resources.

At present we run projects in diverse geographical areas of Ecuador, in the northern sierra, the central sierra and the sub-tropical west.

Other programs we have at the FBU are: environmental education directed at youth groups, a network of tree nurseries , a volunteer program, and we are working on the commercialization of farm products.