Council members

GEN Ghana Council Members

Paul Yeboah: is GEN Ghana’s President and the Director of Ghana Permaculture Institute which is a founding member of GEN Ghana and GEN Africa, currently a member of the council of GEN Africa. The Permaculture Institute is established for the common good of all Ghanaians and Africans, especially the rural dwellers, low-income and peasant farmers. Paul has provided leadership at GPI to achieve a secure, stable food system in conjunction with the restoration and care of local ecosystems while improving quality of life for all inhabitants. The methods used at GPI are based in Permaculture Design, which will help to make GEN Ghana a leading example in good environmental practices. The experience Paul has gained at the Institute actively training people in local communities in the development of strategies for earth restoration, food security systems, economic stability, and care of people using Permaculture Design ethics and principles is a great asset to GEN Ghana.

Lovans Owusu-Takyi, GEN Ghana’s Vice President is the associate director of Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KITA), a non-profit agricultural institution in Ghana, is a founding member of GEN Ghana and GEN Africa. KITA was established in 1984 to provide training, consultancy, research and rural extension in tropical agriculture to practicing farmers. Lovans has been working at KITA since 2004, and has focused on building the capacity of local and civil society organizations to be involved in advocacy and decision-making processes at district, regional and national levels regarding food security, environmental conservation, renewable energy and sustainable development. Since KITA targets training youth, women and peasant farmers at the grassroots level, the platform offered to GEN Ghana via KITA is relevant to deliver the skills and training needed to build capacity in GEN Ghana. The experience Lovans has gained at KITA is relevant to accomplishing the GEN Ghana goals of building alternative sustainable communities and more resilient livelihoods based on a pro-ecology economy. Lovans has also been involved in building networks including the Ghana Clean Cooking Alliance, the Ghana Youth Environmental Movement, the Youth Volunteers for the Environment and the Ghana Climate Change Adaptation Network.

Charles Katare: is the financial secretary of GEN Ghana/NEXT GEN Ghana and also the bookkeeper for GEN Africa. Charles has considerable level of experience in permaculture, beekeeping and upcycling of plastic waste.

Richard Matey: is the secretary of GEN Ghana. Richard is experienced in policy and advocacy strategies, and a promoter of improved cook stoves among fish smokers in Ghana.

Madam Fati Bamba: Madam Fati is an organizer for GEN Ghana and the Brong Ahafo regional youth coordinator for the Government of Ghana. She promotes waste management and recycling of plastic waste at the primary and junior high school level in Ghana.

Kwame Ansah Baffour: The National Coordinator for the Global Ecovillage Network, Ghana (GEN Ghana) and a membership committee and fundraising committee member for GEN Africa. Kwame also works as a Business Development Officer and Programs Coordinator at the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Kwame holds an International Masters in Agricultural Economics degree from the University of Hohenheim, Germany and a Bachelor of Management Studies degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Currently, Kwame is the project manager and coordinator for the first year of “Promoting Eco-Strategies – Eco School Project” now known as Youth P.L.A.N.T Organic Greening School Initiative. Kwame has managed several development related projects and also a member of the African Agribusiness Incubation Network.

Akwensi Selase Constant: Next GEN President, Organic Farmer, Artist, Food Sovereignty activist. Selase has been part of our Moringa School Training at GPI and been part of meetings with schools in Accra related to standards of current programming and the scale up process.

Linda Limbadega: is a Next GEN Vice President who has experience with Moringa product development. She has been part of our assessment of the Moringa School Gardens and facilitated interviews with the school community and has influenced the scale up of the Eco Greening School vision. Her youthfulness and strong voice encourages women to stand up and be heard and seen.

Muhammad Awudu: A newly elected member to Council and is privilege to gain a 6 month Leadership Training course in Benin at the Songhai Leadership Academy. Awudu is the Brong Ahafo Regional Rep and played an instrumental role in having his school garden demonstrate all of the current eco strategies by the time we had our Schools and Rep training in October, 2016 and used his school as a practical example and training grounds for students, teachers and reps to go replicate in their region in their own unique way. Awudu blaze new trails in his creative integration of eco strategies at schools and his own home based demonstration site called Zion Gate Permaculture Center.

Gifty Atia: GEN Ghana Council Member who is a leader of the Bongo Women Shea Butter Processing Cooperative. She is a strong advocate for women empowerment and lives in the same village where our Upper East Moringa School Garden site is.

NEXT GEN Ghana Council Members

Sarah Odame Afari: is the secretary for NEXT GEN Ghana. Sarah has considerable level of experience in the management of Green Market at the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

Grace Kala: is the organiser of NEXT GEN Ghana and Grace works at the Ghana Permaculture Institute in Techiman. Grace is experienced in moringa production and processing into creams, soap, ointment and shampoo.

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Debra Kiliru is a Kenyan who is Co Director of Motherland International Relations and has run Organic School Garden Programs in Ghana as well as Organic Farmer’s Market. She serves as an advisor to the GEN Ghana Council and co-authored the Moringa School Garden Manual. Debra has been advising our school garden programming and linked us to Zambia’s RESCOPE Organization that will play a vital role in our second year’s scale up programming.

George Zokli: a herbalist with over 25 years experience with Moringa cultivation in Ghana, Togo and the Ivory Coast and serves on the GEN Ghana Advisory Board. George has been integral as a main trainer in Moringa and an unofficial mentor to the GEN Regional Reps running the Moringa School Gardens.

Christopher Keiser (Kofi): Co-Director of Motherland International Relations and serves as our main consultant, visionary and community organizer for the moringa school garden project. Christopher first studied at the University of Cape Coast Ghana in 1997 and now has a Masters Degree in Social Work and has networked effectively to bring many of GEN Ghana’s current leaders into the organization. His experiential education experience is vast and he has developed a successful Moringa Energy drink and trained GEN members to make it in several regions of Ghana.

Lasse Dalén Andersen, CEO & principal at Mim Technical Academy (MTA). A three year vocational agriculture and electrical education as well as short courses. MTA eco strategy is organic school garden, organic moringa leaf production, large scale organic bee keeping and organic cashew research, planting and outgrowing programs with MEDA and Self Help Africa in Brong Ahafo.