The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD-OAS) is leading, together with organizations from Thailand, Laos, China, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, the ADKN (Alternative Development Knowledge Network), which is available to the public online at: www.adkn.org. ADKN allows for the sharing of experiences and know-how concerning the cultivation and production of alternatives to illicit crops. The objective is for workers in the field of rural development from all over the world to access tools to complete their work more efficiently.

Currently, CICAD is coordinating activities of this network regarding development programs promoting prevention or reduction of illicit cultivation, production or trafficking of illegal drugs in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.

The activities of ADKN seek to create a knowledge base surrounding rural development, especially in mountain regions and remote areas already with the presence of illicit crops. This new network for alternative development came from an initiative that arose in 2004 at the International Symposium on Sustainable Highland Development and Networking: Lessons Learned from the Royal Project, (also know as the “Highland Symposium”) when the participants called for an effective medium for organizations that work in the field of alternative development to exchange ideas and know-how. Thus, ADKN is an avenue for sharing knowledge about development by offering a means for users to access the practices and experiences of others. It provides simple yet invaluable tools to enter documents, to make announcements, to hold discussions, and for different rural organizations to create their own Web pages.

Currently a sampling of what one can find on the site includes: information regarding Productos de Paz (Products of Peace), the new trademark of alternative development products produced in Colombia; details of a project to commercialize traditional Chinese embroidery; accounts of successful commercialization on the part of the Cooperativa el Ceibo in Bolivia; and the outline of a case study about development in the mountains of Thailand.

We are pleased to communicate with any person and/or organization interested in the possibility of suggesting or contributing additional pieces related to the topic.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit our website: www.adkn.org
Email: ahenao@oas.org
Telephone: (202)-458-3626
Fax: (202)-458-3658