The Dharma Drum University Preparatory Office invited Dr. Miriam Garvi, Board member of Eden Foundation, to deliver a speech titled “Environmental transformation and the prospering of communities through vision pioneering” at the Degui Academy on the morning of April 27, 2011.

After a short introduction by Professor Liu, President of Dharma Drum University, Dr. Miriam Garvi shared her experience with the Eden project at Niger. Niger is a landlocked country and its agriculture is constrained by a lack of water and access to it. However, the over-irrigation of agricultural land resulted in drought and desertification, forcing young male adults to move to increasingly-overburdened cities, and thereby ruining the core values of families. The Eden foundation is one of the many NGOs concerned with these problems, but Eden offers a unique solution unlike many of the other NGOs. The solution is designed to popularize the cultivation and utilization of protophyte that can grow naturally in this dry area and give food, even in times of need. The Eden case demonstrates that the environmental protection, prospering of communities, and family preservation are not separated but closely intertwined with each other. It also echoes the directions of DDU’s development highlighting discipline-integration.

The speech concluded with an in-depth dialogue and discussion between the speaker and the DDU faculty and Dr. Miriam Garvi is Looking forward more cooperation opportunities.