Projects

Green Cities Fund
PARWAZ Microlending Project

In 2002 Green Cities Fund co-founder Tran Tuong Nhu led a woman’s delegation, including Afghan-American women and a representative of Women’s World Banking, to Kabul, Afghanistan.   There they established the groundwork for PARWAZ, the first Afghan-run microlending institution in … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Malcolm Margolin Ohlone Project

The top of Panoramic Hill in Berkeley looks out on the Bay and the sea beyond, a view seen by the Ohlone People for thousands of years before they were hunted down and their land was taken from them.  Such a … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Belly of the Beast Film Project “Cuba from the Inside”

Journalists and documentary filmmakers Ed Augustin and Reed Lindsay are producing a ten part series on the Trump White House and Cuba. Combining hard hitting journalism and stunning cinematography, the series will assess the impact of the Trump White House on … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
God is a Woman – A documentary by Andrés Peyrot

In 1975 French explorer and Oscar winning (“The Sky Above, the Mud Below”) documentary filmmaker Pierre Dominique Gaisseau traveled to Panama to make a film on the indigenous island dwelling Kuna people, whose women play a unique and sacred role.  Accompanied by … Continue reading

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PLANTING SEEDS IN PUERTO RICO

In 2012 Green Cities Fund sponsored a visit to Cuba by West Coast chefs to encourage and support Cuba’s sustainable food movement. The trip inspired the further development of sustainable farming in Cuba and related projects. Chefs who went to … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Navalny Anti Corruption Foundation

Green Cities Fund is pleased to honor the memory of Alexsei Navalny through support of the Anti Corruption Foundation he established which his widow, Yulia, now continues.  Donations may be made directly or through Green Cities Fund, which will transfer 100% … Continue reading

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Dark Alliance Project

Upon the death of investigative reporter Gary Webb, Green Cities Fund conducted an investigation and publicity campaign about the circumstances leading to his death following his revelation of Presidents Reagan and Bush’s involvement with the crack epidemic which was particularly … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Long Knife – Sequel to “Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Long Knife” a documentary by investigative journalist Greg Palast tells how Koch Oil has continued the thievery of Osage Native Americans of their oil and poisoned their land long after the mass murder of Osage people exposed in “Killers of … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
“Water for Life” Documentary

Green Cities Fund provided financial assistance for the documentary “Water for Life” which premiered at the 2023 Mill Valley Film Festival. Water For Life follows Indigenous activists in Latin America as they face death threats and murder to save their precious … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
PROJECT RENEW VIETNAM

The legacy of the decades long American War in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia includes hundreds of thousands of unexploded cluster bombs, land mines and other ordnances and the poisoning of generations of Vietnamese from the extensive spraying of dioxin laden … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Queer Surf

Queer Surf was founded by the LGBTQ community to make surf culture and “belonging to the waves” more inclusive of diverse and underrepresented communities and to expand surf culture as an advocate for equitable access to nature and the support … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
Havana Harbor Project

Working closely with renowned historian and restorer of Old Havana  Dr. Eusebio Leal, Green Cities Fund developed a comprehensive plan for the restoration and development of Havana’s historic harbor.  The Plan includes the restoration of multiple adjoining buildings, the construction of … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
“The Sacred and the Snake” Documentary

Join Green Cities Fund in support of the documentary project “The Sacred and the Snake” described below:” At Standing Rock, a Lakota matriarch, a non-binary Appalachian, and a Jicarilla Apache / Navajo youth leader join the resistance against the Dakota Access … Continue reading

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Cubanobel.org

Green Cities Fund arranged for the nomination of Cuban medical workers for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, delivering to Oslo nominating letters from Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health, and  U.S. Congressional Representative Barbara Lee. The medical workers, … Continue reading

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CARAVAN SUPPORT PROJECT

Green Cities Fund is fiscal sponsor of the Caravan Support Project, founded by Thanh Mai Bercher and Holly Joy Wertman, who received their B.A.’s in Public Health at U.C. Berkeley. They have been active in women’s health and refugee relief … Continue reading

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PEOPLE’S PARK MURAL PRESERVATION PROJECT

Artist/attorney Osha Neumann has fought for generations for the preservation of Berkeley’s People’s Park as a symbol of the never ending fight against injustice. He has also worked to preserve the adjacent People’s Park Mural which is badly in need … Continue reading

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Running Shadow Documentary

Inspired by the Native American youth who confronted an epidemic of suicides to start the movement behind the Standing Rock Protests, Green Cities Fund is supporting Cuban documentary filmmaker Carlos Betancourt’s short film documentary RUNNING SHADOW. For information see: www.runningshadowfilm.com 100% of … Continue reading

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Political Cartoons

Green Cities Fund has sponsored a number of educational political cartoons with noted cartoonist Khalil Bendib and others.  Among the most popular was “Play Ball” showing President Obama on the mound pitching to Fidel.  In 2012 It was presented to … Continue reading

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NHA SAN ARTISTS COLLECTIVE

Established as an independent collective in 1998 by artists in Hanoi whose skill, innovation and creative spirit have established new artistic boundaries in a society moving from a tragic past to a challenging future, Nha San has nurtured artists whose … Continue reading

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Planting Seeds “Cocina Abierta”

In December of 2012 Green Cities Fund sponsored a visit to Havana by a delegation of organic food experts and chefs trained at Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse Restaurant. The purpose of the trip, whose planning took almost a year, was … Continue reading

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Palma Soriano – A Clean Water Plan

Over a decade ago river restoration experts from the University of California at Berkeley began developing a clean water plan with the Palma Soriano community. Located near Santiago de Cuba in Eastern Cuba, it is a community of 80,000 rich … Continue reading

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Cuban Economy Project

Green Cities Fund has been at the forefront of economic innovation in Cuba, providing educational information on socially responsible enterprise as an adjunct to the state-controlled economy. Here is an article on the subject: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/cuban_remix Here is a report by the … Continue reading

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Cuba Music, Art and Cultural Programs

Cuba’s love of music, art and culture is renowned, and to encourage exchanges in this area Green Cities Fund has accomplished several outstanding successes. Green Cities Fund arranged for the Oscar nominated documentary and Sundance Film Festival winning documentary film … Continue reading

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Eco Cuba Network

Eco Cuba Network, a 20 year old collaboration between US and Cuban environmentalists, promotes environmental interchange with Cuba, and works within both countries to implement the ideas generated by the Network. Our goals are two-fold: to create a program of … Continue reading

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Cuban Humanitarian Programs

The above photo shows Cuban gay rights advocate Mariella Castro and her husband accepting Berkeley cartoonist Khalil Bendib’s “Play Ball” cartoon from Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, State Senator Loni Hancock and Green Cities co-founder Tran Tuong Nhu at a December, … Continue reading

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Aid to Haiti: “FONDAM” – The Dallas Monnin Foundation

The Monnin family has played an integral part in Haitian culture since 1947.  Through Galerie Monnin, Haiti’s most prominent gallery, the family has introduced Haitian artists to the international art market with great success.  In 2002, the family established The … Continue reading

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Vietnam Green Building Council

The Vietnam Green Building Council, founded in Vietnam by Green Cities Fund in 2006, has had a major impact in Vietnam and Southeast Asia through its educational programs and its development of the “Lotus” green building certification program specific to … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
The Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

In 1966 co-founder Tom Miller and renowned plastic surgeon Arthur J. Barsky, a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, established the Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Vietnam to  treat war-injured children.  A medical team led by Israeli plastic … Continue reading

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Send A Piana To Havana

In 1993 Berkeley California piano tuner Ben Treuhaft was introduced by Green Cities Fund founder TT Nhu to the director of Cuba’s extraordinary National Music School, where talented youth from all over the country come to study in an open … Continue reading

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New Sun Road

After serving as founding director of the Vietnam Green Building Council’s founding director, Jalel Sager, obtained his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley’s Energy Resource Group.  He then established with colleagues New Sun Road, which focuses on renewable … Continue reading

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La Pena Cultural Center

Green Cities Fund co-founder Tom Miller assisted in the establishment of La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, California over 40 years ago.  La Peña was started by a group of Latin American & Californian allies as a direct response to … Continue reading

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Dangerous Waters: The Conflict in the South China Sea

http://www.dangerouswaters.org/

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Chi-Em Microfinance

Chi-Em is a small microfinance project serving ethnic minorities living in the mountains surrounding Dien Bien Phu, the remote valley in the northwest corner of Vietnam where, in 1954, the Vietnamese defeated the French colonial government. It was founded by Nathalie … Continue reading

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OMEGA GLOBAL INITIATIVE (OGI)

The floating OMEGA system produces green energy, clean water, and healthy food while preparing coastal cities for sea-level rise—OGI makes it happen. The Vision:  With guidance from OGI, coastal cities expand production of energy, water, and food beyond the limits … Continue reading

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Green Cities Fund
“Anything to Say?” Public Art Project

Green Cities Fund is a sponsor of the “Anything to Say?” public art project, honoring the Free Speech Movement and three persons who have sacrificed their freedom to protect yours: Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.  More information can … Continue reading

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