David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

World Challenge 2011 is a competition organised by BBC World News and Newsweek aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level. This year, the DSWF funded Snow Leopard Trust is one of the 12 finalists in with the chance of winning a US$20,000 grant, and you could make it happen by voting for them.

Between 26th September and 11th November all finalists will be profiled on BBC World News in six 30 minute programmes and 12 ‘vignettes’ will be broadcast . You can vote for your favourite project/business on the World Challenge website - click here

Please take the time to support this fabulous project: Changing Spots in Mongolia

Mongolia's Snow Leopard Enterprises is an income-generation project that helps people living in poverty increase their standard of living, and at the same time protect their local ecosystems. They provide women across Central Asia with the training and equipment necessary to produce hand-made felt and other wool products, which are sold internationally through the Snow Leopard Trust and other venues. This provides the herding communities with an alternative income that helps to prevent the poaching of endangered snow leopards for survival. The Snow Leopard Enterprises project has been running in Mongolia since 1997. In that time it has grown to include over 350 households from 28 communities in seven different provinces of the mountainous west and desert south of the country.