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History

1971:After 20 years as a priest in the Chol-Chol region, the philanthropist James W. Mundell creates the Chol-Chol Foundation. The Washington, D.C. based non-profit Foundation is established to help foster human development in rural communities below the poverty line in the Araucania Region in Chile.

1974:The organization is established in Chile. With Mundell's creation of an organized development system and the generous support of donors, the Foundation launches its first local community support programs.

1979:The Chilean government officially authorizes the Chol-Chol Foundation to operate in Chilean territory.

1980s:The Foundation's work is principally geared toward the development of agricultural programs with financial and technical support for small farmers. Special attention is dedicated to the issues that farmers of the region typically face, and financial support is given with the goal of generating a productive, educational process that benefits and is in concordance with the students' culture, environment, and personal development. Until the 90s, the Foundation continues to offer such diverse programming as Small Farmer Startup (empowerment and technical assistance with forestry and cattle management) and the Forestry Program (restoration of degraded and eroded soils.)

1990s:The Women's Program is created to help generate equal opportunities through the self-empowerment and organization of the rural Mapuche women. The program seeks to educate and incorporate the women's existing cultural knowledge, so that she might apply it to her and her family's daily life, with productive startup programs such as Mapuche Textiles, Horticulture, Apiculture (Beekeeping), Small Animal Management, complemented by Family Health, Reproductive Health, Nutrition, Organizational Support, and Personal Development. As of 2003, close to 2,000 women of the region received support through the Women's Program.

1994:The first traditional Mapuche textiles, artisan creations resulting from the Women's Program, are introduced commercially.

1997:James W. Mundell, Founder and Director of the Chol-Chol Foundation, passes away.

2000:The Foundation modifies its statutes and acquires jurisdiction as a Chilean organization, keeping its original administrative model as an independent organization with Chilean-based management.

2000:The Ñimi Kafe Pu Domo Association is created, connecting close to 600 textile and agricultural producers.

2001-2005:The Chilean Ministry of Education certifies The Chol-Chol Foundation as a Technical Startup Organization. As an Integral Adult Education Center, the Foundation runs an educational and productive program that reaches over 200 people.

2005:The Chol-Chol Foundation joins IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, upon completion of a series of international standards of commercialization. IFAT seeks to strengthen the development capacities of the producers, foster healthy working conditions, and compensate nondiscriminatorily and fairly, among other goals.

2005:A pilot program on Medicinal Plants begins with two community groups in the costal zone of the IX Region.

2006:The Foundation begins a work focus toward the promotion of the socioeconomic development of the women's cooperative, the Ñimi Kafe Pu Domo Association.

2007:The International Fair Trade Association accredits The Chol-Chol Foundation as a Fair Trade Organization (FTO).

Founding Members of the Fundación Chol-Chol

Name	Title
Alan Mackenzie	President
Emily Calburn	Vice-President
Patricio Reyes	Financial Advisor
Federico Magofke	Director
Jaime Taladriz	Director
Leonardo Duijndam	Director
Bernardo Serrano	Director
John Parkes	Director
Sergio Villaseca	Director
Giles Dawson	Director