(June, 2016) Sustainia, a global collaboration platform to build a sustainable future based on the solutions available today to support the creation of a better and fairer world in the context of sustainability, publishes annually Sustainia100, a guide that identifies projects, initiatives and technologies at the forefront of sustainable innovation, to present the 100 most innovative, scalable and promising solutions to the most pressing problems worldwide. The innovations are evaluated by independent experts in sustainability of 20 international research organizations, which select the top 100 of a total of more than 1,200 solutions identified in 188 countries around the globe.

“The Sustainia100 shows us that the most compelling and successful solutions tackle multiple challenges, and global goals, in one go,” said Morten Nielsen, Managing Director of Sustainia. 

In her foreword to the Sustainia100, Lise Kingo, the Executive Director of United Nations Global Compact, reflects on the pace and direction set by the Sustainable Development Goals:  “The Sustainia100 offers us 100 reasons to be hopeful and inspired as we embark on this 15 year journey. The innovative thinking needed to accomplish the SDGs by 2030 already exists today. Now our task is to spread the word about these transformative solutions in order to help them scale and inspire new actors to take part in forging the path to a more sustainable future.”

From health solutions that tackle climate change, to renewable energy products that alleviate gender inequality, this year’s publication sets out 100 solutions which respond to the interconnected global challenges addressed through the Sustainable Development Goals, among which is included MANQ'A Cafeterías y Escuelas de Cocina, a project leaded by Melting Pot Foundation and ICCO Cooperation Melting Pot.

 “The project in Bolivia is a microcosm of how food can become an entry point for sustainability, health, job-creation, social protection and renewed cultural pride. It shows how food can be a silver bullet to address a range of complex and interconnected challenges and it gives us the recipe for the food systems of tomorrow. Food systems that not only are sustainable and healthy, but also the point of departure for resilient societies" said Erik Rasmussen, founder of Sustainia.

Meanwhile, Conny Toornstra, Regional Director of ICCO Cooperation, says that "In Bolivia gastronomy is an engine for the development of rural economies, where consumers and producers are connected through local cuisines that represent the identity of food culture and the richness of our biodiversity, constituting the food Heritage of our country. Cooks and chefs are the bearers of this heritage who, through food processing, generate development processes which provide healthy food while producers and consumers receive a quality product with regional identity. Therefore, the formation of these cooks and chefs in the principles of deep respect for the local product and producer that makes this possible is critical"

"With projects like this we plant the roots of a new model of social and economic enterprise, one that seeks to propel development processes through gastronomy, giving to the people the tools needed to improve their living conditions, those of their families and their communities. It is an honor for us that a project born in Bolivia is reaching other countries and achieving worldwide recognition" concluded Michelangelo Cestari, Board Member of Melting Pot Bolivia and CEO of Gustu Group.