IOIA accepts applications for the annual Andrew Rutherford Scholarship Award, which provides full tuition for an IOIA-sponsored organic inspector training course during the following year.

Both prospective and experienced inspectors are eligible to apply for the Rutherford Scholarship. It is awarded to an individual on the basis of need and potential as judged by the IOIA Scholarship Committee. Applicants can choose to attend any IOIA-sponsored training. The Scholarship pays for tuition, room and board but does not cover transportation or other expenses.

The late Andrew Rutherford was a farmer, organic inspector, and organic agriculture researcher from southern Saskatchewan. He served on IOIA's initial steering committee and then several years as a Founding Board Member.

2011 Andrew Rutherford Scholarship Recipient Rachael Roditti

Rachael received a BA from Humboldt State University in 1993. Afterwards she worked on a diverse organic farm. In 1995 as a Peace Corps Community Forestry Volunteer in Thailand she worked with farmers, and attained a grant for a teaching local farmers how to prepare the local plant Neem as a natural pesticide. She also volunteered with Americorps Watershed Restoration Project, monitoring salmon habitat, performing classroom environmental education, and assisting scientists. Afterwards she returned to Humboldt State and received a minor in botany. Continuing her passion with plants she obtained work mapping out sensitive plants with the Mendocino National Forest. She continued her interest in plant conservation, spending two years with Redwood and Zion National Parks monitoring the effects of fire on plants.
Rachael has resided in the rain forest on the Big Island of Hawaii for seven years. Tropical botany led her to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where she worked with resource management in the plant nursery and monitored native plants. Soon after she started a family and began propagating native plants along with coffee and cacao from seed. Since then she has established a small farm of cacao, coffee, and a diverse array of edible plants, nourishing them using organic methods. She completed the Master Gardeners of Hawaii course given by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
Her future plans are to encourage organic farming ideals, become an organic crop and processing inspector and to continue her organic family farm.

The Deadline for returning Scholarship applications is October 1.
Scholarship recipients are notified by December 15.
Download applications for either scholarship program from the links below.

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Please return completed applications to: