By Michelle Kurian | Executive Director
Our first GlobalGiving crowdfunder was a success thanks to you! In the few months since your donation, we have been able to: (1) Install a solar-powered water pump for one women's cooperative (a group of female farmers who work together) (2) Recruit 3 new cooperatives and (3) Identify buyers for our cooperatives’ grains and tomatoes.
Since we want your funds to create as much impact as possible, we target marginalized cooperatives in rural villages. These are populations with high rates of extreme poverty, malnutrition, hunger, climate challenges, and gender inequality. There are many logistical challenges that come with working with these populations. For example, many of our cooperatives do not have access to running water. They rely on rain for their crops. However, rain only falls in their regions from December to March and has become very spotty due to climate change. We realized that we can make significant impact with solar-powered water pumping technology. With your support, we were able to install one to start vegetable production. You can view the video of how thrilled our farmers are with their pump: https://youtu.be/sFIh_RSO-ok
Before, the farmers relied on a hand-dug well that was only 4-5 meters deep. The women would have to use a bucket to pull the water from the hole and carry that bucket to their fields. Unfortunately, those wells would also run dry. Now, the farmers can access water year-round which means they can quadruple their income!
However, it is hard for them to sell all of the crops that they've grown. Why? They live in rural areas. Transport is expensive and difficult because of potholed dirt roads and high costs of fuel. Also, because they are socioeconomically disadvantaged, many formal buyers often look down on our farmers. Thus, because of our professional networks, we identify potential buyers and transport the crops for them. So far, we have identified two local hotels that are willing to work with us. We use the revenue from the sales of the crops to sustain our operations.
Additionally, we have expanded to an additional province in Zambia. Zambia has 10 provinces which are divided into districts. Before, we worked with 3 cooperatives across 2 districts in 1 province. With your support, we now work with 6 cooperatives across 3 districts in 2 provinces. Thanks to you, we are able to expand our impact! We are on our way to creating strong local food systems that also end extreme poverty.
To learn more about us, visit www.theharvestfund.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.
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