Gender Equality Afghanistan Project #12324

Strawberry Farming for 500 Afghan Women

by Global Partnership for Afghanistan

Project Report | May 16, 2013
Strawberry Runners Planted (500,000 of them!)

By Kate McLetchie | Development and Communications Officer

Prepping the land and soil for strawberry planting

Nearly six months into our GlobalGiving campaign and we have already helped improve the lives of 500 Afghan women – and we have you to thank! Because of you, we have raised nearly one-third of our $25,000 fundraising goal, which is helping to make this project a reality.

Since our last report to you in February, our staff on the ground have now identified and met with all 500 women participating in this project, in the districts of Kabul, Parwan and Kapisa. All of the women have successfully completed the “Producer Orientation” training series. During late March and early April each woman received 1,000 strawberry runners to plant in their gardens, and received hands-on instruction in soil preparation and care of the plants. GPFA also implemented 28 bucket irrigation systems in the villages that were most in need as an extra measure to ensure the success of this project.

While the harvest this summer may not be at peak production (this will occur in the next couple of years), the women, with the help of GPFA staff, have already taken the next steps towards income generation – ensuring a guaranteed marketplace for their produce. In addition to securing a partnership with one of the largest commercial farm and packing facilities in Central Asia, recruitment of local women wholesalers also began. With even the smallest profit, these women’s lives, and the lives of their families, will be changed for the better. And it all started this past spring with the planting of 500,000 strawberry runners. In the coming months, we look forward to sharing stories from the field and profiling the experiences of some of the women farmers involved in this project.

We are thrilled that some of you have chosen to enroll in GlobalGiving’s “Monthly Recurring” donation option. It is an easy way to support the project (we are talking as little as $12 a month), but gives the project a big boost. You can also make tribute gift in honor of a friend, colleague, or loved one for a special occasion by choosing the “Gift or In-Honor of” option when you donate. Two great ways to continue to stay involved with this project!

Again, on behalf of all of us at GPFA – thank you!

Recycled boxes used to transport strawberries

Distributing strawberry runners in recycled boxes

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Feb 25, 2013
Preparing for Spring Planting Season

By Kate McLetchie | Development & Communications Officer

Staff visiting with farmer in her garden

A big thank you to all of you for helping us launch this project in partnership with GlobalGiving at the end of last year. Wow, we couldn’t have done it without your generous support – we surpassed our fundraising challenge of $5,000 and are on our way to meeting our $25,000 goal!

In the past few months, our staff have identified and met with nearly 400 of the women strawberry producers in three districts – Parwan, Kapisa, and Kabul. An additional 100 women are in the process of being identified to participate in this project. We’ve also held the first series of “Producer Orientation” training sessions for 150 of the farmers. These trainings outline the project and its goals, responsibilities of GPFA and the participating producers, and basic technical training on planting and care of the strawberry runners.

Our first cohort of farmers – all 500 of them – will plant their strawberry runners this March to coincide with the spring planting season, and the first harvest will take place in late summer (although strawberries are not at maximum productivity during their first year, there will still be enough to harvest this season). By the following season our farmers will be well on their way to producing an abundance of fresh strawberries for the local market and taking the initial steps toward setting up value-added activities like producing jam and dried strawberries for the international marketplace. The potential is enormous and truly transformative for these women and their families. We look forward to sharing updates and photos from the planting season in our next report later this spring.

Mark your calendars for GlobalGiving’s first Bonus Day of the year on Wednesday, March 13^th. All donations will be matched at 30% - there is no better time to give! Did you know that you can also support this project with a monthly recurring donation? You can enroll with a gift of as little as $12 a month! This will purchase more than 1,000 strawberry plants over the course of the year, which is the average amount grown by each farmer. Just $12 a month will truly transform the life of an Afghan woman farmer – we think it is pretty amazing that a small investment can have such a big impact.

Discussing how to plant strawberry runners

Women participating in Producer Orientation

Producer Orientation session

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