JUAf has a new website! Please visit us at www.juaf.org .
This blogspot page will no longer be updated. All updates are on our new website. Thanks!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Accomplishments for 2011!
SOLAR PANELS
We installed our solar panels this year on the roof of the Community Center in order to get the strongest sun rays, and to protect the panels from livestock. We no longer have to use a generator and fuel to pump our water out of the well in order to fill our tanks. The solar panels are working great, and not only fill our tanks, but provide electricity to our Community Center for computers, charging cell phone batteries and light for the evening classes.PROPERTY BOUNDARY
We finished our property boundary this year as well! We now have a boundary that fully encloses our property, and protects our assets, our agriculture, our water and soon to be livestock! We do anticipate adding livestock (cows, goats, chickens) to the project in order to provide eggs, and milk to the preshool program. The image above shows the main entrance gate.
PRESCHOOL
We now have 20 children attending our JUAf preschool program. The children are very proud to be attending an English Medium School and learning English daily. We were able to get uniforms for the children and continue to provide them a quality education while their mothers are busy at work. We started the ground work of the preschool in 2011, and have received donations that will allow us to complete the building of the school in 2012!DROUGHT
We faced a severe drought this year in the Kikwe region where JUAf is located. Kikwe did not receive their second set of rains in 2011, and it caused all the crops to die in the village and surrounding areas. The land and river beds were dry, and the villagers simply did not have water to irrigate their crops. Not only did the crops die, but the water table level of our well was nearly dry. We had challenges providing clean drinking water to the community during the drought.DIGGING A DEEPER WELL
We decided to hire locals to dig our existing well an additional 25 feet deep so we could reach the bottom of the water table. Fortunately, after a month of digging, we reached the bottom of the water table, and we were able to provide clean water again. Due to the drought, and the crops dying, the women of JUAf were unable to pay back their third microfinancing loan. Asha and I had to come up with creative ideas to empower women to earn an income for their families and slowly pay back their loans. We decided to introduce the women to sustainable crafts.
CRAFTS
We educated the women on the need to ‘think outside the box’ during times of drought, and to think creatively on how to produce handicrafts using sustainable materials from the land. We spent time collecting crafts at various markets throughout Tanzania and Kenya that were created by women from other villages and tribes. We presented these crafts to the women of JUAf, and encouraged them to create crafts that were of high quality, and unique by using sustainable materials.
We educated the women on the need to ‘think outside the box’ during times of drought, and to think creatively on how to produce handicrafts using sustainable materials from the land. We spent time collecting crafts at various markets throughout Tanzania and Kenya that were created by women from other villages and tribes. We presented these crafts to the women of JUAf, and encouraged them to create crafts that were of high quality, and unique by using sustainable materials. HANDBAGS
The women of JUAf decided to make handbags out of dried banana leaves and seeds. During the drought, they all met at the JUAf Community Center daily to start designing their handbags and making them by hand. Asha and I were absolutely thrilled at the end result! The women made three handbags. I chose the highest quality bag and tried to find a distribution channel. We wanted to get these handbags sold in the high end tourist stores, not at the local markets. I was able to get the handbags into one of the most high end tourist stores in Arusha, and they ordered several of them at a fair trade price ($25 per handbag to be sold for $40). The women were absolutely thrilled and amazed at how materials collected from the land (dried banana leaves and seeds) could create such a beautiful handbag that tourists would want to purchase. Although the rains have returned, and the crops are growing plentiful, the JUAf women have now learned that other lines of business outside of agriculture and livestock are just as (if not more) lucrative.
The women of JUAf have faced many challenges over the year, but equally met with many successes. We look forward to another great year in 2012! Thanks again for all your support.
Judi McAlpine & Asha Mruma
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Plans for this year - 2011
JUAf's top three priorities for 2011 are... Preschool, Solar Power and Property Boundary!
PRESCHOOL
Our plan for this year is to build a preschool so the children in the village and surrounding communities are able to get an excellent
early childhood education prior to starting grade one. The community currently does not have a preschool for children age 3-7 to learn and grow. Children typically spend the day with their mothers working the crops in the fields, and walking several hours a day to get grass, and water for the cows and goats. It has always been a priority of JUAf to provide early childhood education for the children of the village in order to intellectually, and creatively thrive. The preschool will also help the mothers to be able to work and build a successful small business while their children are in school.
Although the building of the preschool, and the salaries of the teacher and cook were provided by generous donations, we DO expect monthly fees from our JUAf members. We do not want to encourage 'free handouts' to our community. We want to empower them to empower themselves. We have school fees of 20,000 TSH a month ($14) per child. The funds will help support the overall food budget, and contribute to salaries to run the school.
On a final note, many of the children attend class in the same outfit everyday. I reached out
to friends and asked them to provide me with clothes that their children no longer wear. We received over 200 kilos (400 pounds) of childrens clothes. My mom came out to visit the project and brought the clothes with her. We decided to give the children one outfit per month, and the kids were thrilled with their new clothes!
SOLAR POWER
We'll be investing in solar power this year to help us pull water from our well. It costs JUAf approximately $5,000 year to provide clean drinking water on a daily basis to the village. It's due to cost of gasoline to run the generator. So, we will be investing in solar power water pump, solar panels, and pipes to draw a continuous flow of water to our tanks daily. It's a payoff that will take less than a year to payoff. I'll provide pictures of the panels and the set up once we have selected the manufacturers. We have been working with providers based in Tanzania and Kenya, and expect to have our decision made very soon.
PROPERTY BOUNDARY
We are investing in build
ing a boundary around the property, and the work is almost complete. The purpose of this boundary is to protect our assets. We need to protect our crops from the community goats and cows that want to feed on our vegetables during the day and night. We need to protect our water at night to make sure that it is not be misused. We also need to protect the preschool, and the children during class time. Finally, we need to protect our investment in solar power, piping and pumps to provide water to the community.
PRESCHOOL
Our plan for this year is to build a preschool so the children in the village and surrounding communities are able to get an excellent
early childhood education prior to starting grade one. The community currently does not have a preschool for children age 3-7 to learn and grow. Children typically spend the day with their mothers working the crops in the fields, and walking several hours a day to get grass, and water for the cows and goats. It has always been a priority of JUAf to provide early childhood education for the children of the village in order to intellectually, and creatively thrive. The preschool will also help the mothers to be able to work and build a successful small business while their children are in school.
We started to register students for our JUAf Preschool in November 2010, and we started the year with 15 children. We were fortunate to hire a preschool teacher from the community who happens to have have a certificate in preschool education. She also speaks fluent English! Her name is Rose, and she is fabulous with the kids! We also hired a woman named Sabina to be the cook of the school. Sabina cooks up three meals a day so the children have well nourished meals to support them with their learning.
While we are constructing the preschool, the children are being taught in the JUAf Community Center. We expect to have the preschool complete by the end of the year, and will need to furnish it with desks and books next year. The school curriculum was set by one of our management team members, Abdule. Abdule has a certificate in teaching at the primary school level, and he has set a curriculum that matches if not exceeds Tanzanian program standards. It is the only english medium school in the area.
Although the building of the preschool, and the salaries of the teacher and cook were provided by generous donations, we DO expect monthly fees from our JUAf members. We do not want to encourage 'free handouts' to our community. We want to empower them to empower themselves. We have school fees of 20,000 TSH a month ($14) per child. The funds will help support the overall food budget, and contribute to salaries to run the school.On a final note, many of the children attend class in the same outfit everyday. I reached out
to friends and asked them to provide me with clothes that their children no longer wear. We received over 200 kilos (400 pounds) of childrens clothes. My mom came out to visit the project and brought the clothes with her. We decided to give the children one outfit per month, and the kids were thrilled with their new clothes!SOLAR POWER
We'll be investing in solar power this year to help us pull water from our well. It costs JUAf approximately $5,000 year to provide clean drinking water on a daily basis to the village. It's due to cost of gasoline to run the generator. So, we will be investing in solar power water pump, solar panels, and pipes to draw a continuous flow of water to our tanks daily. It's a payoff that will take less than a year to payoff. I'll provide pictures of the panels and the set up once we have selected the manufacturers. We have been working with providers based in Tanzania and Kenya, and expect to have our decision made very soon.
PROPERTY BOUNDARY
We are investing in build
ing a boundary around the property, and the work is almost complete. The purpose of this boundary is to protect our assets. We need to protect our crops from the community goats and cows that want to feed on our vegetables during the day and night. We need to protect our water at night to make sure that it is not be misused. We also need to protect the preschool, and the children during class time. Finally, we need to protect our investment in solar power, piping and pumps to provide water to the community.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
JUAf is Recognized By The Tanzanian Government
Over the past year, JUAf was officially registered in Dar es Salaam, and recognized by the Tanzanian Government as a legal Community Based Organization residing in Kikwe Ward in the Maweni Village, Arumeru District.
A celebration was in order, so we invited the community, government officials and a guest of honor to attend our official launch party of JUAf. Asha was a gracious host showing the guests around the village, and explaining to them the various services that we provide the vulnerable community. She discussed with them our microfinance loan program, our ability to provide clean drinking water to the community and our irrigation system for crops. She also discussed the future plans of JUAf with our guests.
The day started out with the women of JUAf welcoming our guests with many songs and skits. They provided skits of how one can get out of poverty with opportunities. Asha then welcomed our guests with a speech explaining to them the vision of our organization which includes not only providing microfinance loans (which we now have 40 women on loans), but also our plans to build an English Medium Nursery School in 2011. She spoke about how JUAf is providing clean drinking water to the community and how we are the only land owners that have clean water.
The Guest of Honor welcomed us into the community and thanked us for buidling a non-profit in the rural communities where they really need assistance versus in the larger city. The Tanzanian Government then provided us with a gracious gift – a tractor! The tractor will help JUAf and the community cultivate our land more efficiently. The community usually hires a cow, a driver and a hoe to cultivate the land which takes 3 days to cultivate 1 acre. The tractor will cultivate 3 acres in just one day. The women of JUAf were thrilled!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Women of JUAf
I’m back in Africa for a few months working with the women of JUAf. I’d like to introduce you to the women of our organization and give you a small message from each of them. We didn’t get a chance to interview all the women of our organization, but did interview a sampling (approximately 25 JUAf members) and asked them to tell us a little bit about themselves, and the impact the microfinance loans have had on their lives over the past year. The below notes are taken directly from the women in their own words - translated from Swahili to English.
Agnes Philipo
Lea Sirayo
My name is Lea Sirayo, being a member of JUAf is a lucky thing. When other people come to the village and starts organization, they always select young people and strong to work with them. It has been different with JUAf, because when they say that they want to work with ‘vulnerable groups’ they didn’t differentiate the young and the old people. I feel young working among young people. Given loans make me to be busy. Thanks hundred times to JUAf.
Helen Philipo
They call me Helen Philipo. I’m married and I have one child, a beautiful girl named Dabora. A few months after I was married, I was carrying my first pregnancy. My husband lost vision of both eyes. I am now the father and the mother of the family, and I am responsible for their daily needs. I am very thankful to JUAf, for the loans and knowledge which they have given us. They have inspired me a lot. I’m working very hard so that I can change the life of my family. My request is for JUAf or someone to offer to sponsor education to my beloved child. My child’s father has given up, and can do nothing. Despite all of this, I am very happy to be a member of JUAf because they are my second hand.
Judith Marko
No one can tell me not to attend JUAf meetings, as once my husband didn’t allow me to go to JUAf meetings. Nowadays, when I am back from the meeting, he asks me what went on during our meeting. This is because he has noticed the benefit we get from the loan which I have been given by JUAf. I have many friends who want to join JUAf, but the JUAf needs more microfinance money to give out more loans. – I’m called Judith Marko
Vick Massa
I really like development, but unfortunately when I got married I was very young. The man I married was not of my choice, and I was forced by my parents to marry. I wanted a good life, but my husband was drinking a lot. Hence, I was the one who had to care for the family. My husband died and left me to care for the children. When Asha and Judi came to our village I was the one to receive them. I listened to their idea, and I was very happy. As a member of JUAf, I have benefited a lot from the education received and the loan given.
Ruth Mungure
My name is Ruth Mungure, I love JUAf, as they have done good things for me. I was trained in entrepreneurship by JUAf, and they arranged to train us again in Village Banking - VIKOBA. Now as a member of JUAf, I benefit with two loans - one from JUAf and another one from VIKIOBA. I’m happy because my life has changed. We pray very much that JUAf can get enough money and give us good amount of money so that we can extend our business.
Fatuma Adian
I have started doing the farming of vegetable since I was a young woman. Unfortunately my selling was very low, and whatever I got from the market didn’t satisfy the needs of my family. Iwas very happy when I heard about JUAf, and they accepted me to become a member. I appreciated them for the training we received because it has helped me to do my business nicely. – by Fatuma Adian
Sabina Gabriel
I am Sabina Gabrie, and I really enjoy to be a JUAf member. My life is terrible, and I do not have a home or many good things in my life. I want development, that’s why I like JUAf. They give me development. They are giving us a lot of knowledge and loans. I used my loan for buying vegetables and I take them to the market for selling. I’m sure if we continue to be given education training, and given more loans, my life will change.
Tasimbora Nasari
My life has changed a lot, and my neighbors are anxious to know what is happening to my family. I am married, but before I became a member of JUAf, our life was a tough one. I was doing small business, but with no success because I didn’t have the capital to run the business. My husband was doing cheap labor, but the money was not enough. After I received the entrepreneurship education and given loan by JUAf, I now have an understanding life.
Beatrice Shedrack
I started farming of vegetables since I was a young woman. Unfortunately my selling was very low, and whatever I got from the market did not satisfy the needs of my family. I was very happy when I heard about JUAf, and was accepted as a member. I appreciated the business training we received because it has helped me to do my business nicely. I am Beatrice Shedrack
Juliet Naimani
My name is Juliet Naimani. I like educating myself, my dream was to become a teacher, unfortunately, straight after my standard seven (grade 7) I was forced to get married. I am a mother of two children, I’m happy to be a member of JUAf. My dream is one day to continue with my education and become a teacher.
Mary Stephano
My name is Mary Stephano. I have never been a member of any organization. When I was asked to join JUAf, I really hesitated. But now I’m very happy as my life has changed from the training we have received and the loans. I am owa small business woman, and I can budget my things do them without waiting for someone else to make decisions.
Uenike Lucas
I started making local beer when I was divorced by my husband, and came to live with old mother. I didn’t know what to do as I had to take care of my old mum. The capital I had was very small, so we had to spend it on domestic use. However, after I received the entrepreneurship training organized by JUAf, and given loans, I am now proud because I can save and spend some with my mother, and I have bought three goats. – byUenike Lucas
Sophia Rashidi
My name is Sophia Rashidi. I am very happy to be a member of JUAf. My life has changed a bit. After being given a loan, I now buy vegetables from other people’s farms, and take to the market for selling. Now I can handle my own money and do shopping for the family.
Eliawinga Kitomari
JUAf is very nice. They have enrolled me as a member though I’m very old. I live with my grandchildren and I buy vegetables from my neighbors farm and take them to the market for selling. This is how I spent my loan from JUAf. My name is Eliawinga
Elinora Shayo
My name is Elionora Shayo. I’m very happy to be a member of JUAf and happy for the education I received (and continue to receive) from JUAf. Being able to make money makes me feel like I am a woman who can be proud of what I’m doing. With my money I can make decisions, a plan, and do whatever I want for my family’s development
Happy Skawa
Happy is my name, and I’m always very happy. I am a single parent and a mother of one child. I am the father and the mother to my child. With JUAf loans I will do my best so that my child gets a good education. My request to JUAf, please will you increase the loan.
Eliesh Noel
I was the last one to get the loan in the group, but I didn’t give up. I was attending every JUAf meeting. In fact, Asha was giving me good reason why there was no loan to be given, because we needed more microfinance money to provide business loans to new members. God is great, and my attendance was blessed. One of the JUAf members had to leave the village for another town. Asha then called me and said that we now have a vacancy available to provide a loan. I couldn’t believe my ears. Now, I’m a member of JUAf, and I have taken my first loan and I’m very very happy. Thank you JUAf. – by Eliesh Noel
Ecobeth Lazaro
Being old is not a problem when you’re busy working , and you can earn your own money. JUAf has made me to become young, as when I take the loan, I have to work hard and get the profit in order to cover my own expenses at the same time to return the loan. Thank you JUAf and its leadership – by Ecobeth Lazaro
Lightness Mbise
My name is Lightness Mbise. I am single, and I live with my mother. Life is so tough as I must do labor work for other people in the community. I am very happy with JUAf as I am now able to employ myself. After I received my first loan, I started to buy vegetables from my neighbors farm and take them to the market for selling.
We request JUAf to increase the loan size so that we can continue to get a bigger loan once we repay.
Christina Maulidi
My name is Christina Maulidi. The loan given to me by JUAf has helped me to get profit from my small business. I will be more grateful if I will be given more money which I will use in my business and get better profits.
Florence Sirayo
JUAf has made me to be me. Before I became a member of JUAf, I lived a miserable time. The small business which I was doing didn’t help much because my capital was small. The loan given to me by JUAf has increased my capital, and now I’m buying vegetables from the farm and selling them twice a week at the market. My life now is a little bit soft. Thank you JUAf. I’m called Florence Sirayo
Anna Zaphania
My name is Anna Zaphania. I am a single mother of five children. JUAf has helped me a lot. I have received the entrepreneurship training before I was given the loan. I used my loan by increasing the capital of my small shop. I would like to ask JUAf to increase the loan.
Khadija Mohammed
My name is Khadija Mohammed. I’m a single mother, taking care of my children. I would like if JUAf will increase their loan amount. My first loan received from JUAf I bought sheep, and the food for the sheep. I have now sold them, and made a profit. My second loan received from JUAf, I have hired a farm and cultivated the rice paddies.
Yunis Philipo
My name is Yunis Philipo. I enjoy to be a member of JUAf. They have helped to be what I am now. Once, I didn’t have anything to do. I was doing labor work from farm to farm and get small amount of money which I used to by some vegetables and take them to the market. Now, I have a loan. I have hired a farm and I cultivate my own vegetables and sell them, which gives me a good profit.
Mary Lyatuu
My name is Mary Lyatuu. I live with my grandchildren. I take care of them and my earnings depend on farming. I am happy to be a member of JUAf. Nowadays, I’m very busy with my farm work as I have hired another piece of land and I’m cultivating more vegetables for selling. Thank you JUAf for all that you do for vulnerable people.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A lot's been happening...
It’s been a bit since the JUAf blog has been updated, so there is quite a bit to share.
One Simple Word – Water!
JUAf finally reached water! We had to dig 100ft to get to the water table, but we made it! Thanks to Swalehe a local Kikwe villager who took nine months to dig the well by hand, we now have endless water to irrigate our crops, and to provide clean drinking water to the community. We recently had the water tested by the Arusha Regional Water Laboratory office, and we were rewarded a certificate that states the water is 100% drinkable, and boiling is not necessary. The community of Maweni village (including Kikwe) has never had access to clean drinking water, and we now have the women of our village lining up to have safe water to drink and bring to their families
The water will also be used to irrigate our crops, and to provide water to our Community Center. We were able to purchase a large water container to hold 1,000 liters of water for our community center needs. We also hired local villagers to help Abduli and Swalehe construct a water holding tank which will hold up to 200,000 liters of water to irrigate our crops.
This was one of our primary priorities for 2009/2010 – Dig a well and gain access to water to provide the community with safe drinking water, and irrigate our crops. Task complete!
Community Center
Done! It’s done and it looks great!
The Community Center took approximately eight months to finish, starting from the day we hired the architect to design it, to the final day we furnished the interior with desks and chairs. This meeting place is not only a place for the women of our village to meet and collaborate on small business ideas through our microfinancing program, but it’s a place for them to feel proud of and call their own. It’s a place for them to gather and feel that their voices are heard in a safe environment. An environment where they will not only be heard, but be given the tools to succeed.
We also were able to construct our JUAf Office in the Community Center so Asha and I have a place to run the JUAf project and take care of administrative needs.
One last thing – we were able to construct two outdoor latrines (with a water head) for our community center. We’ve been told that we have the nicest latrines in the village, and a place to wash hands!
Crops
Now that we have our own water source for irrigation, we expect to have a better crop harvest for 2010. Our biggest challenge in 2009 was water. Tanzania went through a very severe drought and farmers throughout the country were not able to generate income from their fields. Although we had our own river running through our land, we were on a schedule for water rights. Our assigned once a week schedule to water our crops was not sufficient, so we lost our crops along with all other Tanzanians. So, it was imperative for us to dig a well to get access to water for crops and the community.
We plan to have a few specialists in agricultural development come to our project to educate us on the planting and harvesting cycle of local crops. This background will certainly help us with our knowledge (or lack thereof) in agriculture and harvesting. Additionally, the knowledge will help us in understanding the planting lifecycle, and to gain the highest price for our crops.
Our plan is then to set up our distribution channels within the larger outlying towns to sell our produce, and put the profits directly back into the JUAf Village.
Legalizing Land
We recently had our land legalized which is a big deal for us. In Tanzania, even though a land owner purchases their land, they are technically leasing their land for 33 or 99 years from the Tanzanian Government. Hence, the land can be taken from you if it is a) not legalized with the government b) not being developed via cultivating crops or construction. So, we went through the proper steps to get our land legalized with the government and have proper boundaries set. As part of the land legalization process, we had markers set by the government to mark the boundaries of our land. So, we not only purchased eight acres of land in 2009, but we are legal land owners too!
Microfinacing
Our microfinancing program is going well. We currently have 35 women who are taking out $75 loans. Our first set of loans was given to 15 women. To date, we have received a 100% payback in our loans from this first group of members. This same group of women recently took out their second loan ($75 plus 20%). They are very happy to have had success in their first loan, and are thrilled to be receiving another loan. The second set of loans was given to the remaining 20 members. Their loans are due next month. We hope to increase the loan amount for all loans above the first loan, but will need to continue to raise money for our microfinancing kitty.
Prior to giving out our first round of loans, we asked each individual what their plans were in terms of how they would spend their profits. The majority of them had mentioned that they would spend their profits on home improvements (i.e.; purchasing windows, buying tin roofing materials, slowly purchasing bricks in order to build a brick home, and eventually move out of their mud home, purchasing livestock etc. I’ve included pictures in this blog so you can see the many improvements in their lives.
2010 Plans
Our JUAf 2010 plans include our continued focus on irrigation for our crops; finding distribution channels for our crops at market; microfinancing programs, continued small business education classes, and finally, building a border for our land.
Thanks again for all your support!
Asha Mruma & Judi McAlpine
One Simple Word – Water!
JUAf finally reached water! We had to dig 100ft to get to the water table, but we made it! Thanks to Swalehe a local Kikwe villager who took nine months to dig the well by hand, we now have endless water to irrigate our crops, and to provide clean drinking water to the community. We recently had the water tested by the Arusha Regional Water Laboratory office, and we were rewarded a certificate that states the water is 100% drinkable, and boiling is not necessary. The community of Maweni village (including Kikwe) has never had access to clean drinking water, and we now have the women of our village lining up to have safe water to drink and bring to their families
The water will also be used to irrigate our crops, and to provide water to our Community Center. We were able to purchase a large water container to hold 1,000 liters of water for our community center needs. We also hired local villagers to help Abduli and Swalehe construct a water holding tank which will hold up to 200,000 liters of water to irrigate our crops.
This was one of our primary priorities for 2009/2010 – Dig a well and gain access to water to provide the community with safe drinking water, and irrigate our crops. Task complete!
Community Center
Done! It’s done and it looks great!
The Community Center took approximately eight months to finish, starting from the day we hired the architect to design it, to the final day we furnished the interior with desks and chairs. This meeting place is not only a place for the women of our village to meet and collaborate on small business ideas through our microfinancing program, but it’s a place for them to feel proud of and call their own. It’s a place for them to gather and feel that their voices are heard in a safe environment. An environment where they will not only be heard, but be given the tools to succeed.
We also were able to construct our JUAf Office in the Community Center so Asha and I have a place to run the JUAf project and take care of administrative needs.
One last thing – we were able to construct two outdoor latrines (with a water head) for our community center. We’ve been told that we have the nicest latrines in the village, and a place to wash hands!
Crops
Now that we have our own water source for irrigation, we expect to have a better crop harvest for 2010. Our biggest challenge in 2009 was water. Tanzania went through a very severe drought and farmers throughout the country were not able to generate income from their fields. Although we had our own river running through our land, we were on a schedule for water rights. Our assigned once a week schedule to water our crops was not sufficient, so we lost our crops along with all other Tanzanians. So, it was imperative for us to dig a well to get access to water for crops and the community.
We plan to have a few specialists in agricultural development come to our project to educate us on the planting and harvesting cycle of local crops. This background will certainly help us with our knowledge (or lack thereof) in agriculture and harvesting. Additionally, the knowledge will help us in understanding the planting lifecycle, and to gain the highest price for our crops.
Our plan is then to set up our distribution channels within the larger outlying towns to sell our produce, and put the profits directly back into the JUAf Village.
Legalizing Land
We recently had our land legalized which is a big deal for us. In Tanzania, even though a land owner purchases their land, they are technically leasing their land for 33 or 99 years from the Tanzanian Government. Hence, the land can be taken from you if it is a) not legalized with the government b) not being developed via cultivating crops or construction. So, we went through the proper steps to get our land legalized with the government and have proper boundaries set. As part of the land legalization process, we had markers set by the government to mark the boundaries of our land. So, we not only purchased eight acres of land in 2009, but we are legal land owners too!
Microfinacing
Our microfinancing program is going well. We currently have 35 women who are taking out $75 loans. Our first set of loans was given to 15 women. To date, we have received a 100% payback in our loans from this first group of members. This same group of women recently took out their second loan ($75 plus 20%). They are very happy to have had success in their first loan, and are thrilled to be receiving another loan. The second set of loans was given to the remaining 20 members. Their loans are due next month. We hope to increase the loan amount for all loans above the first loan, but will need to continue to raise money for our microfinancing kitty.
Prior to giving out our first round of loans, we asked each individual what their plans were in terms of how they would spend their profits. The majority of them had mentioned that they would spend their profits on home improvements (i.e.; purchasing windows, buying tin roofing materials, slowly purchasing bricks in order to build a brick home, and eventually move out of their mud home, purchasing livestock etc. I’ve included pictures in this blog so you can see the many improvements in their lives.
2010 Plans
Our JUAf 2010 plans include our continued focus on irrigation for our crops; finding distribution channels for our crops at market; microfinancing programs, continued small business education classes, and finally, building a border for our land.
Thanks again for all your support!
Asha Mruma & Judi McAlpine
Friday, July 3, 2009
Things Are Moving Along...
Hello!
Here's the latest on what's been happening at the JUAf Village over the last several weeks.
Our JUAf Village Dog - Lily
We decided that life on the farm would be a perfect life for a dog. So, Asha and I went on the lookout for a village puppy. We found our puppy rather quickly. Over the period of a couple of days, I heard a puppy barking non-stop outside my window in town. I tracked down the barking sounds, and found a puppy trapped inside a metal box with the lid closed. She was being kept inside the metal box from her owner since he didn't have anywhere else to keep her. The owner was a little 10 year old boy from our neighborhood named Benson. He wanted the best for the puppy, but he didn't have anywhere to keep her. Asha and I asked Benson if we could adopt the puppy, and take her to our farm in the village. Benson agreed that life in a metal box wasn't the best life for a puppy, so he gave her to us. We asked Benson to name the puppy for us, and he decided to name the puppy Lily. Alas, we now have a JUAf Village dog named Lily. Life is good for Lily at the village!
Introduction of Village Banking
We introduced a second form of microfinancing called Village Banking to JUAf. To give you a bit of background on Village Banking....a Village Banking group is a support group of 30 members who meet weekly to provide themselves with three essential services 1) small self-employment loans to start or expand their own businesses; 2) an incentive to save, and a means of accumulating savings and 3) a community-based system that provides mutual support and encourages personal empowerment. Members of the Village Banking groups guarantee each other's loans and run a democratic organization. Members elect their own leaders, design their own rules, keep the books, manage the funds, and are fully responsible for loan supervision, including enforcing penalties for non-compliance.
Village Banking is being introduced to the rural areas by the Tanzanian government. We invited two members of the government training team to come out to our village, and educate the women on the model of village banking. The women of the village will be trained on the village banking model once a week for 12 weeks.
Village Banking is primarily introduced in remote villages where access to a traditional bank is non existent. The actual 'bank' is a metal chest with three locks on it. The chest (rural bank) remains at the house of a member between meetings, however, that particular member cannot possess a key to any of the three locks. Each individual key to the three locks must remain with three separate members in the group. These members cannot be from the same family, and cannot be close friends. This method provides of safeguard from the money being stolen.
The members of the Village Banking group meet once a week, and purchase shares. One share is approxinately $.75 cents, and each member can purchase up to three shares a week ($1.50) . Members of the group continue to purchase shares weekly, and all deposits are documented by the elected leaders. Each contributing member is then approved to take out a loan up to 3 times the shares that he/she purchased. The member has three months to pay back the loan plus 10% interest.
At the end of the year, the shares purchased by each member is returned to the contributing member, and the 10% interest is divided up amongst the group. Again, this is a method of providing loans to individuals to start small businesses, and it provides a method of forced savings with interest. It has been a very successful model in rural villages throughout Tanzania and Kenya. We are happy to offer it to the women (and men) of JUAf.
Microfinancing
I mentioned in my earlier posts that we provided microfinancing loans to 15 women of JUAf. We told that women that we would followup with their business in one months time. Hence, recently we spent a couple of days visiting their homes, and businesses. We conducted a preliminary review of their business model , and provided consulting feedback. Here's a short summary of a few of the women.
Juliet
Juliet was provided a loan of $75 to start a business of vegetable farming. Juliet's father-n-law gave one acre of land to Juliet and her husband. However, they were unable to cultivate the land, and grow crops due to lack of funds. She used our loan to purchase pesticide, seeds, manure and water. She decided to harvest eggplant. Juliet expects to harvest 10 large bags of eggplant a week, and sell at local markets. She expects to earn a profit of $38 a week. A harvest last 12 weeks, so her profit per harvest will be $456. She expects 2-3 harvests a year. Juliet will be able to profit $912-1368 per year for her family. She expects to pay back the loan within the month. Juliet hopes to use the profit towards building a brick house, and buying windows and doors.
Helen
Helen was provided a loan of $75 to start her vegetable business. Helen does not own land, so she decided to rent one acre of land from a local farmer for $35 a year. She has chosen to harvest Okra . She used the remaining funds to purchase manure, pesticide, seeds and water. Helen expects to harvest 10 buckets of Okra a week, and sell all 10 buckets at local markets for $35. She expects to harvest Okra for 12 weeks, and earn $420. Helen can expect 2-3 harvests a year. She will earn approximately $840-$1260 per year. She plans to pay back her loan within one month. Helen's husband is blind, and she is raising their daughter. She is the main income earner of the house. Her husband built their house when he had vision, but the house has remained unfinished for six years. Helen hopes to use the profit towards finishing her brick house, and buying windows and doors.
TiaSimbora
TiaSimbora was provided a loan of $75 to raise sheep. She purchased three young sheep for $20 each. She used the remaining amount of the loan to buy deworming medicine for the sheep. She expects to sell each sheep for $60 in three months time. TiaSimbora can expect a profit of $40 per sheep in three months. She will continue to buy three sheep once a quarter. In one year, TiaSimbora can profit $480 on her sheep business, and will be able to repay back the loan within a couple of months. The sheep business isn't as profitable as vegetable farming, and we have consulted the local women who have chosen to raise sheep that vegetable farming will certainly provide a higher income for the family. TiaSimora hopes to use the profit towards moving out of her mud hut, and having a brick house built.
Uenike
Uenike was provided a loan of $75 to raise sheep, but she decided to use the loan to make her own local beer . She used the entire loan to buy 200 kilos of maize, and prepares the brew in her backyard mud hut. She sells the beer to the local villagers. Uenike profits $55 per month. Her annual profit is $650 year. Uenike has quite the business going in her backyard. We spent the morning at Uenike's place watching her make the local brew, and had the privilege of tasting it (tasted like oatmeal with alcohol). Many locals hang out in her backyard for the day, enjoying the afternoon sun, and drinking her local brew.
Grandma Christina
Christina was provided a loan of $75 to start a vegetable farming business. Christina is widowed and her husband left her with six acres of land. She has never been able to cultivate the land for crops due to lack of funds. She used our loan to purchase pesticide, manure, seeds, and water. She also rented some cows to plow the land for planting. Christina decided to cultivate one acre of her land, and raise bitter tomatoes and eggplants. She expects to harvest 32 bags a months which will generate $150 a month per harvest. A harvest will last four months, and she expects 2-3 harvests per year. If all goes well, Christina expects to earn $1200 -$1800 a year. Christina hopes to use the money to finish her brick house, and buy some furniture.
We plan to visit all 15 women regularly, and provide business consulting skills in order to enhance their businesses even further. Once the Community Center is complete, we plan to conduct our business classes at the center every week. We look forward to providing our second round of microfinance loans to an additional 15 women in September.
Community Center
We've been building our community center for the last four weeks using local materials, and local labor. We hired a villager to make all the bricks for the center which provides him a good income, and minimizes our transportation costs to bring the bricks to our property. The process of making local bricks is an interesting one. Dirt is mixed with ash and water to form a mud paste. The mud is then poured into a mold, and set to dry for a couple of days. It is then placed into an outdoor oven for burning. The burnt bricks are then set aside for a day or two for cooling. We are told that the local bricks can last up to 100 years. So, we hope our community center will be around for a while.
Water
Tanzania is experiencing a severe drought this year. The rainy season is between May - August, and the area has received little to no rainfall this year. Hence, all crops are dying, and locals are unable to earn money or feed their families. We rely on our crops to not only feed the local villagers, but also as a source of income to fund the various projects for the JUAf Village. Therefore, we will need to invest in our water and irrigation system next year to be certain our crops succeed. We plan to hire a consultant to review the land, install irrigation systems, build additonal water wells, and water catchment systems in 2010.
Here's the latest on what's been happening at the JUAf Village over the last several weeks.
Our JUAf Village Dog - Lily
We decided that life on the farm would be a perfect life for a dog. So, Asha and I went on the lookout for a village puppy. We found our puppy rather quickly. Over the period of a couple of days, I heard a puppy barking non-stop outside my window in town. I tracked down the barking sounds, and found a puppy trapped inside a metal box with the lid closed. She was being kept inside the metal box from her owner since he didn't have anywhere else to keep her. The owner was a little 10 year old boy from our neighborhood named Benson. He wanted the best for the puppy, but he didn't have anywhere to keep her. Asha and I asked Benson if we could adopt the puppy, and take her to our farm in the village. Benson agreed that life in a metal box wasn't the best life for a puppy, so he gave her to us. We asked Benson to name the puppy for us, and he decided to name the puppy Lily. Alas, we now have a JUAf Village dog named Lily. Life is good for Lily at the village!
Introduction of Village Banking
We introduced a second form of microfinancing called Village Banking to JUAf. To give you a bit of background on Village Banking....a Village Banking group is a support group of 30 members who meet weekly to provide themselves with three essential services 1) small self-employment loans to start or expand their own businesses; 2) an incentive to save, and a means of accumulating savings and 3) a community-based system that provides mutual support and encourages personal empowerment. Members of the Village Banking groups guarantee each other's loans and run a democratic organization. Members elect their own leaders, design their own rules, keep the books, manage the funds, and are fully responsible for loan supervision, including enforcing penalties for non-compliance.
Village Banking is being introduced to the rural areas by the Tanzanian government. We invited two members of the government training team to come out to our village, and educate the women on the model of village banking. The women of the village will be trained on the village banking model once a week for 12 weeks.
Village Banking is primarily introduced in remote villages where access to a traditional bank is non existent. The actual 'bank' is a metal chest with three locks on it. The chest (rural bank) remains at the house of a member between meetings, however, that particular member cannot possess a key to any of the three locks. Each individual key to the three locks must remain with three separate members in the group. These members cannot be from the same family, and cannot be close friends. This method provides of safeguard from the money being stolen.
The members of the Village Banking group meet once a week, and purchase shares. One share is approxinately $.75 cents, and each member can purchase up to three shares a week ($1.50) . Members of the group continue to purchase shares weekly, and all deposits are documented by the elected leaders. Each contributing member is then approved to take out a loan up to 3 times the shares that he/she purchased. The member has three months to pay back the loan plus 10% interest.
At the end of the year, the shares purchased by each member is returned to the contributing member, and the 10% interest is divided up amongst the group. Again, this is a method of providing loans to individuals to start small businesses, and it provides a method of forced savings with interest. It has been a very successful model in rural villages throughout Tanzania and Kenya. We are happy to offer it to the women (and men) of JUAf.
Microfinancing
I mentioned in my earlier posts that we provided microfinancing loans to 15 women of JUAf. We told that women that we would followup with their business in one months time. Hence, recently we spent a couple of days visiting their homes, and businesses. We conducted a preliminary review of their business model , and provided consulting feedback. Here's a short summary of a few of the women.
Juliet
Juliet was provided a loan of $75 to start a business of vegetable farming. Juliet's father-n-law gave one acre of land to Juliet and her husband. However, they were unable to cultivate the land, and grow crops due to lack of funds. She used our loan to purchase pesticide, seeds, manure and water. She decided to harvest eggplant. Juliet expects to harvest 10 large bags of eggplant a week, and sell at local markets. She expects to earn a profit of $38 a week. A harvest last 12 weeks, so her profit per harvest will be $456. She expects 2-3 harvests a year. Juliet will be able to profit $912-1368 per year for her family. She expects to pay back the loan within the month. Juliet hopes to use the profit towards building a brick house, and buying windows and doors.
Helen
Helen was provided a loan of $75 to start her vegetable business. Helen does not own land, so she decided to rent one acre of land from a local farmer for $35 a year. She has chosen to harvest Okra . She used the remaining funds to purchase manure, pesticide, seeds and water. Helen expects to harvest 10 buckets of Okra a week, and sell all 10 buckets at local markets for $35. She expects to harvest Okra for 12 weeks, and earn $420. Helen can expect 2-3 harvests a year. She will earn approximately $840-$1260 per year. She plans to pay back her loan within one month. Helen's husband is blind, and she is raising their daughter. She is the main income earner of the house. Her husband built their house when he had vision, but the house has remained unfinished for six years. Helen hopes to use the profit towards finishing her brick house, and buying windows and doors.
TiaSimbora
TiaSimbora was provided a loan of $75 to raise sheep. She purchased three young sheep for $20 each. She used the remaining amount of the loan to buy deworming medicine for the sheep. She expects to sell each sheep for $60 in three months time. TiaSimbora can expect a profit of $40 per sheep in three months. She will continue to buy three sheep once a quarter. In one year, TiaSimbora can profit $480 on her sheep business, and will be able to repay back the loan within a couple of months. The sheep business isn't as profitable as vegetable farming, and we have consulted the local women who have chosen to raise sheep that vegetable farming will certainly provide a higher income for the family. TiaSimora hopes to use the profit towards moving out of her mud hut, and having a brick house built.
Uenike
Uenike was provided a loan of $75 to raise sheep, but she decided to use the loan to make her own local beer . She used the entire loan to buy 200 kilos of maize, and prepares the brew in her backyard mud hut. She sells the beer to the local villagers. Uenike profits $55 per month. Her annual profit is $650 year. Uenike has quite the business going in her backyard. We spent the morning at Uenike's place watching her make the local brew, and had the privilege of tasting it (tasted like oatmeal with alcohol). Many locals hang out in her backyard for the day, enjoying the afternoon sun, and drinking her local brew.
Grandma Christina
Christina was provided a loan of $75 to start a vegetable farming business. Christina is widowed and her husband left her with six acres of land. She has never been able to cultivate the land for crops due to lack of funds. She used our loan to purchase pesticide, manure, seeds, and water. She also rented some cows to plow the land for planting. Christina decided to cultivate one acre of her land, and raise bitter tomatoes and eggplants. She expects to harvest 32 bags a months which will generate $150 a month per harvest. A harvest will last four months, and she expects 2-3 harvests per year. If all goes well, Christina expects to earn $1200 -$1800 a year. Christina hopes to use the money to finish her brick house, and buy some furniture.
We plan to visit all 15 women regularly, and provide business consulting skills in order to enhance their businesses even further. Once the Community Center is complete, we plan to conduct our business classes at the center every week. We look forward to providing our second round of microfinance loans to an additional 15 women in September.
Community Center
We've been building our community center for the last four weeks using local materials, and local labor. We hired a villager to make all the bricks for the center which provides him a good income, and minimizes our transportation costs to bring the bricks to our property. The process of making local bricks is an interesting one. Dirt is mixed with ash and water to form a mud paste. The mud is then poured into a mold, and set to dry for a couple of days. It is then placed into an outdoor oven for burning. The burnt bricks are then set aside for a day or two for cooling. We are told that the local bricks can last up to 100 years. So, we hope our community center will be around for a while.
We recently purchased the doors and windows for the center, and the roof should be up within the next week or two. We expect the have the entire center finished within the next three weeks. We will plaster the outside of the bricks to give the community center a finished look.
We plan to use the community center for many purposes to support the village. Initially, we plan to use the center as a central meeting place to conduct small business classes and training. The women of the village will need continuing education on business entrepreneurship. Additionally, the center will also be used as a Nursery School (preschool) three days a week until we are able to build our own nusery school someday. Currently, there isn't a nursery school within walking distance of the village. We have approximately 35 children in the area. One of our goals over the next five years is to build a nursery school for the village children.Water
Tanzania is experiencing a severe drought this year. The rainy season is between May - August, and the area has received little to no rainfall this year. Hence, all crops are dying, and locals are unable to earn money or feed their families. We rely on our crops to not only feed the local villagers, but also as a source of income to fund the various projects for the JUAf Village. Therefore, we will need to invest in our water and irrigation system next year to be certain our crops succeed. We plan to hire a consultant to review the land, install irrigation systems, build additonal water wells, and water catchment systems in 2010.
Asha and I feel that it's been a productive last few months, and we've accomplished a great deal in a short time. I'll be heading back home soon, and plan to be back at the JUAf Village in the near future. I'm thankful that Asha and her team live in Tanzania, and are able to continue their great work managing the various projects for the women of Kikwe, and JUAf Village.
Thanks for your support!
Judi McAlpine & Asha Mruma
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