Our long term project is to build a training centre but this is going to take time. So in the mean time we have decided to set up an office in the heart of Ilongero itself as the previous arrangements have not worked very well. It will be small but it will be manned, allowing people to get used to have a place where they can ask for advice. From there, our new community worker will assess the more immediate needs and wishes and set a new round of training starting in the New Year. Here in the UK we need to get the funding needed to support the office and the future workshops. Can we count on you?
Tailoring and Yoga Mat bags
Early in June 2011, a few women asked if we could help them learn to sew using pedal powered machines and may be start businesses. We asked around to see who else would be interested and soon had 15 women, mostly young ones keen to give it a go. We asked Sister Michaela and her staff Lidia and Anna from the local Catholic Mission if they would provide for an intensive 3 months course for them as they had sewing machines lying idle most of the time. In return the Mission would benefit from an additional income to help them with running their school for disabled girls.
Classes were attended 4 times a week for 3H. While some ladies were not able to attend the whole time due to changes in their circumstances and some just found it too difficult, on the whole the project was a great success. However, it was realized that 3 months was not quite enough to turn these newly skilled women into professionals, so we funded another 3 months. In the meantime, Suzanne our volunteer had the idea to get a prototype yoga mat bag designed and made by one of her designer friends. By the end of October, 9 of the women excitingly formed a group, called themselves the UPENDO group (meaning love; well we did say they were young ladies) and started to train to make the bags. When we received a sample in the UK made by their leader that was of top quality, the kanga project committed to an initial order of 50 bags. During November and December, The UPENDO group worked hard and with the help of Jess and Nicole the latest volunteers got into a committed work schedule. The 50 bags were finished mid-January and are now on their way to the UK. But the story does not end here…… more in a few weeks.
Rocket mud stove
Rocket mud stove, courtesy of Sunseed Tanzania Trust
This project aims to introduce fuel efficient stoves, known as “Rocket mud stoves”. The area of Ilongero suffers from intensive erosion due in part to the disappearance of forests as people have no other affordable alternative fuel for cooking. The financial cost to the individuals and the damage to the environment have reached an unsustainable high level. In particular, we have found that many families are cutting down their food intake as they cannot find wood close by and cannot afford to buy charcoal regularly. They also avoid cooking pulses as they take so long to cook. Yet, pulses are essential to mostly meat free diets.
The stoves are 60% more efficient than the traditional three stones stoves. They are relatively cheap to build using locally available material and they are much safer and environmentally friendly.
We have asked Sunseed Tanzania Trust (STT), a UK charity with a team working in the Dodoma region to help us with training some stove builders and to let us use some of their literature to explain the project better to you and to potential funders. They have kindly agreed and we are very grateful to them. We think collaboration is an important step to take for all charities in order to be more effective and make better use of their resources. If you are interested in our full project proposal, it’s available here. You can also find out more about the stove itself on this leafletwe have produced thanks to the information provided by STT
chicken training school
chicken training school
We have build a new chicken kibanda which is to serve as both a training school and a business to support it. It has just received a large egg incubator thanks to the efforts of 2 girls climbing Kilimanjaro. Few projects can transform the lives of women, create wealth for families and inspire the next generations like breeding chickens in a commercial manner can when you live in an arid region with no tourism, little arable soil, unpredictable rains but a constant wind and cold nights (yes, even in Africa).
new training school
This project will have a direct impact on, potentially, one thousand lives and most importantly, it’s sustainable. The training centre and chicken incubator’s project empowers women mentally and financially. Profitable new businesses can also help stem the flow of young people to towns where prospects of employment are few. Incubators have been proved to increase productivityconsiderably and so this new solar powered one is a very welcome addition. It must be heart breaking for a woman, putting all her time and resources into rearing chickens to see a large number of eggs fail because of the cold of nights and the “can’t be bothered” attitude of too many mother hens. Not sure what they can do about that! Keep an eye out on projects news to see how this particular project is developing.
past projects
chicken training business
With a grant from the Tanzanian Development Trust, RWDA started implimenting a chicken rearing income generating business, in May 2008. This pilot project, which involved one group of 15 women was based in the Ilongero ward of Singida Rural in Tanzania. The group had received training in Entrepreneurship, Budgeting and Planning as well as Leadership and Good Governance,
The project was intent on using the best proven methods of rearing chicken for commercial purposes in the context of small-scale intensive production systems and consisted of a package of specific agricultural training, a microloan and ongoing support and supervision for a sustainable and growing development activity that the RWDA hoped to replicate for up to 40 groups in the region.
The funding was on a microloan basis with interests to cover the RWDA’s bank charges and the monitering, evaluating and on going support costs. Microloans are efficient ways of recycling money so as to support many income generating activities. Even more importantly, they are empowering and therefore sustainable as well as the best route to developing an entrepreneurial spirit, itself the key to economic success and development.
The project, the 1st of its kind in the area had its ups and downs and many lessons were learnt. Check out the pictures in the gallery. The final evaluation can be downloaded here.
