[Womble]

Hi Folks,

I've just been thumbing through the latest mailshot from Practical Action, who work to help folks in poorer parts of the world through simple technology development. For example, in areas of Bangladesh prone to monsoon flooding, they show locals how to build floating raft gardens (below). These mean that the crops don't get ruined when the water levels rise.






So, as an engineer, I love these guys. They use such simple concepts to great effect, and teach skills that can be used again and again, with resources people have at their disposal.

It got me wondering though, are there any smallholder type development charities out there?  I'm already aware of organisations like Send a Cow (I was so thrilled with Mrs Womble suggested buying me a pair of goats for my birthday, then she sent them to Africa on my behalf!  ). However, are there others out there doing similar smallholdery development work that I should be aware of? 

[john and helen]

we need a like button..great post womble 

[henchard]

Providing microfinance through sites like www.kiva.org is one way.

You can choose which sectors and countries you want to lend to. I have made a number of loans to various people and co-operatives and have a number of loans on going.

[Rosemary]

Great post, Womble. We both support Kiva - I asked for Kiva vouchers for my 50th birthday and folk were very generous - so I get to make loans regularly  We also support FarmAfrica.

[Backinwellies]

Great post, Womble. We both support Kiva - I asked for Kiva vouchers for my 50th birthday and folk were very generous - so I get to make loans regularly  .

What a great idea Rosemary (note to self to remember this for next Bday)   and thank you Henchard for the idea ....

..... I have a friend in Tanzania who is trying to help her village finish a warehouse that was started in 1999 and left as a shell when the Gov changed ( TIA ... this is Africa).   The warehouse will allow them to store food and sell at 40% higher price and thus make enough money for school fees etc. .... I've emailed her the links.   She is an amazing young lady who worked the roads to finance her younger brother through school then at the age of 25 knitted jumpers to finance her own secondary education.

[Rosemary]

Great post, Womble. We both support Kiva - I asked for Kiva vouchers for my 50th birthday and folk were very generous - so I get to make loans regularly  .

What a great idea Rosemary (note to self to remember this for next Bday)   and thank you Henchard for the idea ....

..... I have a friend in Tanzania who is trying to help her village finish a warehouse that was started in 1999 and left as a shell when the Gov changed ( TIA ... this is Africa).   The warehouse will allow them to store food and sell at 40% higher price and thus make enough money for school fees etc. .... I've emailed her the links.   She is an amazing young lady who worked the roads to finance her younger brother through school then at the age of 25 knitted jumpers to finance her own secondary education.

Maybe we should have a TAS collection for your Tanzanian friend. I'd donate. How much does she need?

[Backinwellies]

Wow that would be amazing! 

 She has done a complete breakdown of costs  and the total is 52,000,000 TZs !!! 

Luckily that is only about £2000

This would make a difference to a whole village enabling them to store food till the price rises and to use it as a 'bank'  ... storing food till they need money for school fees or medical fees. 

I can totally vouch for Jessica. I have met her and her family twice when I have been in Tanzania. (we have supported her through college to train as a social worker and she now has a job with Emmanuel International. )

[ellied]

GoodGifts provide a catalogue full of ideas that contribute to helping folk make their own way in life, I used to buy gifts from there instead of buying things for relatives. 

Can't offer financial help how but when I was last looking into it I opted for Woodland Trust funding over Kiva, can't remember why but I think it was the high interest rates they charged their customers that pays their "bank" overheads, salaries etc.  Was at least 2 years ago tho so not sure of the details now.

You might also be interested to look at using the websearch ecosia as an alternative to google, they donate to tree planting in the Amazon rather than give you nectar points like yahoo..

[john and helen]

One thing we done when running the fund raising was to offer a goods..like a T-shirt…we were getting them for £5 and selling them for £10..everyone knew this , but because they had something to show, they seemed happy to donate…this went to hats, fleece shorts … all with the kayak logo

in the 4 years we did it, we raised £14K

another way is easy fundraising…people shop as normal and easy funding send you a cheque
it can be linked to ebay, car insurance. clothing..nearly everything really

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk

[Womble]

Just bumping this thread,  rather than start a new one.

I just found out about Traidcraft's "Fair Necessities" campaign, which aims to provide smallholders in developing countries with tools, training and equipment to enable them to increase their yields and escape poverty trap.

Also until the third of April, all donations will be match funded by the UK govermnent, which effectively doubles their value.



More details here for anybody who's interested 

[Fleecewife]

One teensy word of warning.  Giving a cow isn't always the best thing to do.  Think of the situation where people's cattle have died, because of drought and lack of grazing.  If you give households a cow, partly it will be owned by the man not the woman, but the shortage of grazing will not change and this cow, and all the others will be contributing to further shortage of grazing and creeping desertification.  Goats are even worse as they strip scrub and trees as well as pasture, with long term bad effects.  Apparently owning that extra cow or goat can lead family sizes to increase, which exacerbates the food security problems even more and sets the scene for another crash down the line.
I have given goats too, before I learned more about the effect of this.  I am wondering if the West is looking through rose tinted spectacles, failing to understand the cultural norms in the area they are donating to.  The adverts for giving a goat, cow, etc are all very jolly with struggling smallholders transformed to smiling ones, but is the reality a little different?

I tend towards supporting crop growing, but again, a population of pasturalists will not only not know how to grow crops, but it may well be an inferior life as far as they are concerned.  In many areas, the number of cattle you have indicates your wealth, and turning to growing crops is a social downstep.  From a dietary point of view too, pasturalists who live on dairy and blood products from their herds may well not adapt easily to a vegetarian diet.

I certainly feel that helping with spreading knowledge and providing land, seeds etc must be better than handouts which only move the problem forward once the short term situation has been dealt with.
However ( and there seem to be a lot of those in this discussion), care must be taken that the seeds given out are not generic types, or Monsanto specials, but are local seeds for local conditions, or they could end up causing the smallholder to drop into even more debt.

So we need to think very carefully about just what help we are giving, and the long term effects of that help, as well as short term.  We all get a rosy glow when we give, but let's make sure we choose what we give very carefully.

[Lesley Silvester]

Some good points there.

[Marches Farmer]

I know a chap who works for an aid agency who particularly dislikes the "let's dig a well for this village" brigade.  Fetching water is the important job that children and early teens take responsibiity for.  If you take this away they have no role in their society and get into lots of trouble .....

[Fleecewife]

Very interesting Marches Farmer.  I hadn't thought of that.

[Womble]

Guys, come on, help me out here! 

We mustn't give aid as it just leads to dependency
We mustn't give livestock or they'll wreak environmental havoc
We mustn't build wells or the children will get into mischief with their four hours a day of extra free time

So what ARE we meant to do?  Uncharacteristically for me, I am asking this seriously for once!