Path to sustainable self-sufficiency
We take a grassroots approach to assisting people living in rural poverty to empower themselves to negotiate a path to food, income, home and education self-sufficiency. We do this by teaming with community focused organizations that assist families and schools to find and implement solutions to the challenges they encounter along this path.
The path has parallel tracks for families and schools that pass through the same six stages from living in rural poverty to self-sufficiency.
- Access Knowledge
- Apply Resources
- Strengthen Health
- Earn Income
- Improve Home
- Enhance Education
Access Knowledge
Access Knowledge about the organization of people, process, and parts for designing and implementing solutions for self-reliance.
The first step to access knowledge is having conversations about beliefs and goals because this is important if we are to assist families and schools effectively.
Once we mutually agree to these common principles, the next small step is organic gardening technical training and understanding any resources needs. For example, a water supply.
Apply Resources
Apply resources including land, water, compost and seeds to build a raised bed organic Food Always In The Home (FAITH) vegetable garden.
We assist communities to build water supply systems when needed, and establish compost making and plant nursery facilities.
Strengthen Health
Strengthen Health with good nutrition, safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
We assist families and schools to grow vegetable so that their children can eat nutritious meals at home and breakfast at school.
We do this so that the children will want to attend school and be attentive in the classroom, rather than being distracted by an empty stomach or even feinting before their first meal of the day at lunch time.
Earn Income
Earn Income to save and invest in productive assets like livestock and small businesses.
We assist families to earn an income by growing surplus vegetables from their home garden and also from market gardens for selling to neighbors and the local market.
We also provide loans to families and village community banks (VICOBA) for small business working capital and the purchase of productive assets.
Improve Home
Improve Home with rent-to-own home building, and loans for home improvement and new home building.
We also build school service facilities that include water system, toilet block, hand wash basins, kitchen, maintained classrooms and teacher housing at schools.
We do this to create teacher and child friendly learning environments at home and school so that they both want to attend school.
Enhance Education
Enhance Education by assisting with growing breakfast, building service facilities, and maintaining classrooms and teacher housing.
We do this to increase school attendance and academic performance so that the children will have more opportunity to earn an income and support a happy family of their own.