This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteers Marcie Todd and Garrison Harward. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
Marcie reports:
We’ve explained the process of installing pumps in great detail many times, so with this install going so smoothly we thought we’d take extra time to explain the background of our wonderful partner organization for this pump.
Ballal Agribusiness is committed to developing female farmers with the best agricultural practices because trained farmers produce better crops, feed their families and strengthen communities. They have three main areas of focus: cowpea production, community banking and Moringa Powder. Currently, Ballal is working with 18 communities and plans to expand to 21 this rainy season.
By supplying farmers with the best practices of growing profitable and nutritious food for local consumption, Ballal Agribusiness helps farmers increase production of already locally grown crops and gives them a fair price for their labors.
Community Banking is a significant portion of the Ballal mission. It is extremely important that women not only have access to money, but also have support in understanding how to save, spend, and make money most efficiently.
The banking system is set up in the following way:
- The women’s group gathers to talk about what they want as a community. They talk about the ups and downs to creating a community bank.
- If they agree that the community bank will work for their group, each woman adds 500 CFA (approximately $1) to the pot. The pot is usually anywhere from 10,000 CFA to 15,000 CFA ($20-30).
- The money each woman has contributed is recorded along with the initial total amount. All funds are immediately lent. No one person stores the money. 4-6 women take a microfinance loan and agree to pay a few hundred CFA as interest during the next meeting.
- As the bank gets larger, more women get to take a piece of the pot. As more women take out loans the money increases. As the money increases the women have more economic possibilities and freedom. As they have more freedom, their families benefit, more creative solutions to daily problems arise and, overall, society moves forward.
The third section of Ballal is the Moringa Powder project, which is where we come in. The project came about during the last rainy season, but unfortunately this year the rains were very bad, so many of the trees planted this season died, leaving the Ballal team a bit defeated.
However, through Appropriate Projects funding, the group was able to get water to the trees by digging 2 wells and now with this pump and the next one installed for #18 the sky’s the limit for this project. Things are now moving along as planned and the goal to increase the availability of Moringa powder in health posts in the Kolda region looks like it will be reached.
We are proud to be able add our pumps as just one of the many innovations this wonderful group is using to engage and help the local populations of the Kolda region.
Pump Output: 41 Liters/ Min
Total Number of People Benefiting: 432
Funder: Cynthia J. Davidson