ﾠ Help us to help others,ﾠhere are just some of the ways you can help.

A poor Zimbabwean family can start a life-changing bee-keeping venture, with a little help from ATA , for as little as ﾣ99.

Bee-keeping has traditionally been one of the few ways that poor farming families in this part of Africa could earn themselves a little extra money. It was money they needed desperately  to buy medicines when their children fell sick, or to give their children education and the chance of a better life in the future. But what was once just a sideline has now turned into a lifeline.

The UN warns that between 30% and 40%* of Zimbabwes farmers could run out of home-produced food this year. Zimbabwes annual inflation is currently around 400%** and is causing real misery. Faced with this situation, desperate men are making their way to the towns in the hope of supporting their families. But with unemployment also running at 70%**, all such migration can achieve is to move the problem around.
So for families like her, the bees working busily in and around her hives really are life-savers ...

How you can help

The cost of a village beekeeping venture, broken down:

The current inflation in Zimbabwe means that income which used to be available for medicine and education is now vital. The immediate needs of feeding and clothing a family are taking precedence. If we can help families like Mrs Nyani's earn more from bee-keeping, they can lead a life that is about more than simple survival

ﾠﾠZimbabwe, a parched landscape crying out for rain

One hour is all it would take for Emmanuel to construct an irrigation system to water his small plot of land. With a tank, a large bucket, some strong poles and a hose, Emmanuel can capture the precious rains that fall from November to April and grow eough food to feed his family all year round.

Emmanuel and his family live in the semi-arid area ofﾠ Gokwe. This district is home to thousands of people who could benefit from drip feed irrigation. Your donation today could help them in time for the next rainy season in November.

The difference between raindrops that are collected and used, and raindrops that simply wash away, can make the difference between life and mere survival. Once people can grow crops, not only do they have enough to eat, they can sell any surplus at the local market. With this income a farmer like Emmanuel can start a small business and even send his children to school, giving them a future.

We've seen this process of transformation happen in other countries in southern Africa, and we know that with your support it could happen in Zimbabweﾠ too. Please help farmers like Emmanuel today, so that every drop of rain can help them to grow a plentiful harvest throughout the year.
It would take just one hour to put this solution into action: a drip kit that would help Emmanuel use the precious rains to irrigate his crops. With this in place he could grow enough food for his family to last throughout the year. A drip kit  that could last farmers up to five years - includes:

• A 20 litre bucket
• 100 feet of hose, with holes spaced at every 12 inches
• Ten strong poles
  

How do you assemble the kit?

You first place the bucket on the poles  so it's about three feet above the ground. At this height, mere gravity provides enough pressure to evenly water up to 100 vegetable plots. You then cut a small hole into the base of the bucket and connect this to the hose. Once you've flushed the hose out and closed off the ends, the watering system is ready to use.

A water harvesting tank catches and stores the rain. Twice a day, you simply pour the required amount of rain into the drip bucket, so the water is channelled through the hose to each of your crops. The thinking behind this irrigation system is simple, the technology practical, and the outcome life-changing.

How you canﾠ help?

ﾠﾠFadzavanhu Enterprises  Zimbabwe

Meet Esnat Yosa, Memory Chawira, Lucy Chikoani and Roster Ziko, the ladies of Fadzavanhu Enterprises  a womens co-operative group in Chitungwiza, a satellite town of the Zimbabwean capital Harare  who have been able to improve their families quality of living by making peanut butter. Theirs is just one of the successful and sustainable small businesses ATA Practical Action has helped to set up through its agroprocessing programme. This is their story.

When the closure of a local textile plant left their husbands out of work the four women needed to do something to earn money to feed their families. Esnat, Memory, Lucy and Roster realised that the peanut butter (used as a nutritious supplement to staple foods by many people in Zimbabwe) they were buying for their families was from large scale producers and quite expensive.

They believed that if they bought peanuts from local farmers they could produce and supply the butter locally and more cheaply.

Their difficulty was that starting a small business in a developing country like Zimbabwe isnt easy. Access to equipment, finance, training, business advice and reliable markets are difficult to come by.
Which is where ATA Practical Action were able to help.

As well as advising on food safety, especially the health risk of the carcinogenic chemical aflatoxin from peanut mould, ATA Practical Actions project officer helped the women develop a business plan and secure a loan of ﾣ250 (US$403) which they later repaid from their profits.

With the loan the women were able to buy a small electric mill developed by ATA Practical Action to crush their peanuts, instead of grinding them twice by hand between two stones in the traditional way.

Fadzavanhu Enterprises now produces peanut butter that is as good, if not better, than mainstream producers yet sells for 15% less in the local stores and two supermarkets.
And the result of Esnat, Memory, Lucy and Rosters enterprise? Esnat, Memory, Lucy and Rosters profitable enterprise has not only improved the quality of living for their families. It has also given them independence, savings and assets that now make the women credit worthy.
Which means the women can now continue the expansion of their business by buying a second mill.

ATA has a unique approach to development  we don't start with technology, but with people.

The tools may be simple or sophisticated  but to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, they must be firmly in the hands of local people. People who shape technology and control it for themselves.

Your support is Vital and Voluntary

ﾠsend a donation to:-

ATA-Stenham Gestinor Overseas
Barclays Bank
54 Lombardﾠstreet
ﾠLondon EC2V 9EX
Sort Codeﾠ 20-00-00
Account Number 43133733

Contactﾠusﾠon ata@zol.co.zw with confirmation of deposit , this is very important .