2019 Annual Report

Tools for Hope, Inc. 2019 Annual Report

Tools for Hope Inc. (TFH) is a Tennessee corporation with IRS 501 c 3 status organized to help identify Rwandan issues impeding the typical Rwandan subsistence farmer’s advance toward increased prosperity; and to find and aid in implementing Rwandan approved solutions to those issues. TFH offers expert Rwandan mentoring to subsistence farmers. TFH lends farmer cooperatives funds to advance helpful projects. TFH does not give away physical assets, or money.

2019 Summary

Rwandan Subsistence Farming, Challenges and Solutions

Subsistence farmers in Rwanda spend 80% of their annual incomes on food. Consequently, little or no money is available for savings, investment, health care, or education.
Their farms are small because of Rwanda land laws. Lack of food preservation techniques causes more food to be discarded than consumed – nationwide. High national unemployment rates cause off-farm work to be low paid.
TFH Solutions include inter-cropping, composing, no-till farming, crop and food preservation techniques, irrigation equipment, links with government soil analysis programs, right crops, and improved planting / harvesting techniques.

Off-Farm Enterprises

Limited incomes from their farming activities and extremely high national unemployment rates drive the need for off-farm enterprises i.e., small businesses. TFH supports the development of small businesses for the farmers through interest free loans and business administration mentoring.
TFH sold the basic utility vehicle (BUV) which TFH bought in December 2017 through the Institute for Affordable Transportation. The BUV was not working in our area and the farmers complained about its safety. Our employee Frank Mutesa and the farmers successfully managed the sale of the BUV.
Because of the need for powered, mechanized transportation in the area where the farmers live the issue of a replacement for the BUV was important. They found that the farmers will be better served by getting a standard (Rwandan) motorbike for use as a taxi. The motorbike taxi has many advantages, which include, working daily (transporting goods and people), its proven ability to easily handle the mountainous and rough roads, and it is likely to be profitable.
The price for a new motorbike is $2,600. To repay the TFH loan, we all agreed that the Twisungane group should be depositing 21,000frw ($23.00) each week, starting September 25th, 2019 into an account in a local bank.
Thus far, their efforts have been successful. There are a few more such enterprises planned for 2020 e.g., development of a cooperative goat herd, clothing making and repair, small retail businesses.

TFH Goals for 2020

We developed three primary goals and a few secondary goals for 2020. These include: No-till farming to increase farm productivity while decreasing costs and manual labor requirements. Implementation of improved food and crop preservation techniques based in indigenous skills to extend food supplies. Small business activities to improve incomes and overall community welfare. Secondarily, we will address the need for clean water.

Your Support

With your support TFH in Rwanda has become very well respected and enjoys the support of the local government(s) and community leaders because of our effectiveness in solving problems that have lingered unresolved for decades. In the communities that we serve there is a large and growing request for our services. Your support makes an enormous difference in the lives of the farmers.
To donate please go to http://www.toolsforhope.org/ to donate via PayPal, or you may mail your donations to Tools for Hope Inc., 1540 Robinson Rd, Knoxville, TN 37923.

TFH Management

A Board of Directors now govern our corporation. Our new team and new structure will fundamentally improve our decision-making and administrative capabilities. The Board members are Father Laird Bryson, Clare Roop, Bill Edwards, Rick Shipley, Father Doug Floyd, and Richard Trevillian. The Board along with Frank Matuesa, our Rwandan employee, make up the TFH management team.
In 2019 TFH income was approximately $12,500 ($4,500 from the sale of the BUV); major expenses were $5,500 our Rwandan employee’s salary, $2,000 to bring Frank to the USA, and $2,600 for purchase of the motorbike taxi.

Farming Challenges and Solutions

Twisungane cooperative subsistence farmers are extremely poor and, in the past, have had no hope for a better future. We have found that for many of them everything they do centers on their struggle to eat, and this hampers other activities that would enable them to live in more dignified conditions. TFH is trying to eradicate this mindset of hopelessness by helping them to imagine a brighter future for themselves and for their children.

These farmers usually plant pumpkin, maize/corn, beans, cabbage, cassava, sweet potato, banana (already planted), and sorghum. Frank Mutesa, our Rwandan employee, encouraged the farmers to cultivate chili peppers because chili peppers are a high-value crop. Frank Matuesa has been giving technical help on how to harvest using proper methodologies. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40% of the agricultural yield is lost during harvesting time. The principal reasons are insufficient or improper facilities for harvesting, and inadequate post-harvest handling management and methodology. Frank found that some of them were not taking diligent care of their cassava, for example some did not weed on time, which hinders production and reduces yield. Some weeds release toxic chemicals that are harmful to the surrounding crops.

The picture above is of Frank inspecting a typical farm. Too many farmers do not perform weeding on time, and this can reduce their yields up to 40%.

Frank showed them how to start preparing for harvesting before they started planting. For example, for corn they should first prepare a place to keep the corn for drying purposes, prepare proper and clean transport sacks (minimize mold and insect infestations), and plan for the equipment needed to remove kernels from the corn cobs.

Additionally, he trained the farmers in determining the right time for harvesting corn. We provided them with a moisture meter which Frank borrowed from the Rwandan Agricultural Board (RAB), to measure moisture content of kernels. The correct moisture percentage of water must be below 14% for the (manual) harvesting process to begin. The farmers plan to find and buy their own such equipment in the future.

In their banana fields they have inter-cropped them with beans to maximize the use of the land. Beans can fix nitrogen to the soil and that nitrogen helps the banana crop. TFH has been teaching them how to best inter-crop using cereals and legumes, to get the best production.

TFH, in collaboration with RAB researchers, supplied cassava plants to the Twisungane farmers. Cassava can be cooked as it is, or it can be transformed into a flour form that can be cooked to make ugali (i.e. porridge). Also, the cassava leaves can be prepared as a vegetable and used to make soup.

Tools for Hope in May 2019 announced collaboration with a major new project sponsored by the Rwandan Agricultural Board (RAB). Under the project the RAB will conduct soil testing services for small-holder farmers. The purpose is to assess Rwandan soil so that farmers would have the knowledge of their soil fertility status.

The farmers well understand the advantage of combining their farming practices with livestock rearing. The benefits include manure which will boost their soil fertility so that they increase their production, and for improved nutrition. Frank emphasized to them the importance of using more organic fertilizers such as poultry manure for its high content of phosphorus, and ‘Farm Yard Manure’ which contains plant material (often straw), that has been used as bedding for animals. Frank will also train them on compost making. They could combine the organic fertilizer with a little inorganic fertilizer for the crop to be fed.

Four farmers do combine crop farming with rearing pigs, and they sell piglets twice each year. Also, two farmers do cattle rearing with their crop farming, and three of them have goats and chickens combined with crop farming. The rest of the cooperative members are just doing only crop farming. When we compare, we have seen the farmers who are practicing both livestock keeping and crop management are the ones doing fine with life, in terms of wealth at home and the health of the family members as compared to those practicing crop management alone.

The above is a pile of manure and compost that Frank is checking. Although the farmer is trying to collect manure to compost, this pile is not well kept, which decreases the quality of the manure.

When manure is exposed to the air as in the photo above, it loses its nutrient content. Its nitrogen escapes to the atmosphere because of heating of the manure by the sun rays. Because nitrogen is volatile can escape, and the farmer is left with manure that is not of decent quality for the crops.

Frank trained the farmers on how to make a good compost pile and encouraged them to find something with which to cover their compost to help improve the quality of their manure. In the past they did not cover their manure piles because they did not know the importance of doing so and now, they understand.

Off-Farm Enterprises

The farmers are planning to branch out into various business areas and to start working with banks. Bank loans are best way to expand operations for those that have assets like pieces of land that are well documented and those who have the property licenses which allow them to get loans. Others, without such assets, are still engaging in small holder farming and they rely more on TFH.

In mid-2019 we sold the basic utility vehicle (BUV) which Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) bought in December 2017 through the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT). The BUV had been our primary challenge for the previous year as the BUV was not working in our area and the farmers complained about its safety because of design issues. Frank and the farmers successfully concluded the sale of the BUV.

The issue of replacement of the BUV needed to be addressed. Considering the topography of their area, expected cash flows and profitability, vehicle maintenance, and overall operational issues they found that the cooperative would be better served by getting a standard motorbike for use as a taxi. The motorbike has many advantages, which include working daily (transporting goods and people), its proven ability to easily handle the mountainous and rough roads, and it is more likely to be profitable.

The price for the new motorbike was $2,000 plus $600 to get all the things and documents for the motorbike to enable it to start working as a commercial taxi.

Frank and the farmers had several discussions and training sessions about the motorbike-based transportation business. For several months Frank trained the farmers and their leadership on business operation basics such as: basic business plan development, SOTW analyses, lessons learned by other cooperatives in similar businesses, and other due diligence activities.

Frank discussed with them the importance of setting goals and developing the proper strategies to help them achieve these goals. Frank also discussed with them loan repayment strategies and options. He explained to them the conditions for getting the motorbike loan from TFH and explained to them that if they don’t follow the conditions, then TFH has the option to take the motorbike to other groups of farmers who are willing to use the opportunity.

The motorbike transportation business, with its loan agreement, licensing requirements, insurance policy, cash flow management issues, etc. is a completely new type of business reality for the cooperative.

Among the challenges that Frank faced was the belief by some cooperative members that the motorbike was a gift from TFH, and that no repayment was necessary. Frank explained again that Tools for Hope does not give free tools or equipment. Tools for Hope requires repayment for tools such as the motorbike to enable the subsistence farmers to show themselves as a trustworthy business organization with a strong credit history. This will help ensure their long-term success without constant monetary inputs from TFH.

This cooperative is very well known to the local leaders in the government therefore, Frank discussed the loan agreement with the local leader of the Kanzenze Sector. Frank asked that the sector leader (e.g. county administrator) be a witness on our loan agreement which says that when Twisungane group have paid the amount used to buy the motorbike then the motorbike will become their property.

The above photo is of the farmers’ committee.

TFH Goals for 2020

As a result of extensive meetings between the Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) Board of Directors and our Rwandan employee, Frank Mutesa, we developed three primary goals for 2020 i.e., improved food preservation techniques, implementing no-till farming techniques to improve agricultural efficacy, and generating more off-farm incomes.

Subsistence farmers in Rwanda discard more food than they consume because they lack proper methods of food preservation. Because of a nation-wide, general lack of food preservation in Rwanda, food is expensive once harvested crops have been consumed. This situation must be resolved because subsistence farmers often spend up 80% of their incomes buying food once the harvested crops are gone.

Land available to them for farming is limited because of governmental policies. They are not able, and will never be able, to generate a living wage only from farming. No-till farming technology will help them reduce the manual labor and costs that they now spend on farming activities and significantly improve yields while improving the fertility of the soils in the long-term. Frank and the Board determined that the farmers will need TFH help in developing off-farm incomes e.g., raising livestock, running small businesses, etc. as well as developing food preservation and no-till farming methods.

Of the food which they cultivate, they either sell all or half of the harvest and preserve limited amounts for home consumption. They are only able to use the food they grow for few weeks right after the harvest. Afterwards they are left with no harvested crops to preserve. They buy just enough for daily consumption for the fear of spoilage as they do not have adequate food preservation skills.
By having proper food preservation, they can store enough (inexpensive / plentiful) crops and use them during those periods when the price is high, especially during drought season. They can also preserve their harvested crops and sell the product when the price is good on the market.

Above (upper left) is the local and normal way of preserving cassava by making cassava flour. The upper right photo shows how to preserve sweet potatoes in a pit for use during drought periods when the food is scarce. Also show is how they store bean in sacks (lower left). They store maize/corn normally in their homes on the floor (lower right).

Your Support

TFH has also found other groups of farmers who are familiar with our work through the communication with Twisungane farmers, and they have been requesting us to give them help with their agricultural activities.

Please consider donating to help more subsistence farmers in the areas around the Twisungane farmers improve their food security.
TFH continues to be highly effective and efficient in resolving issues

- small overhead, targeted recipients,
- clearly identified problem and solutions that work,
- on-going training and support,
- recipient dignity self-sufficiency,
- Our employee in Rwanda (Frank Mutesa) mentors and coaches those farmers on making improvements to their farming methods.

Our target fundraising amount for the year is $25,000.

Donations to TFH are tax deductible
The TFH website (http://www.toolsforhope.org/) has a PayPal donate button that donors may use to make one-time donations or to set up small monthly donations.
You may mail donations to Tools for Hope Inc., 1540 Robinson Rd, Knoxville, TN 37923.

Amazon Smile

Amazon gives 0.5% of eligible purchases to Tools for Hope, Inc. when you sign up for Amazon Smile and select Tools for Hope, Inc. See https://smile.amazon.com.

eBay For Charity

With eBay for Charity, you can support charities when you sell and buy items on eBay.
Go to https://charity.ebay.com/ and search for Tools For Hope, Inc.

Donate today. Monthly donations made through PayPal are helpful in that they help us to plan and budget Tools for Hope operations better.
With your support and their hard work, the current group of small-holder farmers have drastically transformed their lives and the futures of their children in sustainable ways.

Tools for Hope, Inc. Management

Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) continues to grow and achieve its primary goals thanks to your kind and continued support. Management of TFH is changing to effectively manage this growth. The new management team will function per our charter and by-laws, as well as applicable state and federal laws. More importantly the new team and new structure will fundamentally improve our decision-making and administrative capabilities.

We sponsored Frank’s travel to the USA in October 2019 to help our supporters better understand the necessity of our work, to improve communications between Frank and the Board of Directors, and to transfer knowledge and operating experiences about agricultural best practices.

Frank Mutesa

University of Dar es Salaam, MSc in Natural Resources Assessment and Management. Kenyatta University, MSc in Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM. ISAE (Current known as University of Rwanda/ College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Undergraduate Degree in Agriculture engineering.