Introduction

Our main activity in Rwanda for May 2019 was to sell the basic utility vehicle (BUV) which Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) bought in December 2107 through the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT). The BUV has been our primary challenge for the past year as the BUV was not working in our area and the farmers complained about its safety. Frank and the farmers successfully concluded the sale of the BUV.

Tools for Hope had the opportunity in May to announce collaboration with a major new project sponsored by the Rwandan Agricultural Board (RAB). Under the CARAVAN project the RAB will conduct soil testing services for small-holder farmers. We will link our farmers with this project. (The CARAVAN project will provide a mobile soil laboratory – http://rwandainspirer.com/2019/05/07/caravan-a-mobile-soil-testing-laboratory-project-to-improve-farm-productivity/). Testing will start in a few months. The purpose is to test Rwandan soil so that farmers would have the knowledge of their soil fertility status and know how to apply the right fertilizers at the right amount(s).

Frank has been conducting meetings with the Twisungane cooperative farmers’ representatives to discuss plans for new projects and how to continue working with them. With the successful sale of the BUV, TFH was able to fund the purchase of a suitable laptop computer to help with Frank’s work aiding the farmers.

BUV Transportation and Sale

As directed and authorized by Tool For Hope, Inc. (USA), after the completion of negotiations with the institute for Affordable Transportation (USA) we sold the BUV to the NOVA Farm which is in the Rukara Sector of the Kayonza District. After TFH agreed to sell the BUV to NOVA Farm, the next steps were to ensure the operability of the BUV, and then to transport the BUV to their area.

In checking the operational status of the BUV, we found the BUV did not work as expected. We brought in a mechanic who looked at the BUV and found some problems in the wiring system and the battery as well because the BUV was inactive for quite some time. So, we had to wait for some time for the necessary repairs to be completed.

The BUV was kept in the mountains and during this rainy season it was very dangerous to transport anything heavy. So, we waited for the rainfall to slow down to be able to begin the transportation phase.

 

On Friday 10^th May 2019, early in the morning (6:00 am) we went ahead with our plan of transporting the BUV, from Bugesera District to Kayonza District (62 miles +). Although the team faced heavy rainfall after they loaded the BUV onto the transport-truck, they couldn’t stop and so they continued, but took precautions and they moved at low speeds with great caution. Around noon they reached their destination and found the staff of NOVA Farm waiting for the BUV.

 

Frank transferred the BUV to them (Nate and Chantal), and gave them all the documents. Frank successfully completed the sale for TFH. TFH delivered a BUV in good working order with all documentation required to NOVA Farm. Frank returned to his home in Kigali around 5 PM. The activity went as planned and the BUV in now in the hands of NOVA Farm management.

Land Preparation and Soil Testing Plans

In May the farmers were preparing their lands for season ‘C’ activities. During this season farming activities normally happen only in marshland areas, were there is water. The period encompassing June, July, and August (JJA) is known as the drought season. Farmers (e.g. the Twisungane cooperative farmers) who are near a source of water and who can afford irrigation can prepare their lands for the JJA season. It is a short and very complicated season that requires the farmers to take precautions on how to deal with the drought stress on the crops.

It is very important to know the type of crops that can sustain these stresses. We are encouraging them to plant crops that have a short growing period of not more than 90 days, vegetables such as beans and other crops that do not need a great deal of water.

We also expect that the information about the soil fertility we receive from the CARAVAN project tests will be very helpful. That information should help the farmers with selecting and applying fertilizers for the crops,

 

Support Tools for Hope’s Mission

Donate today to fund future projects and to fund other TFH needs such as Frank’s salary. Monthly donations made through PayPal are very helpful in that they help us to plan and budget Tools for Hope operations better. See the donate ‘button’ on our website   http://www.toolsforhope.org/. (for 10 more good reasons to donate see https://www.moneycrashers.com/benefits-charitable-giving-donations/)

To our current supporters – Thank You Very Much!

 

Most of the Tools for Hope (TFH) work in Rwanda for the month of April was concentrated on the preparation of the basic utility vehicle (BUV) to enable us to sell it, discussions with the farmers on their post-harvest handling techniques, planning for the next agricultural season, which is JJA (June July August) commonly known as the dry season, and also the way forward of the partnership between TFH and Twisungane farmers Cooperative.
The agricultural activities are on-going, and we are still mentoring the farmers.  The farmers have been calling us daily to assist in different activities and give our understanding on matters regarding on-farm and off-farm activities.
Thanks to TFH (USA) we to have managed to secure a buyer for the BUV and we are now in the process of delivering the BUV to the destination as requested. Farmers are eagerly waiting for the projects proposed.  We tell them to continue their business as usual until after we will sell the BUV and implement the projects that TFH staff in the USA have approved.

Agriculture Activities

Farmers are still working in their fields as usual. The have planted sorghum, maize, pumpkin, banana, and beans. In their banana fields they have also inter cropped them with beans as to maximize the use of the land. This is the right combination as beans can fix nitrogen to the soil and that nitrogen benefits the banana crop. (Inter-cropping is a multiple cropping practice involving growing two or more crops in proximity.)

The intercropping system is very well known among farmers in this area, but some of them do not know what the best intercropping combinations are for their crops. This is what we as TFH have been teaching them i.e., how to best inter-crop using cereals and legumes, and how to prepare and get the best production.

Post-harvest Handling

As we approach harvest time in May, we found it very important to provide technical advice to our farmers on the issue regarding post-harvest handling. This is a continuous TFH activity, and we gave this technical advice to individual farmers while monitoring their individual farms, and their cooperative’s farm. TFH employee Frank Mutesa has been teaching them how to prepare and use the appropriate materials and equipment for their harvests e.g.,

• good clean sacks,
• appropriate grain removal materials / equipment,
• how to properly store their yield e.g.,
  • managing the store room temperature,
  • maintaining storeroom neatness to avoid rodents, other pests, and diseases,
•  farm to market transportation materials,
• how to use materials (preservatives) for storing the harvest to make the food last longer.

We are encouraging them to be valiant and to look for better market opportunities and learn the principles for attracting more and better customers.
A significant part of our technical advice and support has been focused on how to prepare their harvests especially maize harvest, because some of them are still using the local and traditional way of dying maize which results in 40% of the harvest being destroyed because of improper handling leading to attacks by insects, other pests, and diseases. Therefore, we have urged them to use a more modern way of handling their maize harvest during post-harvest, by building what we call a hangar for drying maize.

The above picture is a hangar for dying maize that the Rwandan Agricultural Board (RAB) recommends. Frank is happy to be one of the trainers that was responsible for its implementation and is very happy to introduce this technique to our Twisungane farmers.

Keeping up with individual livestock activities and other off-farm activities

TFH has been conducting a small survey while giving technical advice to the Twisungane farmers on the issue of their livelihoods and sustainable production planning. The farmers well understand the advantage of combining their farming practices with livestock rearing. They understand the benefits of raising livestock. The benefits include manure which will boost their soil fertility so that they increase their production, and for improved nutrition.  For those who are keeping cattle, they do get milk for their children and their old people. There are also few farmers who are keeping pigs for business purposes and to get manure.

Therefore, we have been showing them how to go about keeping their livestock with care and cleanness as we found that the issue of keeping the barns clean is still difficult.  This is because they feel that it doesn’t add anything to the production.  We reasoned them that it is very important to keep the animal clean as it helps prevent harm to the animals from diseases caused by pathogen attack, and that eventually they will save the money that would be needed to buy drugs for livestock medication.

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 way forward

The farmers are planning to be spreading out into various business ideas and to start working seriously with banks.  Frank has reasoned them that bank loans are best way to expand operations for those that have assets like pieces of land that are well documented and who have the property license(s) which permit(s) them to get loans. Others, without such assets, are still engaging in small holder farming and they rely on TFH for the continued collaboration.

Charitable Giving

Until I became involved in helping Tools for Hope raise money to assist Rwandan subsistence farmers, I had a very different perspective on charitable solicitations. I dutifully made weekly contributions at church, threw a few dollars into the Salvation Army bucket, and occasionally wrote a check to some other worthy cause. But the contributions were generally small and often given begrudgingly. The ubiquitous mail solicitations promptly went into the waste basket, unopened.

Today I have a completely different perspective on charitable giving. Through my involvement in Tools for Hope, I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand how important every contribution is to improving basic farming and small business activities. I’ve seen how the money is used to save lives and to preserve the quality of lives. I’ve also seen firsthand how important generosity is to non-profits such as TFH. And I’ve learned how difficult it is to raise money, and how very hard it is to ask someone to contribute to a charity you relate to or feel passionately about.

I’ve come to believe that everyone at some point in their lives should involve themselves with a charity by volunteering their time and committing their resources. You’ll learn a lot about how necessary charitable giving is, and you’ll help the team with their important work. You’ll also feel good about yourself.

Most of us have far more material things in our lives than we need, and we continually add to them. Supporting central African subsistence farmers is a great opportunity to divert a portion of that spending to a better place; to do something that will have a lasting benefit for generations to come. Please consider giving something back.

Tools For Hope, Inc. Board of Directors

In accordance with the Tools For Hope, Inc. Bylaws our corporation is to be governed by a Board of Directors. Our Board has three primary legal duties known as the “duty of care,” “duty of loyalty,” and “duty of obedience.”
We have begun steps toward forming a five to seven-person Board this month with a goal of identifying the Board membership in June (2019).  If you are interested in volunteering to be on the Board (we anticipate two-year terms) or would like more information please contact Richard Trevillian at richard@toolsforhope.org or at 865-696-6032.

Tools For Hope, Inc. Board of Directors In accordance with the Tools For Hope, Inc. Bylaws our corporation is to be governed by a Board of Directors. Our Board has three primary legal duties known as the “duty of care,” “duty of loyalty,” and “duty of obedience.” Duty of Care / Good Faith: Take care of TFH by ensuring prudent use of all assets; Duty of Loyalty: Ensure that our activities and transactions are, first and foremost, advancing our mission; recognize and disclose conflicts of interest; make decisions that are in the best interest of TFH; not in the best interest of the individual board member (or any other individual or for-profit entity). Duty of Obedience: Ensure that Tools For Hope, Inc. obeys applicable laws and regulations; follows its own bylaws; and that TFH adheres to its stated corporate purposes /mission. Board members also play very significant roles providing guidance by contributing to TFH culture, strategic focus, effectiveness, and financial sustainability, as well as serving as ambassadors and advocates.  We believe Board members should have the following attributes: Passion for the organization’s mission Willingness to help with the practical work Willingness to work with diverse people Desire to help TFH raise money Guidance for Boards of Tennessee non-profit corporations may be found at: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/nonprofits/nonprofitguidebook.pdf We plan to begin steps toward forming a five to seven-person Board this month with a goal of identifying the Board membership in June (2019).  If you are interested in volunteering to be on the Board (we anticipate two-year terms) or would like more information please contact Richard Trevillian at richard@toolsforhope.org or at 865-696-6032. Ways to Help Tools For Hope Raise Funds Earn extra income by being a host on Airbnb or HomeAway—and help Tools for Hope at the same time. The Rotary Club of Cheshire, Connecticut is launching a service project called ‘Beds for a Cause,’ which will contribute to the financial well-being of Tools for Hope. The process is simple–if you become a host on Airbnb, HomeAway or on another vacation rental website you can allocate part of your earnings to Tools for Hope. Here is how it would work. You decide to give Tools for Hope a portion of your income from being a host on Airbnb [www.airbnb.com], HomeAway [www.homeaway.com], or another vacation rental website. These websites arrange homestays in spare guest rooms and in other homeowner spaces. Hosts may live in any location. If you have friends or relatives who live in other parts of the U.S. (or internationally), they could sign up to be hosts as well and contribute to Tools for Hope or to a charity of their choosing. Suppose someone is looking to travel in the host’s vicinity for business or personal reasons, to attend a game/commencement at a local college or another event that draws an extra amount of people to a particular community. He or she would select an accommodation after typing a location of interest into the search box on the vacation rental website. Guests would find hosts who are participating in this project by looking for the words Beds for a Cause fundraiser in the description of the listings. Guests make reservations with the hosts and pay for the night’s lodging with a credit card. The funds go to the vacation rental website, which takes out a service fee and then deposits the funds into the host’s bank account or PayPal account. If the host is a participant in the Beds for a Cause fundraiser, he or she would make out a check to Tools for Hope for a percentage of the night’s lodging. Another option would be to set up an automatic payment system with the vacation rental website so that Tools for Hope gets a certain percentage of any funds received by the host. For more information about the Beds for a Cause service project, please go to www.cheshirerotary.org/node/393 Other plans in which Tools For Hope participates include Amazon Smile, Giving Assistant, and eBay For Charity 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. Giving Assistant Go to https://givingassistant.org/ and sign up for an account On https://givingassistant.org/ scroll down the page to “Pick Your Nonprofit” Search for and select “Tools For Hope, Inc.” Select the percentage of your “cash back” to keep and or to share with “Tools For Hope, Inc.” At the top of most all pages select /search for the store(s) or service(s) with which to shop e.g., “Amazon” On the store’s cash back page, click the “Activate Cash Back Now” button to begin shopping. (browse through coupons). Shop online as usual. Giving Assistant will handle ‘cash back’ disbursements. Your Account page will show disbursements. eBay For Charity eBay for Charity makes it easy for buyers and sellers to support causes that are important to them.  With eBay for Charity, you can support your favorite charities when you sell and buy items on eBay. Go to https://charity.ebay.com/ and search for Tools For Hope, Inc. or go directly to:

Solving More Food Security Problems

In a previous letter we discussed how Tools For Hope (TFH) had improved the subsistence farmers’ crop production. Working with our mentor (Frank Mutesa) the Twisungane cooperative of subsistence farmers managed to learn and implement much better agricultural, administrative, and business systems. For example, we helped them acquire irrigation equipment which helped their agricultural production, such that on 0.99 acres they used to get only 220 pounds of produce but after getting the irrigation equipment and the technical support from TFH, they are now over getting 2 tons of produce.

Recently Frank Matuesa has been giving technical assistance on how to harvest using proper methodologies. Farmers have in the past faced massive losses during harvest as a result of lack of appropriate knowledge of harvesting procedures and processes. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40% of the agricultural yield is lost during harvesting time. This is a huge loss to subsistence farmers.

The principal reasons are, lack of knowledge, insufficient or improper facilities for harvesting, and inadequate post-harvest handling management and methodology.

Because of their deficient knowledge and insufficient and unsatisfactory equipment for harvesting, farmers required more information and knowledge on how best to harvest their crops. Frank and Tools For Hope undertook the responsibility for giving them the necessary support and technical assistance to solve this problem.

We showed them how to start preparing for proper harvesting before they started planting. For example, for corn they should first prepare a place to keep the corn for drying purposes (i.e., in a hangar), 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, we 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.

The way forward

TFH has also identified 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 the 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 very effective and efficient in resolving issues
  •  very 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.

 

 

JANUARY- FEBRUARY REPORT

 

Prepared BY

Frank mutesa

1^st March, 2019

Introduction

During this period, from January and February, 2019, the TFH activities were mostly focusing on monitoring the agriculture activities, discussing with farmers on which off-farm activities they would like the TFH to help them to achieve and the way forward on the issue of using the BUV (The Basic Utility Vehicle). TWISUNGANE famers are well engaged in their agriculture activities and also some of them are working on small businesses here and there just trying to survive. They have cultivated their crops in mid-October, 2018 and now in January 2019, the main activity was to harvest the crops (maize, beans and some vegetables like cabbage and greens). These activities were done in two ways, one was on their individual farms (small farms of less than 0.5 ha) and the second one was on their rented farm (0.5 ha).

We have been giving the technical support on how to harvest using proper methodologies. This has been the concern of many farmers, which indicate that farmers are facing the massive loss during harvesting period due to lack of proper knowledge of harvesting. Also during this season, TFH has also identified 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 the support especially on how they can go with the issue of doing the off-farm activities while combining with the agricultural activities.

Monitoring and evaluation of TWISUNGANE activities

This month of January was occupied by the preparation of the harvesting activities. This is a huge work which needs a lot of concern. And with the little knowledge and few equipment favorable for their harvesting, farmers needed more information and knowledge on how best they van harvest their crops. The TFH staff was then responsible in giving support and technical assistance on how the TWISUNGANE group go by this activity in a proper manner. In Sub Saharan Africa, more than 40% of the yield is lost during harvesting time. This is a huge loss to the smallholder farmers, and the core issues are, lack of knowledge and poor or proper facilities of harvesting, and also the poor management in postharvest handling methodology.

Therefore it is in this regard that TFH jump in and helped farmers in giving them the proper information and knowledge of how well they can harvest their crops and minimize the risks of losing their yield during the process. This we argued them to start preparing for this even before they start planting. For example for maize they should first of all prepare where to keep the maize for drying purpose (hangar), prepare the proper and clean sacks, and also where the equipment used to remove grains from the cobs. There is another issue of harvesting in its self, this simply means, when is the right time for harvesting maize. We have given them the moisture meter which were borrowed from RAB, this equipment usually used to measure moisture content on grains. You just take few grains from a cob and put them on this moisture meter and it gives you the water content. Therefore the right moisture/ percentage of water that grains contains must be below 14% for the harvesting process to begin. So we argued them to find and buy that equipment in the future.

Therefore we conducted this process of harvesting and farmer field schooling in 7 days. As we were doing this from the TWISUNGANE leased farm, and also from some individuals who have issues in harvesting process in their own farms.

Discussion on the livestock and off-farm activities

There are many discussion on the issues of many planned activities that our farmers are engaging with us so that they can be able to support themselves. In the pipeline they have four major projects and these projects are somehow connected as if one is fully implemented then it is easier for them to finance for other projects. These projects are;

1. Used motorbike for transportation business. This will cost them USD 1000, they believe this will be a great opportunity and the door to other project. And if the TFH gives them the loan, therefore they will pay back the money in 10 months. As they will be put the money on TFH account in a daily basis. The details for this will be discussed when TFH agree to finance them.
2. Goat project. This has been their livestock project for long time, and they believe that if this motorbike project is been implemented then, they will be able to finance themselves for this goat project.

• Selling fruits and meat. Thus is also one of the project they think that will help their development as the cooperative.

1. Buying shewing machine and teaching their women this business.
2. Replacing the current BUV with more appropriate BUV that can operate in Rwandan terrain.

So far these are the quick projects that they would like to work on. This was the request to the TFH in the USA.

BUV management and the possibility of selling to the Big farm operators

This BUV has been in testing for almost three months in our village. And farmers have faced difficulties in its operation. I have been myself conducting several testing but as I mentioned before, this BUV was not made to handle mountainous regions of Rwanda. Therefore this BUV is of no use to our farmers regarding the terrain. We have been looking for buyers especially in the flat areas but till now we haven’t found the buyers who are interested in buying this BUV due to other BUV which are cheap and made for mountainous areas. Below is the BUV which many farmers possess and willing to buy;

This is the kind of BUV that is used in Rwanda and it is mostly used by farmers in different activities, being agriculture or even other off-farm activities. Farmers are requesting to get this kind of BUV instead.

The other option we have is to contact the company which sell us tis BUV in Tanzania and discuss with them if they can look for costumer for u and we give the for the fair price, but this is again a request we are asking from TFH USA and see if they can help us to communicate with the company in Arusha- Tanzania.

 The way forward

So far farmers are enjoying the technical support in their everyday life whether in agriculture or other business, as we are here to give any support in terms of building capacity at large. Therefore now we are preparing the farms for the season 2019B, where farmers are cultivating their field and ready to plant maize and beans, and also vegetables on the marshland areas where they are also leasing some small land. Meanwhile they are waiting for the support and establish one of the proposed projects mentioned above. And am here to help them and support them in any kind of assistance they may need which are under my capacity.