Give Agriculture Devices to Villagers in Malawi
- Projects:
- 120
The Universal Nut Sheller is an agricultural deviced used to add value to crops by removing their shells efficiently. The labor intensive crops like peanuts, coffee, and jatropha are quite lucrative, IF they are processed efficiently and sold at a value-added state. Your donation will enable a family to begin to break the cycle of poverty by providing this efficient tool so that they generate better income from these crops.
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The Need
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, its poverty is severe and deeply-rooted. Malawi's National Economic Council estimated in 2000 that 65.3 percent of Malawians were below the poverty line, "unable to meet their basic needs." Moreover, according to the 1998 census, 78 percent of the economically-active population were subsistence farmers. Unfortunately, farmers do not currently have the means to efficiently process and sell their own crops. Without a way for these subsistence farmers to efficiently process crops after they have been harvested, farmers simply sell them, at a lower value- continuing their cycle of poverty. With an Universal Nut Sheller, now farmers are able to shell their peanuts, coffee, and jatropha adding value to them. By earning more for the crops, farmers are able to buy medicines, food, and clothing for all of their family.
About Full Belly Project
Partner since September, 2009
The Full Belly Project is a non-profit organization which designs labor-saving devices to improve the lives of people in developing countries. At present, one of their primary objectives is to increase the cost effectiveness of peanut agriculture as a means of sustainable development in those countries, through the development of affordable appropriate technology. There are an estimated half billion people across the globe in over 100 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions and particularly in Africa, dependent upon peanuts as their primary source of protein. Peanuts play a greater role in developing countries and offer multiple ancillary benefits. The Full Belly Project also distributes and provides training for these devices. Farmers using the Universal Nut Sheller device provided by the Full Belly Project have been able to increase their income by efficiently processing their own crops, selling the value-added crop at a higher price.