Raising The Village

For Topista from Kyenjojo, providing for her family was a struggle. Subsistence farming and livestock barely met their immediate needs, resulting in inconsistent income and virtually no savings. "We wouldn't produce much. We had some pigs, but they wouldn't fetch a decent price since they were of an inferior breed. I couldn't buy better ones since we had no savings and couldn't get a loan," Topista says. With support from Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada Topista's community partnered with Raising The Village under the "From Last Mile Into Possibilities (FLIP)" project. Prioritizing women and youth-headed households, the project focused on providing training and support on diverse income-generating activities and financial inclusion initiatives. Topista joined a group of four other women selected for livestock inputs. She received a female pig for the group and starter feed and participated in livestock care and management training sessions. "We learned a lot about raising pigs – building and maintaining a sty, preparing feed, preventing and treating diseases, and various other practices. The training applies not only to the piglets we received but to other livestock animals and local breeds we own," she added. In about four months, the pig gave birth to five piglets, which were shared among the group members. The group plans to keep breeding the pigs until their herd size is sustainable and sell them in the market for a good price. 📷 1 and 2: Topista in front of her pigsty 📷 3: Topista with her group 📷 4: Topista with her family #livestock #gender #equity #skill #training #lastmile #knowledge #income #savings #entrepreneur #womenledbusiness #story #inspiring

Come and join our team at Raising The Village! 1) We're hiring a Program Manager for Learning and Development, based in Toronto, Canada. If you or someone you know are a rockstar manager who can get stuff done and are passionate about innovative ways to enable staff development and rapid scale in East Africa, then come join me and my brilliant colleagues. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply asap. (https://lnkd.in/gQPjWu_C) 2) We are also hiring a Learning and Knowledge Management Coordinator, based in Mbarara, Uganda. Our team is seeking a highly capable candidate to support myself and my colleagues in developing innovative and strategic learning tools and in measuring the success of these tools to enable further iteration. Applications for this role are due August 9th. (https://lnkd.in/gCZejqCK) Definitely spread the word to anyone who might be interested! #hiring #internationaldevelopment #africa #socialimpact #careers #changemakers 

#JobAlert: We are #hiring for multiple positions for our #Uganda office. Check out the job description by visiting: https://lnkd.in/gAmVHEg Join our #dynamic, fast-growing team committed to ending ultra-poverty in last-mile villages through #innovative and data-informed #livelihood programs. #career #teamwork #togetherwecan #opportunity #finance #learning #knowledge

Group members of the Kyankoge Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA), which started in 2023, rent land from their savings to grow vegetables collectively. They received training and high-quality inputs to kickstart the initiative and grow sukuma wiki, cabbage, Nakati, green pepper, eggplant, spinach, and black nightshade, among other vegetables. Selling their produce to wholesale vendors and other community members nets them up to UGX 150,000 weekly. "I want to ensure my children continue going to school and plan to build a better house for my family," says a group member. #financialinclusion #access #equity #opportunity #credit #farming #agriculture #lastmile #smallbusiness #communitydriven #entrepreneurs #income #savings

#JobAlert: We are looking for an Associate Director - Philanthropic Partnerships for our #Toronto office. Check out the job description by visiting: https://lnkd.in/d-sY35et Join our dynamic, fast-growing team committed to ending ultra-poverty in last-mile villages through innovative, data-informed livelihood programs. #career #teamwork #togetherwecan #opportunity

Read first-hand stories of change from our partner last-mile communities through our monthly newsletter - Last-Mile Adventures. Subscribe to receive monthly updates about our activities and achievements, and learn how your support is helping us reach thousands of families in Sub-Saharan Africa. Click here to subscribe - https://lnkd.in/gckpKp_9

"RTV's experts on agriculture and livestock not only taught us how to improve our farming techniques but also how to manage our finances better. We never used fertilizers before, but we learned how beneficial they are. We also learned how simple things like line planting and good-quality seeds can make a huge difference. From my last maize harvest, I could buy a pig and a goat, pay for my children's school fees, save some money in our savings group, and store around 300 kg of maize for consumption and planting. We learned many things we didn't know, and our lives have changed. Our savings have increased, our children are healthier, and we can access affordable credit through our savings group. We have gained not only knowledge but also a renewed sense of hope." - Emmanuel, partner community member. 📷1: Emmanuel with his harvest 📷2: Using the tippy tap he installed for better hygiene 📷3: Emmanuel’s wife, Kahala, tending to their livestock 📷4: Emmanuel and Kahala with their family #agriculture #farming #farmtotable #change #organicfarming #learning #hygiene #health #foodsecurity #knowledge #lastmile #farmers #financialinclusion #hope

A community partner sorts and winnows her harvests on a tarp — a modern post-harvest practice. It keeps the crops clean and market-ready, resulting in higher prices and better incomes. Through various modern farming practices and quality inputs, RTV partner households from the 2023 graduating cohort increased their average Annual Agriculture Income more than threefold, from $68 at baseline to $249 at graduation over 24 months.🌾✨ #SustainableFarming #FoodSecurity #FarmToMarket #farming #agriculture #organicfarming #bestpractices #lastmile

"We knew coffee had good potential, but weren't sure how to set up an enterprise and lacked capital," says Deborah from a last-mile village in Kanungu, "But our path to creating the Bakdet General Enterprise became easier when we partnered with RTV." With support and training from RTV, Deborah and 12 other members came together to form the BanyaKyeshero Development Trust, or Bakdet general enterprise - a group initiative that processes and sells coffee its members produce. Each group member of the Bakdet enterprise pooled part of their agricultural income and set up a workshop to grind and store dried coffee beans. Apart from selling to local residents, a significant part of their production is transported to local dealers and sellers in Kampala and also to the Bwindi National Park administration to be sold to visiting tourists. "In a good week, we earn UGX 250,000 to UGX 300,000 by selling our coffee," says Deborah. She also shares their future plans: "We want to transition from manual production to advanced machines, increase production, and sell to a broader market." 📷Deborah and her group growing, harvesting, processing, and selling packaged coffee under the Bakdet brand name. #enterprenuership #gender #equity #coffee #lastmile #smallbusiness #localbusiness #income #change #progress #financialinclusion #enterprise #farming #organicfarming

Raising The Village was recently featured in a report by The Bridgespan Group on how Community Driven Development (CDC) can unlock lasting impact. Highlighting the importance of a program design that prioritizes partner communities and involves them as the principal stakeholders, the report provides a deep dive into various case studies and evidence-backed CDC models implemented by multiple organizations in Africa and India. Read the full report here - https://lnkd.in/g5yu_rC8