Mwapoleni aquaculture and goat rearing

Wilfred Mutembegi aged 17 years arrives at Muthiru Dairy Farmers Self Help Group in Meru, inn Kenya’s Eastern province riding his bicycle.

— AfricaNews - “Dairy farming is my passion” - Articles

About us

Mwapoleni Project (Sustainable) & Institute Congolais De Plantes Médicinales (ICPM)

None For Profit Organization

Key international mentors:

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Key project personals:

Régine Tyler: project director

Contact info:

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Actionplan year 5

Actionplan year 4

Actionplan year 3

Actionplan year 2

Action plan year 1

…

VT VillagePump approach

A number of issues described in the basic challenge can be solved using Naiade.

This will greately infuence the budget because a number of costs will either disapear or be reshuffled. into other sections.More on that later. here’s the idea…

Basicaly Naiade is a water container linked to a solar panel and a batery storing energy. As far as water purification is concerned there’s a clever filter solution. The 3 basic components however could be the start of a company in rural areas, provided we find more ways of using the hardware than just purifying contaminated water. Here’sthe VillageTalk vision…

There are many solutions on micro level, demanding attention from many different organisations. Since all these micro solutions are isolated islands, it’s next to impossible to convince the development industry of their importance. This can only be done by incorporating as many micro solutions as possible to solve a few major challenges.

Each solution provider will focus on it’s own unique benefits and at the same time each NGO will focus on it’s own cause, leaving the total challange per community in the middle of a logistical nightmare and a lot of wasted energy due to lack of cooperation of stakeholders.

Folks working for development companies have to follow their corporate vision. Presenting pracitcal sollutions will damage their future, so in many cases they will not want to coopedrate, so we’ll need to do it ourselves.

Naiade is now marketed as a water purification system. That focus alone causes confusion and reduces the chances development organisations and governements will realize the full potential. More important, essential high tech experience is not used to build upon the baisc concept. At the same time people in rural areas are wasting time on researching for solutions to problems that companies like Nedap have already solved years ago.

Effectively Naide is a mini power generator capable of:

• Purifying 750.000 liters of contaminated drinking water per year.
  
• Recharging mobile phone bateries
• Recharging notebook bateries
• Provide free off grid lightening to rural areas. There are plenty of easy to implement wiring systems available on the Internet if you only have 1 solar panel.
  
• Money saver
• Clean enery provider reducing the dependance on fossil fuel
• Self contained small business concept
• Time saver
• Education aid

Let’s take Bunabumali, Uganda (I’ll translate this for your appraoch, but Bunabumali is my demo village)

Total number of people in the community:….

Local businesses:..

Energy consumption

• Anual parafin usage for lightning: $ 800.00. The Naiade eliminates the use of parafin lamps. The savings can be used to fund the monthly lease charges. (Lease concept = 1080 anual charges for naiade)
  
• Non rechargable bateries $. norman, please try and give an indication
  
• Rechargable bateries will last only 700 recharges, but without solar panel that’s not a sustainable concept.
  
• Village radio
• Mini internet cafe based on one notebook plus 4 workstations using nydnyo concept. An eepc batery will run for 3.5 hours. Power consumption of pc monitors unknown.
  
• Cooking is done on firewood, no energy saving stoves available. We are planning to build traditional pizza ovens to create a more energy efficient way of cooking.
• There are also plans to start a fruitjuice company that requires efficient, free energy and increases the need for clean drinking water.
• There’s a distilery producing Wragi, the local gin, also generatering a lot of heat, that, by designing a more fuel eficient system could be used to offer savings.
  

The non water related services can be provided as an add on package, since all they need is one simple connection connecting to the solar pannel/battery pack. If we add a simple eeepc as standard customer service unit, connected to the latest Nokia mobile phone phone we have the fundament of an internet cafe, all powered from one simple solar panel, in one self contained unit.

This is just my idea. What if we would challenge the Internet crowd and run a design challenge based on the Naiade basics…

The goal

Mwapoleni Project (Sustainable) & Institut Congolais De Plantes Médicinales (ICPM)

From 2008 to 2013, Mwapoleni project is to improve the quality of life of at least 10,000 people living in the vicinity of the city of Lubumbashi through agriculture, health, education and construction activities.

Objectives:

• 8,000 people will be changed by community awareness campaigns to understand the importance of sanitation, good health and sustainable living.

• At least 200 people will receive skills to create their own small sustained business in medicinal plants production, remedies preparation, vegetable and livestock production as well as construction skills. They will have their self-esteems boosted, better health and outlook in the future and an increased family income.

• 1000 chicken will be raised in five years to produce at least 1000 eggs each day for food and income generation.

• 100 kg of tilapia will be produced daily for food and income generation.

• 60 goats will be raised to produce milk cheese for ourselves and for income generation.

• To educate people to understand medicinal plants and healthy way of living, to treat ailments contacted from infected water and to produce remedies for personal use and income generation.(testimonies are necessary for evaluation here)

• Produce for ourselves or income generation at least 50 kg daily of each of following vegetables sesame seed , squash, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, Yucca roots, lettuce, onions, garlic, lengalenga, cassava leaves, kibwawa, mutate, mugonda, wild african tomatoes, vernacular eggplants, amaranth, passion fruits, bibimbi, mangoes, moringa, watermelon and more and according biodiversity and to seasons.

• Produce at least 10 kilograms of honey per week for personal consummation or income generation
  

• One vocational school with a small lab that will accommodate 25 people will be built with all relevant equipment to conduct effective teaching and learning

• One Nursery for at least 10 babies for mothers in school and or in the field will be built

• One school for hundred children age five to twelve will be built

• At least twenty five homes will be built on 8 hectares of the property as well as setting esthetically beautiful landscaped gardens.

• Mamiwata Restaurant (name can be change) to accommodate at least 50 people and containing a conference hall will be built

• Weekend touristic spot: Mwapoleni Butterfly gardens; we will construct a butterfly farm for people enjoyment and beauty. We will introduce games such paddling on Lubumbashi river, and a place for artistic showcasing, wedding by the river, book signing, concert and more.

• Poverty will be alleviated around the farm because we will employ per preference our neighbors first.

• We will also conduct empowering seminars with local guests as well as international ones, we will own a TV station and or radio station for information dispersion purposes.

The problem:

According to the national statistic (2006) the population of Lubumbashi has increased from 1.2 million to about 1.6 million people in 3 years. (1). The influx of the population is due to people fleeing for security from the interior of the country. (a large population from the east of the country Maniema and North Kivu which were infested by war) to Lubumbashi. The new comers have no jobs, no housing, no education, nor any health infrastructure
for their families.

In 1980 agricultural production represented about 30% of exterior commerce
income, around 1982 that production decreased about 11% down. In 1984 a slogan was launched putting agriculture the priority of priority. But Lubumbashi didn’t follow because during the Mobutu regime only mining was emphasized in Katanga and Lubumbashi in particular. Gécamines used to employ over thirty five thousands and had schools, hospitals and cooperatives supporting their families. When the company collapsed due to mismanagement, it left thousands of people unemployed (2).

Other companies came there and started using people (even children) and paying them next to nothing to live on. After the collapse of Gecamines many people went back to ancestral agricultural practices without training and the result was disastrous. Most foods in the Congo is imported (in 1960, the Congo used to export 60% of their corn products as well as coffee, cotton, cocoa etc.

Many families now live with less than $1.00 per day and eat one meal every other day because of the cost of food. According to UNICEF DRCONGO, less than half of the children of school age have access to primary and secondary education in the city of Lubumbashi. Cholera, typhoid fever and water born diseases and malaria are endemic and kill hundreds of children under five years of age each year, making the DR Congo one of the higher rates of infant’s mortality in the world (4).

Access to health care is a luxury given to the few who are better off. The living conditions in the vicinity of Lubumbashi can be improved if certain actions are taken. Primary health care is nonexistent; therefore education and empowerment is paramount for the population. Teaching alternative healing methods will help those incapable of getting modern health care and
hopefully will gain preferences over other medicinal remedies. In addition, if we teach people the right methods, from the ground up, it will create a self-sustainable culture; therefore cultivating a people that can live healthily off their own land without outside help.

Resources:

• We own 80 acres of land 12 kilometer from Lubumbashi in a locality called Mwapoleni.

• There is also access to water with the Lubumbashi River bordering one side of the farm, and a spring in the middle of the property.

• On two sides of the farm, there is a road, which makes the transport of people and equipment easy.

Strategies:

Year One:

• Community awareness

Most of the problems the population is facing are due to ignorance and lack of adequate information about food production, sanitation and the importance of education. They are not even aware about their own strength and potential power to shape their own destiny. Community members living in the vicinity of Lubumbashi will attain awareness through campaigns to learn about the importance about health education, nutrition and food production skills and
techniques. Masengo, an experienced agronomist with 7 years of experience will be providing the training 3 times a week, for an hour per session.

We will have to serve a small meal and beverage as incentive for people to come hear what we have to say. At first we will reach around two hundred people or more the first year…

• Production of medicinal plants and herbal remedies:

Three hectares of the land will be dedicated to the production of medicinal plants and herbal remedies. Six to twelve young males or females will be trained to grow medicinal plants and produce remedies, tinctures and aromatherapy essential oils. We will provides crucial health and hygiene
education and nutrition classes with the aim to educate people in preventative medicine alleviating or minimizing the negative impact of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, etc. as well as treating them to treat minor disorders such as chronic cough, minor cuts, strain and pain.

The method will be sustainable way. Our students will be the equivalent of “barefooted doctors of rural China.

• Production of organic vegetables local and imported:

Two hectares of the land to produce traditional vegetables, fruits and seeds for oil: onion, garlic, lengalega, sombe, mutete, kibwaba, bibimbi, mugonda, beans, lentils as well as some imported ones: beans, green beans, herbs and spices: cilantro, parsley, etc…

• Agriculture and Livestock Activities ( at first we will need tents for the workers)

Twelve to fifteen agriculturists will be trained in the art of food productions in the following activities:

• Egg production activities: One hundred chickens will be raised to lay an average of one hundred eggs per day. The eggs will be sold in the Lubumbashi market at $0.10 (per egg). This will bring revenue to the farm.

• Beekeeping: 10 kg of honey will be produce for honey, candle etc.

• Goat rearing: One hectare of the land will be used to raise thirty goats for milk and cheese, with the expectation that one goat will produce at least two goats a year. Goat will be gifted to member of the cooperative for milk and cheese.

• Fish farming: Tilapia will also be raised on two hectares in fish ponds to be sold in Lubumbashi.

• Bamboo charcoal production: Three hectares of the land will be dedicated to growing bamboo. The environment in the vicinity of Lubumbashi is in jeopardy because people cut trees to cook food. Bamboo provides charcoal that will maintain the environment in a sustainable way and we have some already on the land.

• Water and electricity:

a. Water: To acquire water devices to serve the farm and the community such as:
Playpumps or even better. Unfortunately the pay pump is not accessible until 2010. We need to find an alternative way.

b. Electricity: To install solar panels on the property to support our activities. We have a river that may also be utilized to produce electricity for the farm and some small mounts where wind energy can be implemented as well.

6. Infrastructure: - To renovate the existing structures to accommodate workers and serve as offices, storage facilities etc.

a. First structure: This structure must be rebuilt or renovated and a small kitchen, bathroom, and a couple of rooms can be added to accommodate family living for guard and his family living on the premises.

b. Second structure: This structure needs to be expanded and renovated to serve as an office, a storage facility and a store. A small bathroom with toilet and sink must be added. This structure needs electricity as well as a refrigerating equipment to keep the produce fresh and toilets for sanitation reasons.