Our Crowdfunding Groups
Dear wonderful supporters,
We are pleased to announce that we will arrive in Zimbabwe this summer to install irrigation pumps in the women's community gardens!! We will be in Mazvihwa during the second half of August 2016.
Also, the two Family Drip Irrigations systems we received as a donation from Netafim have arrived in South Africa and are on their way to Harare, Zimbabwe. They will be waiting for us in the village when we arrive. So exciting!
And there's more. We were able to recruit an amazing volunteer to work with us - Samuel Fernandes. Sam is an engineer specializing in renewable energy systems, and has worked on solar energy projects for rural communities in Australia, Africa, and India. Sam is helping us design and optimize our systems.
Wait, there’s more. We have found a wonderful local company based in Bulawayo that specializes in products for irrigation. They have agreed to sell us some of the equipment we need at a reduced cost, because, as they say – they work with many large-scale farmers in the area, but until now where not been able to work with indigenous small-scale farmers.
We have ambitious goals and lots of good intentions but we are still low in funding. At this phase, we are looking for focused donations from irrigation and solar panel companies. If you have any ideas and suggestions for these types of donations, we will be happy to hear from you. We also opened an extension to our UC Berkeley crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo’s Generosity website:
https://www.generosity.com/volunteer-fundraising/ladies-of-mazvihwa-pump-it-up
Please share our story with your friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers, tell them that you helped make this happen, and that if they want to contribute, there is still a way to do so.
With gratitude,
Karina & Naama
Thank you thank you wonderful people! Because of your support, we are now fully funded!
Dear ladies of Zimbabwe - soon we will be bringing irrigation pumps and solar panels! Be prepared to have those water pumping. Yes, the women are dedicated and hard working - as they sing in their own words in the song we sent to you in a previous email (lyrics below). But now, instead of carrying buckets of water each day, they will be able to spend more time caring for the children, or growing more vegetables, or sitting down and resting for a minute while the garden gets irrigated by the power of technology!
We have 4 more days for our campaign, and we hope to raise even more money. The additional funds will go toward purchasing, installing, and training to use drip irrigation lines.
We promise to update you as we progress with this project.
Sending much love on this happy day,
Karina & Naama
I’m Prepared to Die for Good Things
Translated from Shona by Emanuel Wekwafish Mhike
Oh my mother
I’m prepared to die for good things
Oh my mother
I’m prepared to die for good things
Growing vegetables is good
I’m prepared to die for good things
With water available
I’m prepared to die for good things
Sweets of sweat are good
I’m prepared to die for good things
Cooperatives provide food for all
I’m prepared to die for good things
Our project is highlighted today on the homepage of the LBNL website:
https://today.lbl.gov/researcher-uses-her-expertise-to-help-women-grow-food-in-zimbabwe/
This is so exciting! Now that we have 9 days to do, we hope it will help us reach our funding goal.
Keep Pumping it Up for the Women of Zimbabwe!
Now that we are in the second half of our campaign we need your help to reach our goal soon and make this project happen. Please help us spread the word!
There has been much interest in the beautiful songs we used in our video. These are original songs we recorded, sang by community members when they work together in the gardens and during gatherings. In these mesmerizing melodies, they sing, in Shona, of their love for the land and their hope for prosperous harvesting. You can hear them here in complete.
Woohoo! Thanks to our wonderful donors - more than half of our funding goal has been reached, and we are ranked #2 on the Crowdfunding site!
Our most popular perk until now is the Sadza recipe tutorial video. We are happy you are excited about it. Can't wait to go to Zimbabwe and shoot this video for you.
We are trying to get 10 new donors on the campaign. We ask for your help in achieving this goal. Please spread the word and tell your friends, co-workers, neighbors and people on your social media pages about this important project.
With gratitude,
Karina and Naama
We have raised nearly 50% of our goal! And we want to thank our generous donors. Because of these wonderful people, we have gone so far so fast. Now, please keep pumping it up – help us spread the word. Let your friends know about our effort, post a link to our project's page on your social media pages.
Thanks a bunch! It’s not easy to carry a bucket-full of water on your head up the river bank. You’re getting a shoutout on our Wall of Awesome People on our webpage. Even better - why don’t you share with the world what brought you to do this good deed? Send us your motto for the day, and we will post it next to your name.
You are so sweet! One lucky lady can forget about this task for today. In addition to the above perk, we're sending you lots of love and gratitude with a digital photo of the amazing scenery and people of rural Zimbabwe.
Thanks for your support! You get the above perks, and a download link to a video tour of the garden curated by the women of Mazvihwa. This is going to be fun! Be prepared to experience singing, dancing and giggling.
That is awesome. With your help, the children, men and women of the village can rely on having fresh vegetables this season, which are critical for their nutritional needs. In addition to all the above perks, we will send you a downloadable link to a tutorial video where the women will teach you how to cook Sadza with fresh tomato and squash sauce on an open fire. Don’t worry, they will explain to you what Sadza is. Yes, you will like it.
Thank you so much! With this donation, we can purchase an irrigation pump that will be installed in the river near one of the women’s community gardens. No more bucket-carrying! You get the above perks plus a handmade present from the women (we will choose and collect these during our trip).
Not only a water pump, but also batteries, solar panel and a hose! The community garden will never be the same. We will also send you a framed photo, so you can always remember our community and your contribution. You get to choose one of the photos from our collection.
This is precious. Thank you for believing in our cause and supporting our mission. We want to meet you in person! In addition to all other perks, we invite you to a one-of-a-kind experience, where you get to visit an authentic, off the grid village, in Southern Zimbabwe. You will live in your private hut at a family homestead. You will wake up not to the sound of cars but to the serenity of life on the farm with no roads. Your host will take you to see what interests you: Bird watching? Learning about the ecology of Baobab trees? School and education? Maybe you would like to spend some time working with the women in the community garden? When night falls, you will discover why the Milky Way is called the Milky Way. This offer includes personal hosting for up to two people for a week. The offer does not include airfare and transportation to Mazvihwa (talk with us about how this can be done).
