Do you want to hear something interesting?

Then you should get our Founding Director and CEO, Nina Hjortlund, to speak at your event.

She is an experienced speaker delivering both personal stories and reflective insights with passion and wit.

Topics include:

CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE WIN

How to make CSR an equal working relationship drawing on the strengths and expertise of both parties resulting in better impact and sustainable results. What are the flaws and pitfalls with the current hand-out mentality for supporting local organisations?

WHY AFRICA MATTERS TO YOU

Creating sustainable economic growth throughout sub-Saharan Africa is vital for global stability. Growing population in need of jobs and quality of life has more impact on your day-to-day life than you think!

YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON INVESTING IN AFRICAN WOMEN

When we invest in African women it increases economic growth and development. When women are empowered they become powerful catalysts for economic development. Investing in African women reduces poverty, gender inequality, and social injustice leading to better global health and social outcomes.

WHY MUSHROOMS ARE THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING

Growing mushrooms in Tanzania has given us a pathway to reduce poverty, provide better nutrition, create jobs, equality, health, climate change, sustainability, and long-term funding of other projects. Get the details of this inspiring and groundbreaking project stemming from a humble mushroom.

Download Nina’s one-pager speaker kit or contact her on email by clicking below.

Let’s talk wether you have a small gathering or a large conference.

How do you grapple with old age when you live in severe poverty?

As most women are not employed formally, they do not have a pension to look forward to, nor would they have a any savings for old age. Less than 25% of all Tanzanians hold a bank account – and the number of women with a bank account is significantly less.

Working in the informal sector means doing cash-in-hand jobs like selling tomatoes on the side of the road, rearing chickens and selling the eggs, doing cleaning services for someone more well-off, or mending clothes.

Typically, these jobs only generate enough cash for you to get by (or not even that) and there is not anything left for saving.

So how are you going to eat and pay for medical needs in old age?

The most common way is to have enough children for them to look after you financially and practically in your old age.

Tanzanian women have an average of four or five children – the global average is two. It is a vicious cycle. Having children young – Tanzania has a high rate of teen pregnancies – negatively affects their opportunities to have a better education or job. Knowledge and acceptance of contraception is lacking or misleading. Abortion is illegal and although backstreet clinics exists their procedures comes at a high risk.

Tanzania will be one of eight countries responsible for more than half of the increase in global population by 2050. Five of those countries will be in Africa. According to UN, sub-Saharan Africa’s population will nearly double to more than 2 billion by 2050. The region is growing three times faster than the global average and, by 2070, it will become the most populous place globally, surpassing Asia.

One way of breaking this cycle is providing ways for women to become financially independent and remove barriers (such as finances) to send girls to school to acquire knowledge, and getting better and higher paying jobs.

That is one of the very important outcomes of our Kilimu Bora | Smart Farming project:

“Participants are offered a hands-on training, in which they are taught both the agricultural and business aspects of operating and managing a mushroom farm.

By giving a preference to women and people with disabilities we are ensuring the initiative is supporting the most vulnerable groups within the community.

Through research, it has been proven that when women are being supported in taking up income generating activities, the financial outcome is then reinvested for the benefit of the entire household i.e., invested in children’s education and health or in long-term and sustainable investments in collective living standards. Furthermore, such women tend to benefit from increased social status due to their newfound income, directly improving situations in which gender inequality is the norm.”

If you want to support us or know more about our Kilimu Bora | Smart Farming project you can click here

Are you off to a great year like us?

2023 has begun and we have hit the ground running! 

First, I owe you a MASSIVE thank you!

We raised a whooping AUD $8,300 during our Christmas Campaign - well above our $5,000 goal - for our Outreach project.

This means we can buy TWO NEW MOTORBIKES as well as cover all expenses to MEDICINE AND TREATMENTS, and MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS. All of this is covered for a FULL YEAR. Thank s to you and your amazing support. 

We are beyond grateful for the generosity and trust you have shown us.

Our team has ordered the motorbikes and as soon as they arrive I will send you an update from the field. We can’t wait - and neither can the 35,000 residents of Nyamatongo.

What are we planning for 2023?

Healthcare

With our Outreach Team well supported, we are going to continue to deliver healthcare to residents who are unable to come to the health centre. Many times this is because of disabilities, or simply due to not knowing a condition should or could be treated. A lot of our work consist in sharing knowledge around prevention and treatment of injuries and diseases.

Kamanga Health Centre, our small-scale hospital, is also thriving. It is a busy place tending to more than 1,000 patients every month. Although we do not have a surgical unit only a small number of our patients (less than 3%) needs referral to the larger District Hospital. We are happy we can provide those who need it safe and stable transport in our on-site ambulance.

Ante- and postnatal care as well a safe environment to give birth is also a very important function of Kamanga Health Centre. We generally tend to 100+ pregnant women every month and deliver just short of two babies a day on average. Giving birth in Tanzania can be a deadly event and every day 30 mothers die during childbirth. In most cases, from preventable causes.

Every week we invite families to bring their babies under 5 years old to our ‘baby clinic’. Here we vaccinate children, weigh them and check their general health. We talk to families about nutrition and answer any health concerns they might have. This means we have a very high vaccination rate in our communities and generally we see about 30 children and their families every week.

We couldn’t do this work without our close relationship to the local Community Health Workers. These are locally elected health workers from each village or area and is often the first person to know if anyone in the area is in need of medical care. We provide medical training to our Community Health Workers and in turn they help spread knowledge on family planning, danger signs during pregnancy, and many other health related topics. They visit close to 250 households on a monthly basis.

Entrepreneurship

Last year, we finalised our pilot projet focusing on mushroom farming, entrepreneurship and Climate Change. Mushrooms are a great crop as it climate change resilient and you do not need to own land to be able to grow them.

Our Pilot was a great success. We learned a lot along the way and we are now ready to launch a full 12 month program after which it will be financially sustainable in itself. We are aiming to educate 200 residents every year and assist them to set up their own collaborative small-holder farms. The reason we are encouraging collaborative farms is to benefit from shared overhead costs and shared knowledge and responsibility. 

This project has so many benefits - I have listed a few of the major benefits below:

·       Increase in income for the whole household

·       Increase in income leads to better healthcare and education

·       Increase in self-esteem for women and people with disabilities

·       With self-esteem and independence comes healthier individuals and a higher uptake of birth control

·       A new and affordable nutritious crop available to the whole community

·       Mushrooms can help combat some of the nutritional deficiencies we see daily

·       More children in schools/less drop out caused by economic strain or health issues

·       Innovative low-tech and low-cost driers not needing electricity

·       Any excess production to be dried and access to international export channels

·       Project able to finance itself within 12 months

·       Excess funding and earnings to be used for scaling and other projects within our organisation

Of course, all of this is pending funding. We are actively seeking funding from all corners of the world. The full cost for a 12 month project is AUD $150,000 (approximately USD $100,000). If you want to know more about the Theory of Change, budget and project details please feel free to contact me directly by clicking the button below:

Climate Change and Green Kamanga

As everyone else, we are trying to do our part to combat climate change. In 2021 we planted 600+ trees germinated from seeds. We focused on quick growing timber and fruit trees such as mango, papaya and avocado. We continued this in 2022 and planted an additional 600 trees in Kamanga and surrounds.

But this is just the beginning. 

We are currently developing a 3-year project that will see to plant no less than 100,000 trees! Yes, you heard me right, 100,000 trees in 3 years! 

This 3-year project will build on establishing 100 community self-help groups, as well as provide education on environment and climate change through primary school clubs. Focus will also be on fuel-efficient stoves and the importance of using improved latrines and clean water. 

It is a project with BIG goals and a huge IMPACT or all our 35,000 residents. Of course this also comes with a need for funding with a budget of AUD $65,000 (~USD $45,000) per year for 3 years.

Again, if you want to know more about this project you can contact me below.

We are looking forward to share all our wins and stories with you in 2023.

Best Innovation in Corporate Social Responsibility

Australia for Cedar Tanzania received a Highly Commended award for our mushroom project in Tanzania.

This award is part of Australia-Africa Minerals and Energy Group’s (AAMEG) yearly Africa Awards presented as part of the Africa Downunder (ADU) conference.

ADU is the largest mining conference with a focus on Africa held outside Africa, and AAMEG is the peak body representing Australian companies engaged in the development of Africa’s resource industry. 

What is Kilimu Bora | Smart Farming?

Kilimu Bora means Smart Farming in Swahili. All projects under this banner revolve around food security, entrepreneurship, gender equality, climate change, nutritional health, and the environment.

Our first Smart Farming project has been the establishment of mushroom farming. This includes mushroom growth, drying methods, business skills and export agreements.

Mushroom farming as a business is new in Tanzania, and we are one of the leading pioneers in the area.

Through this project we are addressing a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges. We provide skilled training for vulnerable groups such as young women and people with disabilities and their household members.

Participants are offered hands-on of training, in which they are taught both the agricultural and business aspects of operating and managing a mushroom farm. The training includes how to grow and harvest mushrooms, preparing substrate, drying and packaging, how to meet international sterilisation and hygiene standards, quality control, bookkeeping, environmental best practises and compliance, market navigation, and customer service. The participants also learn how to source organic substrate materials locally and how to store this for optimal produce production.

Our high-quality mushrooms can be sold both locally and internationally thanks to our innovative custom-built driers, not using electricity but only the heat from the sun and a clever use of the airflow.

During the selection of participants priority was given to young women and to people with disabilities or their household members.

Gender inequality is prevalent in Tanzania and starts for girls already at a very young age when they often are deprived of the chance of an education in favour of their brothers. Without a good education, many girls and young women will remain both financially and emotionally dependent on parents, partners, or husbands. People with disabilities bear the double burden of poverty and exclusion due to financial, social, and environmental barriers coupled with a high degree of stigma present across Tanzania.

Why Mushrooms? 

90% of the Tanzanian population of 60 million people are living on less than $5.00 PPP. 49% is surviving on less $1.90 PPP per day – the international definition of severe poverty. Of these, the vast majority, 80%, are living in rural areas such as the Nyamatongo Ward.

Choosing mushrooms as the vehicle for agri-business is beneficial for several reasons:

No Land Required

Mushrooms are grown in buckets and indoors, and hence easier allow women and disabled people to become equal participants in their family’s and community’s economic life.

Research shows that fewer women and people with disabilities own land, and that they do not have equal access to manual labour.

Year-Round Crop, Independent of Rainfall

Through careful selection of species and growing conditions, mushrooms can be grown year-round regardless of change in rain patterns.

Climate change has shown irregularities to rainfall in the region with current draught and famine in the Horn of Africa. More specifically, the Mwanza region has experienced persistent irregular rainfall over the last number of years, which can have extensively harmful effects on local agriculture.

Minimal Initial Investment

This allows for economic opportunity even for women and people with disabilitiess with minimal control of their family finances.

Our project encourages collaborative farming and includes financial support and training during the initial set-up period.

Fast Return on Investment

The mushroom growth cycle can be as short as 8-10 weeks, allowing farmers to see profit extremely quickly.

This is important for the ability to establish income and re-investment in next growth cycle.

Not Labour Intensive

Mushrooms can easily be grown by any member of the household without the need to hire additional help. One of the main barriers seen to extensive farming is access to labour and machinery.

No Educational Background Required

After a relatively short training period, participants are ready to begin cultivating mushrooms.

We embrace a hands-on learning process which allows participants to gain the necessary skills no matter previous level of schooling and their academic capabilities.

High Nutritional Value

Mushrooms are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals and provide an excellent nutritional boost in areas that suffer from malnutrition such as the communities in which we are working.

Community Benefits

We encourage all our participants to establish collaborative farms servicing the local community. Collaborative farming minimises investment costs for the participants including cost to transport bio waste, initial purchases of buckets and tools, and a cost-effective solution to house the farm.

A collaborative farm has other advantages too: the strength of the shared knowledge and the ability to support each other in farming duties. This increases the success rate of the farm as well as enhances the quality of the produce.

By giving a preference to women and people with disabilities and their household members we are ensuring the initiative is supporting the most vulnerable groups within the community. Through research, it has been proven that when women are being supported in taking up income generating activities, the financial outcome is then reinvested for the benefit of the entire household i.e., invested in children’s education and health or in long-term and sustainable investments in collective living standards.

Having an increased production of fresh mushrooms will benefit the entire community of more than 35,000 people through access to an additional and affordable crop with high nutritional value.

Stunted growth and development are caused by a combination of malnutrition, prolonged and repeated infections, and untreated worms and parasites. This is common sight as it affects 38% of children under 5 years old in rural Tanzania. Supplementing their diets with oyster mushrooms will assist in combatting stunted growth in children.

 Sustainability

Responsible Cyclic Agriculture and Prevents the Burning of Agricultural Waste

Our mushrooms are grown on agricultural waste, saving expenses, and preventing the common practice of burning waste.

Avoiding burning of agricultural waste ties in with climate change best practises.

No Pesticides or Fertiliser Required

This both saves on expenses while also ensuring no chemical runoff or harmful agricultural practices. Spent substrates can be reused or sold as fertilizer after the mushroom growth is complete.

With the current hike in fertiliser price and scarce availability this makes mushroom farming a very appealing and cost-effective crop. In addition, in rural areas women are often at a significant disadvantage in regard to purchasing quality fertiliser, since access to such products are often prioritized towards male farmers.

Long-Term Financial Growth Potential

There are several ways a farm could expand: Entrepreneurs can expand into more exotic, high-value mushroom strands as their financial stability increases. Alternatively, there is a growing market for medicinal mushrooms.

Further several niche products are being produced such as mushroom leather, mushroom bricks, or to dispose of oil spills and non-degradable waste products.

Part of our long-term project plan is to provide a safety-net option to purchase any surplus production which will be dried and exported as wholesale to the international market.

High Demand on the International Market

Dried mushrooms have a one-year shelf life and can be sold internationally to a wide range of customers. This includes both B2B and B2C customers, wholesaling, distribution, and to businesses for further processing.

We currently have buyers in Singapore and in East Africa for distribution in Europe and in the USA.

Financial Sustainability after Seed-Funding

After initial central set-up and establishment of first round of collaborative farms the project is financially sustainable with income generated from export of central production as well as surplus production from the collaborative farms.

As a not-for-profit, any financial surplus will be re-invested into further strengthening and expansion of the mushroom project or into our healthcare services.

Furthermore, interest has already been shown from international impact investing companies for further scaling and expansion.

Scalability to other areas

Long-term plans include scaling this project to other areas outside of Nyamatongo Ward. Interest for our project has been shown by organisations working in the refugee camps in the Kigoma area housing approximately 250,000 residents.

Additionally, a potential collaboration with companies working with other dried fruit and vegetables could be imagined. Also in this area, interest has been shown from potential partner companies.

What now?

Currently we are actively seeking seed funding for a year-long upscaling after which the project is financially sustainable.

Our goals include creating a permanent production and ongoing teaching centre at our Community Centre. In the first year we are aiming to have successfully trained 200 residents in mushroom farming. We will deliver ongoing support to new farms and provide teaching in business skills and banking.

Wellbeing and nutritional health will improve throughout the area for all its residents. There will be a steady supply of highly nutritious locally sourced produce and indirectly an increase in household income. It will also strengthen women and people with disabilities position in their communities. 

Through an upscaled project we will also be able to safety-net newly established mushroom farms against loss from over-production by setting up procedures to approve and test each farm is in alignment with international requirements allowing their produce to be used for export.

You can of course help us get a head start towards our ambitious AUD $150,000 goal by clicking on the big green button to donate. Even $20 gets us towards this goal.

If you want to know more about the project you can contact Nina here.

 Thank you!

Mushrooms are the answer to…. EVERYTHING!

Poverty alleviation, better nutrition, job creation, equality, health, climate change, sustainability, and long-term funding of al our projects!

It can’t get much better than that, can it?

Please listen to Tzippora explain here:

How does it work?

We are currently teaching the skills of mushroom farming in the rural communities in which we work. Collecting 2 tonnes of harvest waste from the surrounding fields that would otherwise have been burnt. This creates the basis of our substrate in which the mushrooms will grow.

Our mushrooms grows in buckets in which we have drilled holes in sides. We are using a couple of rooms in our newly refurbished community centre to house the mushroom farm.

Once the mushroom are ready, our participants will learn the right technique to harvest the mushrooms.

Fresh mushrooms have a relatively short shelf life and needs to be sold quickly. To help with this potential issue, we are adding a drying process at the end. Custom built driers not using electricity but only the heat from the sun has been developed and will enable us to make a product ready for local distribution and export.

How can mushrooms help fund other projects?

Once we start selling our crop the income will be used to sustain the mushroom farm and any surplus will support any of our other projects like Kamanga Health Centre and our Outreach Team.

How does the participants benefit?

Each participant learns a skill. Mushroom farming is very new in Tanzania and as such we are pioneers in this area.

The participants can use this skill to set up a small scale farm at home for own consumption, or they can set up a collaborative farm producing mushrooms in larger scale.

Any surplus of produce can be sold to us where we dry the mushrooms and package them to international standards and export the end product.

How can YOU help?

Even though we have provided the training for our participants free of charge, and we will provide continuous support to those who chose to continue to grow mushrooms, there is a small initial cost for the participant to get things needed to starting growing.

You can help by sponsoring one of our conveniently packaged bundles that will enable our participants to start growing mushrooms right away.

“Home Growing Kit” consists of everything needed for a participant to take home to start growing for own use, or maybe sell any little extra at the local market. A kit costs AUD $15 (USD $10).

“Farm Bundle” consist of everything needed for a 30 bucket farm. This is a small scale collaborative farm that can produce for own consumption, the local market or for drying and export. A farm bundle has the value of AUD $110 (USD $77).

Want to know more?

You can read more about this project on our website here

Regular updates are also on our social media platforms - click one of the Social Media buttons below and make sure to follow us!

Or contact Nina, our Founding Director and CEO, directly here