Today is our last day in Annayo, the farming community that's doing their best to rebuild after years of devastating drought. Despite the hardships they face, they're optimistic. They have so many ideas for how to make things better, day by day. To wrap things up, and thank the community for an amazing month together, we got gathered everyone for a meal - a time to relax, take a load off, and enjoy each other's company. Farmers sat beside security guards, who sat beside local council members, who sat beside reporters from the media, documenting the changes made. The meal was delicious - goat meat, rice, pasta, vegetables, and spices. A feeling of contentment settled in, as hearts and tummies were filled. "This is the first time an NGO has actually come and helped the community," said Issa from the local town council. "We are so humbled by the support and grateful for all that you have come and done in our community." The positive change that's happened over the … [Read more...] about Neighbor to Neighbor

Any farmer can tell you about the two busiest parts of the year — planting and harvesting. The upcoming rainy season is on everybody's mind in Annayo, as they get everything prepped and ready to plant. While the tools we provided are helpful, using them to prepare the land is highly labor intensive. Progress depends on how many people they have on hand to pitch in. What's the next best thing to having all hands on deck? The right machinery to do the job for you. We set up a tractor-share system so that they can rent out the tractor to prep their fields for planting. Sharing the machine is an efficient way for resources to go farther - and get to more farms. "We have many things to support on our teams, about 50 sheep and goats and 10 camels as well as fruit trees and crops," said Osman Adan Noor. "We will need to plant new crops like carrots, onions and tomatoes soon. Tractor hours would be so helpful in this process." This change made possible by Mankind is My … [Read more...] about Make Tracks

It’s hard to overstate the value that people place on their animals, pet or livestock. The farmers in Annayo are no different - they depend on the work their animals do, whether it’s the guard dog, or the milk-producing camel. We wanted to honor this relationship and and add a few more to the community...starting with sheep! They're such a low-maintenance and resilient animal, part and parcel to the daily lives of Annayo's farmers. The community was so grateful for this effort, underlining how it helped them gain back some of that sense of security they lost in the most recent drought. "My husband is the head of our household but he is sick right now, so I am managing the farm," said Maryan Ahmed. "We previously had many livestock, but lost most of them during the drought. Restocking our lost livestock is such a help to our farm and our livelihood." Today's change made possible by Mankind is My Business. … [Read more...] about Bah-lieve in Change

Goats are precious cargo. They offer stability, food, a livelihood, and so much more. Farmers in Annayo rely on them, if not for meat and milk, then to sell their offspring to earn enough money to send their children to school. The farmers in Annayo continue to feel the effects of the devastating 2017 drought, when they lost many livestock, including goats. We weren’t able to get all of the farms enough goats the first time around, so today, we decided to get these hardworking farmers some more! "Many of our livestock have died because of drought cause by climate change," said Adnan Gahayr Farah, "and this isn't something that previously used to happen. I once had many more goats and now I only have five. Restocking our livestock will be such great help for my family." This change made possible by Mankind is My Business. … [Read more...] about Precious Cargo

Pipe extensions will help the farmers of Annayo transport water from one end of their farm to the other, but it won’t get the water to the nooks and crannies that it needs to. We heard farmers talk about the need for irrigation systems that go the distance, but that are pliable, too. So we decided to help them get both! Today, we’ve gotten them soft, bendable pipes. They can attach these to the 100 and 200-meter pipes and reach any and all of the places they need to water. "One of our biggest problems is having long enough pipes that can reach all of our trees," said Mohammed Mahdi, "and we risk losing some of them because we can’t get enough water to them." Having not only enough pipe length, but the flexibility to get the water where it needs to go, will ensure that farmers like Mohammed can save their trees - and help them bear fruit. This change made possible by Mankind is My Business. … [Read more...] about Getting Where We Need To Go

One of the hidden impacts of climate change is erosion, the farmers in Annayo told us. They're worried about how increased erosion on their farms might impact them in the future - especially farmers with orchards. For those farmers, erosion can mean wiping out 50 year old trees that are producing hundreds of fruit, providing shade, and supporting their livelihood. "Because of the floods, my whole farm is at risk and my trees especially are at risk of washing away," said Hinda Emli. "I would love if I could get support to stop erosion." To help tackle this problem, we provided vouchers that farmers would be able to use to rent tractors that can be used to combat problems of erosion! The tractors can manipulate the soil in ways that help mitigate the impact of the shifting soil. It won’t solve all of their problems, but it’s a small way to prevent what we can! This change made possible by Mankind is My Business. … [Read more...] about Saving the Soil

Some farmers in Annayo are transitioning their farms from rain-fed to irrigation systems. Irrigated farms are hugely beneficial. But it's also a big transition. Rain-fed farms are really large in scale - that's because they do as much as they can while the rains are pouring down. Irrigated farms, on the other hand, are limited by the fact that they can only grow as much as they can irrigate, as much as they can reach. Getting large farms transitioned over to an irrigated system requires a few things that these farmers just didn't have up their sleeves... One of those things is pipes. So we got these farmers extra-long, 200 meter pipes, allowing them to reach as far as they possibly manage on their larger-than-life farms. "I'm the owner of this farm, of these mango trees that you can see are dying," said Abdullahi Farah, point to his land. "Many of these trees are 40 or 50 years old, but they're starting to die because there isn't enough water for them to live. We … [Read more...] about Going the Distance

It’s hard to irrigate your farm if your pipes don’t reach the furthest corners of your land. Or, if you’re dealing with broken, leaky, or damaged pipes. Soon you face wasted water and less than ideal water pressure. We had an idea...to get some of these families 100 meters of durable pipes each! They'll be able to pump water out of their new machines and across the farm, ensuring that crops will stay watered all year round. "The transportation of water is the problem that we have, not the availability," said Ahmed Ali Egeh. "We would work on more land if we had more water. Each farm has it’s own well, but there are also communal wells where we are able to access plenty of water. But pipes are such a big issue for it." Imagine your frustration when water is available, you just can't access it. It's incredible that something as simple as pipes can help to solve that problem. And today, these farmers are one step - or one pipe - closer! This change made possible by … [Read more...] about Access is Everything

Wells are of little use if you have no way to get the water out of the ground and to its intended destination. It's surprising how widespread this problem is - and it's an especially big issue in Annayo. In some cases, the farmers had water pump machines to irrigate their crops and trees, but the machines were broken, and unusable. Machines aren't much help when they don't do the job they were intended to do. Today, we’re buying these farmers replacement water pumps! The pumps will help them access the water already pooling in wells, meeting them where they're at and helping them to achieve their best. "Right now, I only have fruit trees," said Mawhid Ahmed. "But with a new machine for my well, I will be able to plant new crops like maize and sorghum in all of the seasons." … [Read more...] about Wishing Well

Large-scale solutions to solve water storage problems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Today, we’re doing the doable and taking inspiration from a big idea - and scaling it down to 365 size. In order to harness the power of rainwater, massive holes can be dug and covered in plastic. If done in an area large enough, this little lake can provide enough water to irrigate the farm for many months—even until the next rainy season We knew we didn’t have the resources to create a "lake" quite big enough for that - but we still wanted to do something to help. We bought some of the farmers of Annayo substantial tarps that they can use to create their own mini versions of the lake, crafting small ponds that can capture water during the rainy season - and be utilized when the rains aren’t coming down! They can also be used with irrigation systems, as a central place to store water that is funneled from wells and needs to be distributed throughout the farms. "I … [Read more...] about Pond-Sized Solutions