Village Ventures Africa
Every raindrop from heaven creates a fountain of hope on earth
Village Ventures has been working in Diema and the surrounding area for over 10 years and has
recently achieved charity status. The trustees have a wealth of local knowledge and experience
and have designed specific programs to fulfill and maintain a variety of sustainable projects.
Through education and community projects, we hope to eradicate malnutrition, poverty and
preventable diseases, and to increase the GDP in Diema, Mali.
Diema is known as Mali's International crossroads with roads leading to Mauritania, Senegal
and Burkina Faso. The surrounding area encompasses 151 villages housing a population of
approximately 220,000 people.
Although Mali cannot compete with the major safari countries for sheer natural spectacle, Mali
is a nation of unusual interest and charm, intimately related to a great river, the river Niger. In
addition, Mali is the location of some of the continent's most interesting cultural sites. Legendary
Timbuktu is located there, and in the center of the country is the magnificently dramatic
Bandiagara escarpment, home to the fascinating culture of the Dogon.
In spite of this Mali is amongst the 4 poorest countries in the world, GNI $610. At birth 98000
babies die a year and 121000 children die before reaching the age of 5. Roughly 70% of children
enrol in primary school but only 30% continue into secondary school. Attendance is low
especially for girls. Child labor is high at 20%. Adult literacy rate is 31% and 44% of the
population does not have access to clean water or sanitation causing ongoing medical problems.
We hope to establish firm foundations in education - breaking the mould by encouraging
children to go on to secondary education; garden centers which both produce food to consume
on site and to sell; clean water and sanitation; and building accommodation to welcome and
facilitate volunteers and visitors - a place to learn and train - building character with a feeling of
self worth and hope.
Realistically we cannot save a nation but we can influence the course and outcome of Diema.
Our model to delivering market gardens to the villages.
We believe a sustainable farming project is vital as without food and water the villages cannot
develop. This project will impact on the lives of villagers and assist personal development, as
well as facilitate their health and security.
Our mission is to create a market economy and to improve social standards for each of the
villages. We intend to set up commercially viable, village based community enterprises that are
sustainable to lift people out of subsistence farming.
We expect to give hope through education encouraging families to stay together, creating
stability and optimism for children, recreation with plenty to do in a secure environment.
Establishing financial security we hope to get more children into the classroom and see them
through to secondary school, breaking the cycle of illiteracy.
Every village has a shortage of food, and water is mostly the issue. Simply providing food is not a
long-term option, nor is just handing out medicine and cash.
Part of the solution is to enable people to help themselves though education and information.
Advising how best to cultivate and sustain a living on their own land has the intention of
bringing people out of subsistence living to eradicate malnutrition and reducing the high
number of kids who do not attend school beyond the primary years. Having gained the
knowledge to farm and cultivate their land, we expect this newfound knowledge will also
encourage, inspire and help families further to keep their children in school, thus starting the
cycle of progress and evolving a feel good factor.
The proposed community ownership programs, such as management and delivery of relevant
programs including water and waste management, commercial enterprise management, money
management and marketing and distribution management.
The variety of problems we face with the communities need to be evaluated and eradicated for
us to proceed.
The area is mainly desert and the land is not currently conducive to agriculture so growing
crops is a challenge. The skill base is very low. Natural materials are in short supply and
sustaining life is a major challenge on a daily basis.
Water is a major issue. Average downpour a year is significant and only happens during October
and November? So digging wells is a must. Manpower is not a problem but in some areas we
will need to dig deeper than humanly possible, hence an initial cost to digging safe wells. Total
cost for a well is £1500-£1800. Hiring a reliable contractor for this would be vital.
Although most of Mali experiences only negligible rainfall, the 'rainy' season in the south extends
from June through September.
Our intention is to replicate a solution we have already piloted at a local village that is located
5km North West of Diema with a population of 1000. We took an area of land within the village,
defined by a fence to restrict entry by both animals and people. The land was cultivated,
enriching the soil using natural fertilizers and modern farming technique. The local people were
given training, knowledge and techniques required to make the crops grow in non fertile soil.
This included crop rotation and the saving of roots and leaves, which would otherwise have been
discarded, to make a fertilizer for the coming years - nothing to be wasted.
Focusing on the villages that already have an established well, very few having a natural water
source, we will begin work as soon as possible.
For the villages without these facilities we will need to commence the process of engaging a
company experienced in sourcing and evaluating underground water supplies.
We envisage the proposed plots of land for cultivation to be within each village for security
reasons unless the water source is outside the village perimeter, in which case the land parcels
will be set up here. Irrigation systems at this stage are not fundable at present but are to be
considered in the future
The size of each land parcel, or parcels, will be designed to provide enough crops to feed the
entire village with any excess sold at local markets providing a valuable income for the village.
Thus enabling the village to sustain further development and ensuring future generations can
grow and enrich our original program. The land parcels created will be based on the number of
people in each village.
Mali is the main country in West Africa to grow shallots; though the soil quality is poor it can
sustain an onion crop as well as garlic, tomatoes and potatoes, all of which are staples in the
Malian diet. Other crops grown in Mali are maize and millet.
If the correct procedures are followed Mali can sustain 2 crops a year, thus easily providing a
surplus of produce and providing the opportunity to sell the surplus on the open market.
We will be investing time and sharing knowledge on storing and managing the produce once
harvested. Initially we don't envisage there to be large quantities of surplus produce, but
providing plenty for the people to eat minimizing the severe problems of malnourishment in
both children and adults. This should however change once people gain more experience
cultivating these market gardens. The training and development of the village people is then
paramount and can be delivered by hands on training, classroom based talks. Video based
training that could be supplied FOC by The digital college at our base camp.
Recent studies by US Aid West Africa shows that by merely storing the produce in bags that
does not allow air to the product causes around 20% of the product to be spoiled.
A company called Embalmali, located in Bamako, capital of Mali, have produced a low cost, high
quality Onion sack that alleviates this issue and saves the additional 20% of the crop which
would otherwise spoil. These Onion sacks are just an example of some of the simple things that
can be done to help these communities and for our project to become a success.
The viability of moving crops over distances is currently impossible due widespread corruption
amongst officials involving bribes. Surplus crops will be sold locally in Diema until a
transportation solution can be found.
This model requires the villagers' total commitment and understanding to make it work.
The established reputation of Village Ventures - known for its initiative and sustained help
enables us to initiate the market gardens in the surrounding communities
Au Berge
This will be our initial project, a camp to house paying guests and volunteers alike. A base from
where we can run farm education classes, management and other socially beneficial projects.
The Au Berge will be built in Diema so we can house and sustain our volunteers as well as offer
accommodation to an ever-growing number of passing tourists, business people, and people
passing through Diema.
Diema is located on a crossing of two main roads where up to 80 buses pass a day. Currently
there is nowhere for people to stay, which we see as a revenue opportunity for the charity.
Once built, the Au Berge will provide a base area for the volunteers to start the delivery program
we have already got underway.
One initiative we will start straight away is a green house set up within the grounds of the Au
Berge, where the initial planting and cultivation of seeds can be started before planting them out
giving the plants a better chance of survival. This will be run and managed by volunteers and
locals. We intend to show and share this project with the locals along the way so there is an
understanding as we hope to raise money for this eventually so to set up green houses in the
participating communities.
Cost for the Auberge
The Au Berge will be located on a plot of land that is already owned by Village Ventures and lay
approximately 400 meters south west of the town center of Diema.
The approximate size of the land is 150x160 meters and so has plenty of area for the
development we envisage. The surrounding area is mainly scrub desert land with little value for
agriculture giving us an opportunity to expand in the future.
The land currently has no mains water, drainage system or mains electricity and these will be
our initial focus. Solar panels are a must as the supply from the town is sporadic so we need to
be self sufficient. The water from the mains is the best option to have brought in as it is treated
but a well will most likely be needed, as with everything in Africa supply can be sporadic.
The idea is to build a two-tier accommodation development. The first being quite basic and
having a lower tariff and a more luxurious level for the more affluent travelers whom may be
willing to pay a little more for a better standard of accommodation and giving the opportunity to
significantly increase the revenue for the village projects.
This would make the accommodation appealing to both foreign visitors and locals.
We intend to encourage, both within the Au Berge itself, through the Village Ventures website
and on any future advertising material, for people, when visiting, to ‘over pay' or donate towards
the community projects.
We will be designing a range of attractive packages for volunteers, so as to encourage people
from various back- grounds and financial abilities to join and experience a volunteering
program on either a short or long term stay.
The Au Berge would consist of six to eight huts built in a traditional manner as the attached
photographs/illustrations show. We already have existing buildings but these are made of mud
and needs rebuilding every year after the rains. The new buildings will be made of more
substantial materials but will be made to look like traditional buildings.
Along with the huts that would serve as individual bedrooms with private bathrooms attached,
we would be looking to provide a kitchen, an office and administration building, and a common
area where guests can socialize and have their meals. There will be a small kitchen where the
volunteers can cook their own meals should they want to.
We would look to offer simple meals and soft drinks, which again can be used to generate extra
income and provide local jobs.
We do not intend to run a restaurant but only meals for paying guests and volunteers.
We need to raise £55000 for the building of the Au Berge, which will allow us to built and
furnish to a good standard. With this money we can complete the camp including all 8 en-suite
rooms, office, administration and classroom building, common areas, kitchens, generator and
water/sanitation as well as office, storage and laundry facilities. The green house is vital for the
start of our program and should be built immediately.
We think that during the construction stage we would want a European engineer, perhaps a
volunteer or architect/engineer student to oversea the work and to ensure we have records of
the construction and the correct procedures are followed and proper records maintained.
However should it prove impossible to locate a volunteer we estimate a local £10000/€12000
yearly salary for an architect/engineer, an additional cost we hope to avoid. We could not expect
a local to work for free or even just against room and board.
We do hope to engage western volunteers at this pre-construction stage to help built the camp.
The facilities currently in place are poor. Due to the recent political troubles in Mali, we had to
abandon Diema for safety reasons last year and only now have we been able to re-build the few
facilities we already had.
It's worth noting that a laborer‘s daily rate in Mali is around the £3 per day on a casual
employment basis and if we are to employ a skilled craftsman that rate is around the £10 per
day. Both levels of employees are readily available and both are used to working on a daily
employment basis although we intend to retain the same workforce for the duration of the
project if at all possible.
The Au Berge would be quite unique in this area and would bring in valuable income for Diema
as people would spend time there, spending money in shops, bars, restaurants and buying locally
made crafts etc.
It is further thought the Au Berge could have a small shop selling locally produced goods and
handicrafts etc. Another thing we hope to initialize in the future, the making a good quality
crafts attractive to foreigners.
Long term benefits to the community.
All the labor would be sourced locally so providing sustained income for around 6 employees for
the duration of the project.
The Au Berge once constructed would provide local employment for 1 to 2 people full time that
would be cleaning, cooking and maintaining the property as well as taking bookings and
ensuring the guests are looked after.
Forecasted income generation and costing's of running the Au Berge.
It is envisaged we will have 6 huts that can generate income or house volunteers to help with
developing the program.
Based on this assumption we have worked the costing's/income generation on 4 huts being
available for fee paying guests.
The fee-paying guests would be placed in the more upmarket huts with the tariff reflecting that
fact.
The huts would be let on a cost per person basis and we expect the rack rate to be £10 per
person per night.
We expect 50% occupation based on single occupancy per hut giving a yearly income for the
accommodation of roughly £7000/€8400.
As well as the accommodation income we envisage an additional income of £5.50 per person for
food and soft drinks giving a potential income for the site of £75/€90 a week.
The costs to generate this income fall into the following categories as follows.
Staff for front of house
Fuel (lighting and cooking)
Food
Cleaning and maintaining the infrastructure
These costs are as follows.
Staff would be 2 full time employees.
The staff would be charged with cooking, cleaning and taking bookings. With intentions of
calling in extra staff in high season or other busy times if needed.
The cost of the staff would be £5 per day per staff member. They will be seasonal staff.
So an overall cost of £60 a week staff costs in season.
The cost is set out as follows. See spread sheet.
The cost of digging the well would be around £1500 /€1750.
Piping the water around the site would cost an additional £600/€700.
The septic tank would also require excavation and setting and the purchase cost of the tank and
piping up the site would cost £1600/€1800.
Providing a generator and back up generator and a storage tank and making these secure would
cost £1900/€2150.
The cost per building would be around £650/€850.
The roofs would be made of heavy grass thatch with an anticipated life span of 15 years.
The doors would be of steel manufacture at a cost of around £50/€60 and windows a further
£50/€60 or a joint cost of £100/€120 per unit (the area has termites so it’s not advisable to use
wood).
Toilets and washbasins, taps etc. would be around £180/€210 per unit including fittings and
beds, and a simple cupboard around £120 per unit. Cement floors would be around the
£100/€120 cost.
The social area would cost around £3200 to construct with table and chairs and some basic
cooking facilities costing a further £1200/€1600.
We would also need a small administration building and a storage area at a cost of around
£1800/€2200.
We would need a team of 4 paid local staff members, each at a daily rate of £3, weekly cost £84
or an overall annual cost of £4400.
The financial benefits from running the Au Berge will be set out on the following pages.
Fuel would be used for lighting and for pumping water etc. This cost is thought to be minimal
and around £2 per day or £14 per week.
The fixed costs Versus the income (based on the 65%single occupancy rule) breaks even
without food being sold, and therefor provides a free center for our volunteers.
With the food added and making no allowance for the sale of soft drinks the center generates a
profit of around £55 a week.
Overall, the Au Berge gives a base for the development of the charity and its projects to move
forward from.
Once completed, we can start on phase 2.
It would be suggested to erect the fence and leave the area for a couple of months to see what, if
anything the elements do to the area.
The selection of the contractor can be critical as we need a company who understands our needs
and embraces the fact that if they are realistic on their costing's they will be awarded ongoing
contracts as they arise.
After the land has been fenced and settled, the next stage would be to look at enriching the land
using fertilizer and this can be as simple as villagers collecting sheep and goat feces, placing
them in hessian sacks and immersing this in water that can be used on the land.
Don't they use this for building fires??
It may be that we have to introduce other fertilizers too to get the project underway.
The face to face and hands on training can be delivered by VVA volunteers.
During the first growing phase the volunteers can also assist in building a storage facility to
ensure the crop can be stored correctly once grown.
The training of how to grow, harvest and store then all start to evolve.
Once harvested, the distribution and sales cycle can be explored.
And once understood as in life various champions within the villages will emerge.
These champions could then work alongside the volunteers to teach their own villagers and then
ultimately they could be employed by VVA to role out the projects in other villages too.
This process would probably take several years and would always need monitoring as to ensure
correct procedures are being followed and records in a simple form are being kept to account
for any tools, fencing, seed, water, fertilizer or indeed anything is accounted for. This would
discourage any dishonesty and the policy would have to be firm and anyone found abusing the
system withdrawn from the program to show others it isn't worth the risk.
As each project is different the costing's would differ per project, but we can establish a few
parameters and use those parameters as a shopping list for each project.
We know a well costs around £1500 to £1800 to dig and complete.
The type of fencing needed will be steel meshat a height of 1.5 meter, at a cost of £5.00 a meter.
Erection of the same will involve concrete posts set at a 2 meter interval. Using wood is not
viable because of termites.
The posts cost £3.00 each and would take 2 men 3 hours to dig a hole to place them in. They
then need concrete to set them and the fence erecting.
The costs of these operations per 10 meter run would be?
To dig and fertilize the land initially would take 1kg of fertilizer per 10 square meters at a cost of
£2 per kilogram.
We would need a spade, rake and hoe for every 100 square meters and they would cost £5 per
item.
The storage unit would cost around £1000 to build dependent on size and so we can start to
build up a cost base for each project.
The village people will also need help on how to transport, set up stalls and sell the produce, and
thereafter be taught how to manage the surplus money. As this money belongs to the village it is
in the interest of all concerned to make sure the money is kept safe, and spent in the best
interest of the entire village not just to benefit a few people. Monitoring any signs of corruption
in vital.