WATER FOR DIGNITY IN SOUTH SUDAN
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The Rainmaker Enterprise is a climate adaptive social venture that was founded with the belief that the opportunity to live a dignified life is a human right. Right now, 6 million people in South Sudan (half the population) are severely food insecure. Agriculture and pastoralism provide the main sources of livelihood to 80% of the population in South Sudan, and they are currently nearly impossible.
Our problem is complex:
1. Lack of access to water (intense dry season, lack of water infrastructure)
2. Climatic changes (increasingly erratic rainfall causing droughts and flooding)
3. Conflict (insecurity causing blocked transportation routes, disrupted crop production, destroyed livestock, people fleeing home; most violent conflicts in Tonj region linked to cattle, with accress to resources primary driver)
4. Economic crisis (poor functioning of markets, high inflation rate, lack of financial infrastructure)
5. Shortage of inputs (inadequate access to finance, lack of tools required due to unaffordable prices, shortage of seeds, low productivity)
The chronic nature of food isnecurity and malnutrition make the promotion of local food production vital. We believe in a grassroots, long-term, and sustainable solution. The Rainmaker Enterprise aims to sustain year-round food production by mobilizing local resources to alleviate malnutrition and hunger, reduce poverty, and resolve protracted conflicts.
Our solution:
1. Install solar-powered water infrastructure (provide clean water for consumption and agriculture...solar power saves hours of labour daily, and is cheaper, more durable, and more sustainable for health and the surrounding environment (than the alternative - diesel-powered generators); drip irrigation is an extremely efficient mechanism for delivering water and fertilizer directly to plants - it increases yields and allows for the introduction of high-value crops in regions where they could not be sustained by rainfall alone)
2. Engage community (through income generation, employment, and training; and fill huge demand for nutritious foods)
3. Build an environmentally regenerative system (use clean inputs, reinvest outputs into system (i.e. turn agricultural wastes into energy-efficient briquettes), afforestation)
RAINMAKER ENTERPRISE seeks your assistance in making this vision come true.
The initiative was founded in early 2017 by James Thuch Madhier, who was born in Tonj, central South Sudan, where he lived until age 15 when he fled to Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya during the Sudanese civil war. In 2014, James came to the University of Toronto through the World University Service of Canada, a sponsorship program for exceptional refugee students around the world. James' personal experiences of war and famine, and with the limits of humanitarian aid, have pushed him to find a sustainable solution that gives agency to the victims of hunger - one that addresses not the symptoms of hunger in South Sudan but the ROOT CAUSES.
The Rainmaker Enterprise believes that it is crucial not to postpone investment in agriculture until conflict and famine have been overcome. Grassroots, community-led, and long-term solutions are required NOW. In fact, one of the major sources of conflict is between pastoralists over increasingly scarce grazing and watering resources for livestock.
Security concerns:
The current fighting between government and rebel forces is taking place mainly in the eastern region of the country. Tonj remains sufficiently stable for the implementation of the project. There are no blockades surrounding the region, and private security will be provided to maintain the safety of the property.
We are currently in the process of fundraising to implement our FIRST PILOT SITE in the community of Tonj, central South Sudan. Our fundraising goal is $60,000 CAD, which will go directly towards:
-Hydrological surveys
-Drilling the well on-site
-Purchasing the solar panels and water tanks
-Hiring ploughing tractors
-Building a water reservoir
-Water treatment system
-Initial labour costs for the South Sudanese employees working on the farms
-Transportation costs
-Building a warehouse equipped with refrigerators for perishable agricultural produce
The good news is that we have already secured a 20-acre plot of land in Tonj. We are now asking for YOUR support to raise the funds necessary to launch our first pilot site - with subsequent opportunities for scaling up to other communities in the region.
South Sudanese are hardworking and resilient people who need more than relief efforts - they need the freedom to take control of their own problems.
James Thuch Madhier receiving the award for the Rainmaker Enterprise from the Resolution Project at the One Young World Summit in Ottawa in October 2016.
South Sudan is fertile and can feed its own people. What is needed NOW is to support impactful and sustainable solutions. Thank you for donating to the Rainmaker Enterprise to provide #WATERFORDIGNITY in SOUTH SUDAN!
Our problem is complex:
1. Lack of access to water (intense dry season, lack of water infrastructure)
2. Climatic changes (increasingly erratic rainfall causing droughts and flooding)
3. Conflict (insecurity causing blocked transportation routes, disrupted crop production, destroyed livestock, people fleeing home; most violent conflicts in Tonj region linked to cattle, with accress to resources primary driver)
4. Economic crisis (poor functioning of markets, high inflation rate, lack of financial infrastructure)
5. Shortage of inputs (inadequate access to finance, lack of tools required due to unaffordable prices, shortage of seeds, low productivity)
The chronic nature of food isnecurity and malnutrition make the promotion of local food production vital. We believe in a grassroots, long-term, and sustainable solution. The Rainmaker Enterprise aims to sustain year-round food production by mobilizing local resources to alleviate malnutrition and hunger, reduce poverty, and resolve protracted conflicts.
Our solution:
1. Install solar-powered water infrastructure (provide clean water for consumption and agriculture...solar power saves hours of labour daily, and is cheaper, more durable, and more sustainable for health and the surrounding environment (than the alternative - diesel-powered generators); drip irrigation is an extremely efficient mechanism for delivering water and fertilizer directly to plants - it increases yields and allows for the introduction of high-value crops in regions where they could not be sustained by rainfall alone)
2. Engage community (through income generation, employment, and training; and fill huge demand for nutritious foods)
3. Build an environmentally regenerative system (use clean inputs, reinvest outputs into system (i.e. turn agricultural wastes into energy-efficient briquettes), afforestation)
RAINMAKER ENTERPRISE seeks your assistance in making this vision come true.
The initiative was founded in early 2017 by James Thuch Madhier, who was born in Tonj, central South Sudan, where he lived until age 15 when he fled to Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya during the Sudanese civil war. In 2014, James came to the University of Toronto through the World University Service of Canada, a sponsorship program for exceptional refugee students around the world. James' personal experiences of war and famine, and with the limits of humanitarian aid, have pushed him to find a sustainable solution that gives agency to the victims of hunger - one that addresses not the symptoms of hunger in South Sudan but the ROOT CAUSES.
The Rainmaker Enterprise believes that it is crucial not to postpone investment in agriculture until conflict and famine have been overcome. Grassroots, community-led, and long-term solutions are required NOW. In fact, one of the major sources of conflict is between pastoralists over increasingly scarce grazing and watering resources for livestock.
Security concerns:
The current fighting between government and rebel forces is taking place mainly in the eastern region of the country. Tonj remains sufficiently stable for the implementation of the project. There are no blockades surrounding the region, and private security will be provided to maintain the safety of the property.
We are currently in the process of fundraising to implement our FIRST PILOT SITE in the community of Tonj, central South Sudan. Our fundraising goal is $60,000 CAD, which will go directly towards:
-Hydrological surveys
-Drilling the well on-site
-Purchasing the solar panels and water tanks
-Hiring ploughing tractors
-Building a water reservoir
-Water treatment system
-Initial labour costs for the South Sudanese employees working on the farms
-Transportation costs
-Building a warehouse equipped with refrigerators for perishable agricultural produce
The good news is that we have already secured a 20-acre plot of land in Tonj. We are now asking for YOUR support to raise the funds necessary to launch our first pilot site - with subsequent opportunities for scaling up to other communities in the region.
South Sudanese are hardworking and resilient people who need more than relief efforts - they need the freedom to take control of their own problems.
James Thuch Madhier receiving the award for the Rainmaker Enterprise from the Resolution Project at the One Young World Summit in Ottawa in October 2016.South Sudan is fertile and can feed its own people. What is needed NOW is to support impactful and sustainable solutions. Thank you for donating to the Rainmaker Enterprise to provide #WATERFORDIGNITY in SOUTH SUDAN!
Organizer
Thuch James
Organizer
Toronto, ON
