Fall 2022 Projects for COWEA in Liberia
PALM OIL PLANTATION
Our goal is to establish a palm oil plantation in the Massamai community that will provide palm oil to harvest and sell on the open market. This will provide revenue for COWEA as a whole and move us toward our goal to become completely self-sustaining.
In April 2022 we received a donation of $200 and planted a nursery of nearly 200 palm oil trees. The saplings will be ready for permanent planting by October 2022.
We need to purchase the land, then clear it in preparation for planting the sapling trees. Then we need to protect the trees as they mature and grow to produce palm oil fruit in approximately 3 years.
This project requires patience and maintenance of the plantation.
This is stage 1 of 2 stages in developing the palm oil plantation. Stage 2 will be to purchase a palm oil processing mill to expel and bottle the oil.
To complete stage 1 of the palm oil plantation, we need to raise USD $1,900 more in 2022. This breaks down as follows:
April 2022 – Purchase palm oil seeds, plastic bags, netting. Labor to plant and maintain saplings as they grow. USD $200. (DONE)
October 2022 – Purchase 10+ acres of land for the palm oil plantation near Massamai community. USD $800.
October-November 2022 – Clear land, prepare soil, build fencing to protect land and individual plants, buy nets to protect saplings from birds, and plant the palm oil saplings. USD $500
November 2022 and onward – Maintain plantation through watering, weeding, disease control, and pest control. USD $600 per year.
Please help us raise the remaining $1900 needed for the Palm Oil Plantation this year by donating to this project via GiveSendGo.
Click the link below to donate:
COWEA 2022 HEADQUARTER FUNDING
COWEA grows through ongoing training of each farm community. It takes a team of dedicated people on the ground in Liberia to train and support the 7 COWEA farming communities working toward self-sufficiency.
We need help to support the women in these 7 farms as they work toward life sustaining food and income. That means education and administrative support.
Our current staff in Liberia is limited to Romeo Dennis, the founder and director of COWEA. We need to provide for security at the COWEA headquarters in Voinjama, building rent for 2023, a replacement computer and a replacement motorcycle (our previous motorcycle and computer were stolen in February 2022). We also want to hire a communications director who can help facilitate teaching the women and outbound communication (connecting the women of COWEA with sponsors and donors).
COWEA HQ Funding for 2022:
Stipend for 3 staff through the end of 2022: $450 USD
Computer: $600 USD
Motorcycle: $950 USD
Training supplies: $100 USD
Total estimated 2022 remaining funds needed: $2000 USD
Please help us raise the $2100 needed this year by donating to this project via GiveSendGo.
Click the link below to donate:
Children Educational Fund
This is a new endeavor for COWEA. We want to establish a pre-school education program for younger children. Our pilot program will start a pre-school in one farm community by hiring teachers, renting an appropriate space and providing educational materials for the children. The pilot children’s pre-school program will cost approximately $1,600 for one year in one community.
Pre-school education for younger children. Many of the COWEA women have young children requiring constant care and precluding them from working on the farms as much as they would like. Pre-school would provide education and precious hours for the mothers to work. Pre-school will (1) begin teaching children fundamentals of reading, writing and math, and (2) provide mother’s with free time to work on the farm and other activities (such as Women’s Education services).
Please consider helping us start this pilot educational program by donating to COWEA.
Processing Mill Repairs
Several of our processing mills in our well established farm communities are completely self-sufficient. The women reserve money from rice and cassava sales to fund fuel and maintenance costs.
However, the mill in our Vonamai community has broken down and we need to $160 to provide necessary repairs to the drums, filter and grinder.
Vonamai shares this processing mill with Kugbemai farm community due to their close proximity. Having the mill non-operational impacts both these communities.
Please help us raise the $160 necessary to get the Vonamai mill back online before harvest at the end of November 2022.
