Educate

sitting in class

Education is so important; it is the second wheel on our tricycle.  As the saying goes (paraphrased) - if you give someone a fish they will eat for a day but if you teach someone to fish they will eat for a lifetime.  We at Tricycle Harvest believe there are times to give people fish, so to speak, and that is what we do with our emergency food distribution program.  We also believe that education opens doors.  That is why we do not simply give solar dehydrators away, we teach.  We teach people the why and how of how the dehydrators work.  We also make sure they know how to fix them if they break.  

One of the saddest things we have ever seen was a broken well in Kasupe, Zambia.  We inquired about it and were told that a group had visited, dug the well and installed the pump system.  All great things to do.  But they didn't show anyone in the village how it worked so when it broke the villagers had no idea how to fix it.  So there sits a source for clean water in the village and a reminder that education is vital. 

In addition to teaching about solar dehydrator specifics, we train in the practicals - how to use and store the dehydrated food, as well as nutrition basics and safe food handling practices.