Things are expensive. Yes, even in Malawi. There, people can pay two full days' pay for a small bag of beans. Knowing this, I can appreciate the question posed to me by, what I hope are, well-meaning individuals.
Why don't we buy the supplies needed to build the dehydrators here, in the United States, and take them with us when we go to Malawi? Or, better yet, why don't we simply build the dehydrators and ship them over?
Although either of these options would be less expensive and, quite possibly, less of a hassle, they do not match up with our mission.
I was recently reminded that we are fishing. Obviously, we are not actually fishing with rods and reels. However, we are fishing like the saying: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day - teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. It is important to us to teach the ins and outs of solar dehydrators - how to build, fix, and use them - so that when we are gone more can be made and used. This will not happen by buying and building here.
Another reason taking the cheaper route in building dehydrators does not match up with our mission has to do with the fact that Malawi is ranked the third poorest country in the world. We believe it is important to support the local economy, to support those people who are working hard to provide for their families.
So, although money is important, especially to non-profit organizations like ours, we believe people are more important. And because of this, we will happily continue to buy locally. And we will continue to fish.
Meet Francis. He is a gregarious, cheerful boy living in Rumphi District, Malawi, and while we were only able to spend a few moments with him, he has made a lasting impression. Instead of going to school, every morning Francis devotes his time foraging for food for his family. With your help, the lives of Francis and his family can be transformed not only by finally having enough to eat, but by finally having the opportunity for a bright future.
I started Tricycle Harvest International because the idea of someone dying every four seconds simply because they didn't have enough food became unbearable to me. The effects of a lack of food are life long and ending hunger became my passion. But, admittedly, the task seemed overwhelming. That is until I remembered Mother Teresa's quote: "If you can't feed a hundred people then just feed one." And I thought, I can do that. And then that one person turned into one family and then one village and then one district.
The solution to ending hunger in rural Africa came to me after traveling to developing nations and seeing rotting piles of produce in fields, by the street and behind markets. People had worked so hard to grow fruit and vegetables but because of a lack of electricity there was no refrigeration. And without money and access to jars and lids there was no canning. There simply was no way to preserve the food. And then I had it.
I grew up with my mom drying food and I have been using a food dehydrator in my own home for several years. Put that together with the sun's energy - a free and renewable resource available to all, even the extremely poor in rural Africa, and we have sustainable food preservation. By using solar dehydrators the food is kept safe, away from bugs, rodents, and bacteria as it dries.
That is why Tricycle Harvest International exists - to end hunger through the teaching, building, and giving of solar dehydrators to those living in extreme poverty in the villages in Africa.
