Frequently Asked Questions

Both co-founders have strong backgrounds in small-scale farming in Zambia. Michelle began her work in agricultural development through a fellowship with TechnoServe Zambia. Ackson, a native Zambian, studied agronomy at the University of Zambia to help rural communities. You can learn more about them here.

We welcome donations through our website. Contributions from Donor Advised Funds (DAF) and cryptocurrency are also appreciated. We also value the support of volunteers. Every donation makes a difference in the fight against poverty in Africa!

We are not a typical investment fund. We do not fund independent ventures. We also do not seek an active return on our investments. We provide flexible financing to women's farming cooperatives so that they grow more and earn more to end poverty in Africa.

Climate change has significant impacts on populations worldwide, particularly in the context of agriculture. Our initiatives aim to alleviate poverty in Africa while recognizing the integral relationship between agricultural practices and climate health. Given that we share a planet with a common atmosphere, we are committed to enhancing the environment rather than depleting it. A key aspect of our approach is tree planting on cooperative land to improve air quality. Additionally, we implement regenerative agriculture techniques to ensure that carbon remains sequestered in the soil, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Zambia is currently categorized as a net importer of food, highlighting the challenges in domestic production. To address this issue, there is a concerted effort to enhance food production on cooperative lands, focusing specifically on increasing vegetable yields. Africa possesses 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, showcasing its vast potential to contribute significantly to global food security. As our cooperatives work to boost their agricultural output, there is a strategic plan to expand into the export market, offering fresh crops as well as preserved and packaged food products.

We are dedicated to working with existing cooperatives in each new area we enter. We meet with the local District Agricultural Coordinator from the Ministry of Agriculture to share our mission and review women’s farming cooperatives. From a list of about 100 cooperatives, we carefully choose the top 5-10 based on their teamwork, creativity, motivation, and readiness to take on new challenges.

We visit their sites and hold group interviews with members to learn more about them, ensuring an open conversation. We highly value the strength of these communities and look forward to working together to achieve shared goals.

We want to support your cooperative! However, our ability to expand to new provinces outside of Lusaka and the Southern Province depends on the funding we receive.

We are a social enterprise focused on social impact. We have a nonprofit organization in the U.S. registered as a 501(c)3, a nongovernmental organization in Zambia, and a business in Zambia. We started as a typical nonprofit and still provide support to our cooperatives. Our operations, including the sale of Hearty Harvest products, run through our Hearty Harvest business.