Kenya: Flowers: In this new project, 300 smallholder flower growers now have links with exporters and 65 have fair price agreements.

Beekeeping: Over the project life, 17,500 farmers learnt about beekeeping as a potential new business. 1,529 hives were leased to 733 farmers, 40% of them women. 17 tonnes of honey was sold in Kenyan supermarkets (=~51,000 jars), worth ~£13,000. Household income is reported to have almost doubled on average, adding £23/month. 1,750 beekeepers have been trained to offer services for a small fee to other farmers and community groups, multiplying the impact. Honey is sold at a fair price to a local company.

Clean water & health: Since the beginning of 2006, 69 villages and 33 schools have been provided with latrines and protected water sources, to benefit ~50,000 people. Africa Now helped create 324 jobs by training local artisans to build water systems and latrines and provide related services. In the area served, the distance travelled to safe water sources has fallen from an average of 50 minutes round trip to less than 20 minutes.

Fishing: Since early 2006, 4 institutions & 17 fishing associates now offer financial services and/or training in collectives’ management & organisational services. 20,000 fishermen near Lake Victoria are now aware of the benefits of financial services, and 2,500 are saving. 30 fishing retailers now have links with wholesalers to provide access to affordable equipment; 420 people have benefitted from hire purchase on fishing gear.

Dairy farming: Herding high yielding goats and selling milk has more than doubled farmer income, adding £30/month. This has been reinvested in the businesses and used for education and healthcare needs.

Village banks: 8 village banks have been set up, with 4,896 members, mostly women. £70,000 of loans had been extended to 1,020 members by the time of the 2006 evaluation. The banks’ were virtually sustainable, with income approximating to running costs. As a result of involvement in the village banks, women have been able to take up diverse activities such as making school uniforms and setting up catering businesses.

Zimbabwe: In 2008, cash has very little value in Zimbabwe. A barter system is being used currently whereby farmers are paid for the milk or devil’s claw in cooking oil they can trade on for needed items.

Dairy farming: 1,400 farmers have been trained in dairy techniques to increase the quality and quantity of milk produced. New fodder varieties are increasing yield, income and local consumption. The official milk price is currently far below the black market price, however, reducing the current attractiveness of dairy farming work.

Devil’s claw: The first sales of devil’s claw earned harvesters as much as £62 in 2007, over three times the average monthly wage. This makes a huge difference to the individuals and families concerned. The profits were reportedly spent on food, school fees, and setting up small animal businesses for sustainable income.

Zambia: 3 demonstration plots of chilli hedges have been set up. Flooding in 2008 affected output, but an average of 240kg of chillis in 2007 yielded an additional £100 on average.

Ethical audits: In 2007, over 70 different audit assessments were carried out in 13 African countries. An estimated 35,000 people have improved working conditions as a result. 200 audits have been carried out in the previous two years, benefitting 80-100,000 people. As the service develops, it is expected that ethical audits will impact 450,000 workers across Africa at a cost of ~£0.50/ worker over the next five years.

Evaluations were carried out on the village bank project and the now ended Natural Resource Management (NRM) project in Kenya. It was noted that village bank management could be strengthened with training and workshops to help with strategic development and expansion. Under the NRM project, over 104,000 households benefitted (>500,000 people). The programme resulted in tripling of crop yields, improved soil fertility and food security, increased income and access to credit, and better shelter and health. There was reduced community rivalry and school absenteeism, improved status for widows in communities, and improved gender relations. The market-oriented approach produced sustainability. Lessons learnt included involving farmers early in negotiations, the need to properly document the processes and achievements, investing in agriculture and the environment simultaneously, and locating credit facilities near to project sites.