Press Release – Silver Spring, MD (January 30, 2019) — Nonprofit Trees for the Future (TREES) is working with Senegalese farmers to bring a sustainable, lasting water source directly to their farms and unlock dramatic earning potential for more than 600 families.
“Water has come up as a key limitation in just about every focus group, farmer visit, and partnership discussion I have had in Senegal in the last 15 years.” says TREES Executive Director John Leary. “A rain-fed Forest Garden gives chronically-hungry families many more options for what to eat and sell, increasing their income by 3, 4 or 5 times.” explains Leary. “But it takes running water to enable the farmer to make the astronomical jump in income we see with the Forest Garden Program’s highest income-producing farmers.”
The Loxo Loxo Program is making funding available to farmers in some of the hardest to reach areas of the region. Loxo Loxo means ‘hand in hand’ in Wolof, a local Senegalese language. In partnership with the Tony Robbins Foundation, Trees for the Future is funding 50% of the project, providing PVC piping and spigot equipment. In turn, the farmers contribute tools, materials, and labor needed to install the water system. Existing pipes currently carry water from a central tower to the outskirts of the village, the Loxo Loxo Program will bring it all the way to farmers’ Forest Gardens.
“Communities across Kaffrine’s landscape are talking about Loxo Loxo,” explains Fatoumata Diedhiou, the Senegal Program Coordinator who oversaw the launch of the program. “We quickly registered about 600 families in December and we will complete over 267 installations in the next two weeks.”
To date, the team has installed 70 water access points. The first 300 installations are expected to be complete by the second week in February, with enough equipment available to complete another 200 installations in the coming months.
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