Family Profiles

Dear Friends – We have ambitious plans for growth in 2012. Enthusiasm for One Acre Fund is building in all our countries of operation, and we anticipate expanding to reach more than 140,000 farmers this year! — Andrew Youn, Executive Director, One Acre Fund

Marie Louise

Kizibaziba village is approximately forty-five kilometers from One Acre Fund's headquarters in Karongi District, Rwanda. Its hills and valleys are covered with maize, some of which belongs to One Acre Fund farmers.

Marie Louise Mukaremera has lived in Kizibaziba since 2004, when she relocated to Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is forty-three years old, and she is the provider for her family of six children. Her husband is unable to work due to a disability he received when he fought in the Rwandan army during the war.

Marie Louise has been a farmer since she moved to Kizibaziba, but for many years, she did not receive a good yield. When she planted maize, she never produced enough to feed her family for more than two months. Then, she would have to go to the market to purchase food at very high prices.

In 2009, One Acre Fund expanded to Marie Louise's village, but she did not hear about it right away. One day, as she was walking, she met the field officer, who told her about the benefits of joining One Acre Fund.

In 2010, Marie Louise joined Abajyamugambi group, which means "those who have the same goal," and planted maize on 1/5 acre of land. She was very happy with her harvest of 300 kilograms of maize. Because of her exemplary harvest, she was selected as a group leader.

"I am proud of being a One Acre Fund member. I have been able to meet different colleagues who participate in our daily group activities such as trainings. This not only helps us to increase our farming skills and our harvests, but also to reduce some internal conflicts," Marie Louise says.

Marie Louise's maize field

In 2011, Marie Louise expanded the land she cultivates with One Acre Fund. She planted 1/4 acre of land, and she expects to harvest about 1,000 kilograms of maize in February 2012.

Currently, she still has the harvest from last season stored at home. It has helped her keep hunger away, which is why she plans to store her upcoming harvest and take it to the market to sell when prices increase.

From the money that she will earn selling part of her harvest, Marie Louise aims to buy a cow. This will reduce her costs, as she can use the cow’s manure to mix with conventional fertilizer, instead of buying manure from another farmer.

"I will plant with One Acre Fund next season, and every season that it is in Rwanda," Marie Louise says solemnly. She views her farm as a business, and she is deeply focused on making it as profitable as possible.

One Acre Fund in GOOD Magazine

GOOD magazine is publishing a series of articles on social enterprise in Africa. In December, they published a feature article on why One Acre Fund is different than a typical NGO. Read it here.

One Acre Fund in the Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published a feature article on One Acre Fund's growth. When the Star Tribune first wrote about One Acre Fund in 2007, we were serving less than 350 farmers, and we hoped to reach 5,000 farmers by 2010. To read about how we grew to 75,000 farmers, click here.

End of Year Tax Letters

If you're a recurring One Acre Fund donor, you should recently have received an email from us summarizing your 2011 donations for tax purposes. If you didn't receive yours, please drop us a note and we'll be happy to send it out to you again - you can reply to this email to reach us.

Call to Action!

Please think about one person that you think might want to hear about One Acre Fund, and forward this webpage to them. Don't be afraid to get personal - tell them the reasons for why you are involved yourself. Thank you for being a friend to our farmers and children! Comments? Need to update your information?

One Acre Fund - www.oneacrefund.org

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