Our newsletter
Sowing Seeds of Change: Walisha Foundation's Exciting First Harvest!
Dear Friends of Walisha,
Can you believe we’re already entering the fall of 2024?!
This year has already been truly transformative for the Walisha Foundation, and as a team, we are so proud and excited about the support we have received from you all.
Because of all of you, whether that be financial support, repping one of our t-shirts, or just telling a friend about us, we have been able to accomplish so much in so little time.
We know you’re busy, and you probably get hundreds of emails a day, but we just wanted to take a quick second to share some of our progress and updates with you:
🌱 Spring Planting: Our Roots Take Hold
- Boots on the Ground: Our April trip to Rwanda wasn’t just sightseeing – we cultivated partnerships with some amazing groups all focused on empowering youth and women in agriculture!
- Dream Team Assemble: We’ve added brilliant minds to our advisory board and welcomed Joselyne and Eric (who spearhead projects on the ground in Rwanda) and Saah and Brewer (who help make magic behind the scenes) to the Walisha family. We also brought on some amazing volunteers to help us execute a number of crucial projects.
- Science Meets Soil: Productive strategy sessions with the Rwanda Agriculture Board and the University of Rwanda have us excited about the future of agriculture in Rwanda.
- Sharing is Caring: Co-founders Archie and Sam shared their experience founding Walisha with the current classes at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy to inspire more #agvocates to enter the field.
🌾 Summer Growth: Watch Us Sprout!
With all of the momentum from our spring visit, we knew we couldn’t let it go to waste. That’s why we have even more in store for the end of 2024!
- Knowledge is Power: We’re gearing up to train 50 extension officers – empowering them to spread best practices within their communities.
- Making Waves: Catch us at the Africa Food Systems Forum, where we’ll be rubbing elbows (and sharing ideas) with the globe’s leading ag-tech pioneers.
- Strength in Numbers: To overcome the challenges of food insecurity, we know we have to think big – our goal is to support 5,000 farmers from seed to sale this season!
- Building for the Future: Co-owned storage facilities and milling plants are in the works. From farm to flour, we’re revolutionizing the supply chain.
- Hot Off the Press: Keep an eye out for our comprehensive end-of-year report on breathing new life into Rwanda’s wheat sector. It’s going to be a page-turner, we promise!
🎉 Your Support Makes It Grow
We couldn’t do this without you, our amazing Walisha community. Every share, every donation, every word of encouragement helps us inch closer to our vision of a thriving, self-sufficient Rwandan wheat industry.
Want to get more involved? Here are some ways to dig in:
- Follow us on social media for real-time updates and farmer stories
- Consider sharing or supporting our current Plant the Seed campaign, which is focused on providing training and resources this fall.
- Spread the word! We challenge you to share our newsletter with at least five friends who you think would love our work.
Until our next update, remember: every time you enjoy a slice of bread, you’re connected to farmers halfway around the world. Let’s make that connection count!
Wishing you a bountiful fall,
The Walisha Foundation Team
P.S. Got questions? Ideas? Just want to chat about all things wheat? Drop us a line – we’d love to hear from you!