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When I first read about KickStart International’s Money Maker Hip Pump. The dance floor chant “Shake your money maker” immediately came to my adolescent mind. Although, once I got beyond the amusing imagery, I soon realized just how important a human powered pump would be to a farmer trying to scratch out a living in certain parts of the world.
The Berlin Air Lift style food drops that were once seen as the best way to alleviate poverty have since been replaced with missions that are more nuanced. Well intentioned efforts to make lots of food available quickly are now seen as a way to instantly ruin the market for the local farmer. True sustainability is dependent upon a deep understanding of the dynamics on the ground.
As a non-profit social enterprise, KickStart International is on a mission to lift millions of people out of poverty quickly, cost-effectively, and sustainably. If, as a farmer, you were engaged in what often amounts to puddle management and trying to move limited amounts of water to irrigate your field, you would appreciate the value of a ten pound pump that can move water to a height of 46 feet or 14 meters. If the Money Maker can spray 10 gallons per minute to cover 1.25 acres per day in the field, imagine what you could do within a hoop house, with hydroponics, or with irrigation that’s even more targeted.
The founders of KickStart International determined that the number one need of the poor is a way to make more money and that, with income security, individuals would prioritize and address their remaining needs for themselves. They saw that an estimated 20 million small-scale farmers in Africa have access to sufficient renewable water resources on their farms. They also possess an untapped entrepreneurial drive that often characterizes many of the the world’s poorest people.
Dr. Martin Fisher and Nick Moon sought ways to harness this potential for massive change and to help struggling farmers turn a profit. Such profitable businesses could then generate food and income year-round. KickStart’s vision of success is to take millions of people out of poverty sustainably, and in doing so, to change the way the world fights poverty.
By relying on the rain, sub-Saharan African nations get only 1-2 harvests per year. 1 in 9 children die before the age of five. 165 million children under 5 suffer from stunted growth due to poor nutrition during their first 1,000 days of life. When the 1-2 harvests occur in sync, the entire region cycles between abundance and scarcity. When a whole nation is planting and harvesting at the same time, farming families all end up attempting to sell their crops in over-saturated markets for low prices where supply is high, but demand is low.
KickStart says that up to 65% of the food grown in the rainy season spoils before it is eaten or sold. Then, just months later, when the rain stops, farming families are left without an income and nothing to eat. Only 4% of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. Unless this changes, farmers are unable to escape from their dependence on the unreliable rains and crops. Irrigation pumps are an essential tool that can help break the vicious cycle of subsistence farming while lifting millions out of poverty.
When farmers can make their own rain, when they can effectively access water resources such as wells, ponds, rivers, and streams, they can grow high-value crops throughout the year. A transition from the whims of nature to irrigated farming has far-reaching implications with respect to sustainability. To this end,, KickStart is engaged in supporting and promoting small-scale irrigation across Africa.
According to Fisher and Moon, “The poor are extremely hardworking and entrepreneurial – they must be just to survive. They don’t want or need to be rescued. They want an opportunity to create a better life for their families. When you look past the poverty, you see abilities, resources, and desires.”
KickStart is a business looking to expand its partnership-based pump distribution model in 16 target countries in Africa. It works with NGOs, government agencies, and corporations to help promote irrigation products to their own networks of small-scale farmers. The Innovations Hub in Kenya, will help the enterprise form partnerships to develop and test high impact irrigation systems that will help millions of additional farmers to irrigate.
Within EAST AFRICA, the team maintains an innovations hub. It is also focused on Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Rwanda. In SOUTHERN AFRICA, they are engaged in Zambia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. In WEST AFRICA you will find KickStarter pumps in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
KickStart estimates that the sale of 270,000 additional pumps will lift 1 million more people out of poverty. The company sees its initiative as transformative, one in which people will increase their income by 400% on average. In parts of Africa, this can mean families will be able to send their children to school and afford medical care.