Risking it all for a Radical Reward
Gradius knew that it’s never too late to try something new. Thanks to Tearfund’s help, she is happier and healthier than ever!
Do you ever feel like it’s too late to try something new?
It can be intimidating to go back to school, make a career switch, or move somewhere completely different. Making a major life change often requires courage, and courage requires some spark of hope.
Gradius Kapande knew that it’s never too late to begin something new—or three somethings! Despite the harsh conditions in Tanzania, she held onto the hope that there might be something more. This led her, at the age of 51, to attend some training sessions Tearfund’s partners hosted at her local church. There, she was introduced to radically different farming techniques, a new way to cook, and an innovative way of saving money that involved partnering and sharing with others in the village. Stepping into these new ways of living meant sacrificing the way she’s always done things. It required trust, faith, and hope. What would her children and grandchildren think? What if it didn’t work?
What if she gave up her land, her stove, and the little income she had, all for nothing?
But in all of this, God knew His plans for her.
After learning about Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs)—groups designed for people to save money and build community—Gradius joined a group that was fittingly named “Tumaini,” which translates to Hope. After the first 8-month cycle, she saved enough to start her own kitchen supplies business and still had money left over to put toward her farm!
When Gradius first heard about a new farming technique called conservation agriculture (CA), a method that involves minimal tillage, rotational planting, and mulching, she was skeptical. For generations, traditional farming methods had been taught as the only right way to farm. Yet she had hope.
Beginning with using CA techniques in just a little part of her land, that small corner yielded 50% of what she normally harvests from a full acre! Soon, her entire farm had been converted to conservation agriculture. Although it requires more work, the soil is now healthy and she harvests enough food to feed her and her family for the entire year. With the air-tight grain storage that she learned about through this training, her food remains safe and healthy all year. Remarkable!
Seeing the immense transformation that has come with joining a VSL group and adopting CA techniques, Gradius believes that each of these new practices actually complement each other. So, diving into one more ‘new’ thing, she got rid of her old stove and exchanged it for a fuel-efficient stove—and what a change this made!
This new stove uses less wood, has more space for cooking, and is environmentally friendly. Not only that, but it has a chimney that expels the smoke from Gradius’s house! “The wall of my kitchen still has soot as a result of smoke produced by the conventional stove before the adoption of saving stove,” she explains. But now, the new stove “reduces the frequent pains and problems in my chest and eyes!”
Through these programs that Tearfund shared with her local church, Gradius’s life was completely and radically transformed. She tells everyone she can about her story—in only three years, she went from struggling to make ends meet, to having a thriving farm, her own kitchen supplies business, and a fuel-efficient stove! Praise God!
Gradius is happier and healthier than she has been in a long time, all because she took a chance to try new things. Because to donors like you, people all over the world are getting new opportunities to completely transform their lives like Gradius. Thank you so much for partnering with us in this Kingdom work. We are so grateful for you!