Supporting Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining In Rural Africa
Amsha Africa Foundation (AAF) is actively working with communities in rural Africa practicing artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Our objectives for these rural mining communities are as follows:
- Provide technical assistance and access to financing to increase productivity coupled with social protection and fair labor standards.
- Interplay of mining with other aspects of local economies to promote better integrated rural development strategies.
- Pilot efforts to model clean supply chains or fair trade minerals as a means to spread the principle of responsibility across the supply chain.
- Provide fair trade market linkages locally and overseas and ensure the local communities get the most out of their sold minerals.
Artificial Intelligent Drones For Pest/Disease Control in Farms
1.AAF is working with our technology partners to design and deploy low cost drones armed with computer vision and powered by machine learning to collect data points from the farms exisiting crops.
2.Farmers selected for our initial deployment of these low-costs drones will use artificial intelligence to help grow food by combatting disease and pests, oftentimes made worse by climate change pesticide use, and monocropping.
3.Through machine learning farmers can monitor crops nutrient levels, while also sheltering them from unpredictable and possibly damaging elements.
4.Using low-cost materials to build these drones and opensource software for the Al technology, AAF and our partners belive this will be a realistic solution for many local small-scale farmers unlike the past where Al technology was not accessible due to the cost.
5.The Al algorithm teaches itself to flag something as small as an individual insect long before humans would usually identify the problem.
6.Proof of concept tests are being conducted in the U.S.
7.This project’s initial deployment will benefit & farming communities in Kenya that have been earmarked for deployment in mid-2022.
8.Based on the success of the initial deployment we intend to scale this project to other communities and regions.
Mobile Application to connect farmers with cold/dry storage warehouses
Amsha Africa Foundation primarily works with registered community-based organizations in rural Africa. Our project teams invite vetted communities to submit proposals that meet our funding guidelines.After careful review. AAF ground teams visit the project location to evaluate the sustainability of implementing the project.
AAF works hand in hand with these community-based organizations and helps form project management committees. The community members in these committees are tasked to overlook the project’s sustainability after the project’s completion. AAF closely monitors the management of the project through visits to the site and makes a permanent representative in the community’s project management committee who is tasked to report to AAF periodically
Drinking Water Harvesting Using A New Portable System
1.AAF is working on 10 parallel projects in 5 countries to provide portable water treatment and solar water heater systems for families in 10 pre-selected communities in East and Central Africa to simplify harvesting drinkable water.
2.The system is made of plastic and requires no batteries, chemicals or spare parts and can last 10+ years.
3.This project will benefit roughly 5.000 individuals within these communities.
4.The challenge today in getting drinkable water is due to lack of an acceptable energy resource People in these communities use natural resources mainly wood charcoal and papyrus in order to heat water for cooking, washing and drinking it is expensive in a long-term perspective and leads to smoke inhalation, deforestation and increased carbon dioxide emissions, this project hopes to change this.
5.We intend to roll this project to other communities in the region based on the success of this project.
Living Roof Concept in Nigeria & Cameroon
- AAF is working with 3 communities in Nigeria & Cameroon on constructing 15 structures with living/green roof concept.
- The project will benefit around 90 individuals in these 3 communities.
- A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane.
- The challenge today in getting drinkable water is due to lack of an acceptable energy resource People in these communities use natural resources mainly wood charcoal and papyrus in order to heat water for cooking, washing and drinking it is expensive in a long-term perspective and leads to smoke inhalation, deforestation and increased carbon dioxide emissions, this project hopes to change this.
- In places with Sub-Saharan climate and conditions, green roofs will improve not only air-quality but also absorb 80% of the rainfall, improving conditions with flooding Green roofs also absorbs sunlight and lowers the building’s interior temperature with up to 14 C less. Another advantage is that a green roof resists fire better than a normal roof since plant life retain water the roof will act as a natural form or resistance: Green roofs can also increase the efficiency of rooftop solar panels by helping absorb heat and making the panels more effective. A green roof can also provide habitat and food supply for insects, birds and other small animals..
- We intend to roll this project to other communities in the region based on the success of this project.
