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Kufunda Update
Marianne
Knuth, Kufunda Learning Village
September 14, 2003
Dear Friends,
Almost two months
have passed since our last programme, and we are now getting ready
to welcome another group of community organisers for our two week
community organiser programme starting up next week. There is a
quiet here now - a more pronounced quiet before the storm of African
mamas and sekurus (grand fathers) descends upon us next week, in
all likelihood singing, dancing and working their way into our little
village of Kufunda.
We are at the
beginning of summer - the time of year when the heat is slowly on
the increase, and the rain has not yet arrived to cool down the
dry hot afternoons. The permaculture team is working hard - and
has been since the last programme ended two months ago - and finally
it seems to me like our garden is actually beginning to look like
a permaculture garden. It is still in its infancy. With permaculture
it can take years to turn a piece of barren soil into a fertile
garden for the vegetables needed in the community - but it is a
sustainable method of soil improvement and food production, and
slowly but surely we begin to see the results of the hard work being
put into the garden.
The building
team continues its work of expanding and improving the village.
We have been welcoming residential guests since last July, but the
vision of being able to host more and in different spaces is keeping
us ever busy. Though the current crisis has slowed us down, little
yellow grass thatched huts continue to emerge as if growing out
of the earth to make the village a little more able to accommodate
more and more people responding to the Kufunda invitation of learning
together around what it takes to build healthy vibrant community.
As we continue
down our learning curve, we are becoming increasingly aware of future
areas for exploration and experimentation to further our desire
of being a role model village for alternative ways of living. Eco-building,
renewable energy in the form of solar water heating, and a new make
of compost toilet are on our list of projects for the short term
future. Our desire to experiment is growing in tune with our discovery
of amazing ways of doing things in tune with life, from around the
world.
And so it seems
to us that we are moving into chapter two of Kufunda's young life.
Our first year was very much focused around delivering our first
programmes successfully. Our full attention was devoted to this
goal, and now we have decided that the time has come to focus on
developing the capacity and infrastructure of Kufunda - as organisation
and village. The building of the village as a model community is
a part of this shift in focus for the coming months where we will
have less programme time than in the past. Another important aspect
of this is dedicating more time, effort and resources on developing
the Kufunda team. Kufunda was born through my (Marianne's) vision
and drive. Now the time has come to build a stronger shared vision,
and from that outline the goals and plans for moving forward over
the coming year(s) - as a team. It is my hope that by the end of
the next two years, Kufunda has become its own entity - alive and
healthy - and not dependent on its founder for its progress and
development. This move also includes bringing on board new people.
We are for example looking for a programme administrator, and may
also bring on board an additional person to help with programme
development.
Some of our
financial needs in the coming year are therefore a lot less sexy
- as these developments necessitate increasing investment in administration
and salaries. We will put more info on our financial needs in the
coming update, but if you would like to support us now, we have
included detailed information on how to do at the end of the update.
Thanking you in advance from all of us here… J.
Other important
news tidbits: Ana Paola from Colombia, studying in Italy, arrived
yesterday to work with us over the coming three months with our
organisational development. Norman from Outward Bound in Chimanimani
is joining us, on trial, as a programme support person during the
community organisers programme. The village is coming back to life.
Getting ready for round two.
We will return
to your inbox in the next month with news of the community organisers
and the impulses they bring to the village over the coming two weeks.
Yours,
Marianne and the Kufundees
How to support
Kufunda financially:
We appreciate
the privilege of being able to stay independent of large donors
for as long as individuals and friends continue to offer their support.
About Kufunda:
On a farm outside Harare, Zimbabwe - we are a small group of people
who have created a learning village aimed at the creation of locally
rooted solutions to community self-reliance challenges. Kufunda
seeks to bring together individuals from different rural and high-density
communities in Zimbabwe to explore the possibilities of individual
and community self-sufficiency. We believe that there is tremendous
untapped potential in the energy, wisdom and knowledge of people.
Our programs are designed to nurture that potential so that innovative
solutions can emerge and be made manifest.
Come visit us
at www.kufunda.org
For more information, email Marianne at marianne@kufunda.org
Visit the Kufunda
Learning Village fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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