To Make a village.

Grassroots efforts.
Local leadership.

 

We support people with vision and commitment. We finance their plans to build communities where they can raise families, earn a living, and pursue their dreams. Together, we make villages.

We’ve been working in our first village since July, 2021. Follow our progress on our news page.

Our Mission

We make villages. We empower people to create communities where they are happy to live – places rich with economic opportunity, social values, and family love.

 Our big vision is many thriving, happy, self-sufficient villages. We’re reaching for it through our pilot project – Afiri, our first village in Cameroon.

To date, Afiri’s people have built a bridge to the rest of the country and two fresh-water systems. Building more infrastructure is the next step on their way.

The original bridge to Afiri could never support commerce with the rest of Cameroon, much less the drilling rigs for its wells. The new bridge, above right, does all that and more. It’s a source of pride, shared with neighboring villages.

The often-muddy river it crosses was once Afiri’s only local source of water. Their new fresh-water systems include wells, solar-powered pumps, and elevated storage tanks for constant water on tap.

Our Plan

By 2027, we will launch other villages based on the success of our development model in Afiri.

With your support, here’s how we will make many villages.

“A village is more than a place to sleep after work. It’s a place to build homes, raise families, start new businesses, and create a community. It’s about freedom of choice and hope for the future. We named our village ‘Afiri.’ It means ‘hope’ in our native language.”

Lucien Obama, Co-Founder, Village of Afiri, Cameroon

Afiri means hope. Here’s where to find it.

Afiri is 25 miles east of Yaoundé, in Cameroon’s fertile tropical highlands. Our first local business partner, Team KKO, operates a 70-hectare cacao farm employing many village residents. Team KKO has also donated land for Afiri’s houses, and assists with project management.

Afiri shares its bridge and fresh-water wells with their neighbors, building a larger community and supporting regional economic growth.

What the people of Afiri want to tell you

  • “We live far away and sometimes there is no truck in the village. I was a taxi driver and if we had a motorcycle, I could drive people to the clinic if they need medical care.”

    MICHEL

  • “I met my husband Bongo here and we have three children. Before, I lived in the north and had a small sewing business. I pray every day for a new machine and am saving to begin again.”

    SUSANNA

  • “I’ve been working here three years. I didn’t come here to play. I came here to work. I am like my country. Cameroon is working to make progress every day and so am I.”

    COLLINS

  • “If my team advances, I know that I advance too. I was looking for a way to change in my life, and working here feels like I am building something for me and my family.”

    ÉTIENNE

Our local partners.

Established in 2014, Team KKO has 25 workers, with plans to create more jobs as their harvests grow. They pay a living wage and give a large share of their profits back to the village.

Workers have already brought families to Afiri, and, as more arrive, they will build their own homes, solar panels, community kitchens, and bathrooms. These projects mean more jobs, a key element of their growth strategy. Access to education and health care has already begun, with web-based reading and writing classes for all, and basic nursing training for select adult residents.

The people of Afiri are always making choices about their future, and they’re eager to tell you about their progress.