Haller at 20.
20 years ago, Louise Piper and Julia Hailes established the Haller Foundation. Inspired by the work of Dr Rene Haller, who transformed a degraded limestone quarry in Mombasa into a thriving ecosystem, Haller aims to restore ecological balance while giving smallholder farmers new economic opportunities.
Over 20 years, the challenges facing the smallholder communities Haller was set up to serve have shifted and evolved. Climate change, conflict, and globalisation have made it increasingly difficult for smallholders to establish sustainable livelihoods.
Climate change has impacted East Africa in dramatic and often unpredictable ways. A 5-20% increased level of rainfall from December - February and a 5-10% decreased level of rainfall from June - August have increased the likelihood of flash flooding, soil erosion, and crop destruction. Six consecutive rainy seasons with low levels of precipitation since 2020 have impacted millions of smallholder farmers across the region. An estimated 2.3 million people have been internally displaced due to drought, and a further 1.5 million because of flash flooding.
With extreme weather patterns predicted to become more common and more pronounced, equipping smallholder farmers in the region with the information and tools to maintain and increase crop yields has never been more important.
As the product of increased global temperatures, the events also serve as a reminder of why all programs must place environmental restoration at their centre.
Our efforts at Haller have always started small. We worked closely with smallholder communities in Mombasa to build a repeatable and scalable model for achieving self-sufficiency.
The increased availability and adoption of technology by smallholder communities around the world have enabled us to scale our vision for change. 10 years after our foundation, the Haller Farmers Web App was launched, providing smallholder farmers with an accessible guide to regenerative agriculture.
4 years ago, that web app was transformed into an award-winning mobile app available on the Google Play and Apple Stores. We recently relaunched a refreshed version of the app, with content now available in English, Swahili, and French, with new content from across our ecosystem of farmers.
To date, the app has been downloaded in over 100 countries worldwide and has impacted the livelihoods of tens of thousands of smallholder farmers.
Alongside farmer training, our team in Kenya has worked tirelessly to improve the livelihoods and outcome opportunities for smallholders in Mombasa. To date, Haller has supported over 50,000 people through community, healthcare, and education initiatives, delivering healthcare services to over 5,000 people in 2023 alone.
All of the work we do would not be possible without the continued support from the wider Haller community.
We’re marking this milestone with a special reception and auction in London on Friday 20th September – and we’d love for you to join us! A few tickets are still available, so come along for an evening of live music, a raffle, and a panel discussion on Why African Demography Matters with Edward Paice, Director of the Africa Research Institute and author.
Tickets: https://lnkd.in/e877pyn9
