Fix the Chain, a social enterprise fighting extreme poverty across Africa, has joined Pond Foundation.
Fix the Chain empowers women across Africa to fight extreme poverty by teaching them the business of mushroom growth, and connecting them to local and international food markets. The company is committed to regenerative farming practices in all stages of its mushroom growth, and is now taking the leap to also take full responsibility for its carbon emissions by partnering with PondFoundation’s My Carbon Zero and Regen21 initiatives.
PondFoundation will determine Fix the Chain's Lifetime Carbon Balance (LCB),generated by its operations since its inception in October 2021. Together, we’ll determine a strategy to reduce Fix the Chain's annual emissions and remove its entire LCB from the atmosphere.
A large part of that strategy will revolve around insetting carbon in the soils of its partner farmers. Pond Foundation’s Ghana team is working with Fix theChain to create community-wide ecosystems for mushroom production using agricultural waste materials from within the community. The by-product of the mushroom growth will then be reintroduced into the farmers' fields as fertilizers, thus both regenerating the soil and insetting Fix the Chain's LCB. Fix the Chain is working with a range of partners across Central Africa to pilot other regenerative agricultural practices using mushrooms.
Pond Foundation’s Scott Poynton shared how importantFix the Chain's actions will be to the smallholder farming communities it supports. “Fix The Chain is a new social enterprise and Tzippora Nusbaum, itsFounder and CEO, is absolutely committed to supporting smallholder women farmers across Africa to boost both their nutrition, and that of their families, and their incomes. We’re super excited to be working with Tzippora to introduce her Mushroom Project to partner women farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana. We believe it will significantly boost their income as well as providing great food for their families.”
Fix The Chain’s Mushroom Project will work alongsidePond Foundation member, WhatIF Foods’, Regenerative Bambara Bean Project in theTamale region. Poynton added, “We’re seeing wonderful synergies developing between our members who are all focused on regenerative projects. One can help the other to help the many. It’s great.”
Tzippora Nusbaum, Fix the Chain's Founder said, “We are thrilled and honored to be joining Pond Foundation's My Carbon Zero and Regen21 initiatives. Circular agriculture and practical regenerative ecological actions are core values at Fix the Chain, and we deeply believe that without urgently addressing the local and international climate needs, equity cannot come to those most in need."
Poverty in the agriculture industry, especially among smallholder farmers is rampant inSub-Saharan Africa. Globally, over the past 30 years, the number of people living on less than $1.9 per day has fallen from 1.9 billion to 740 million.Yet, in Sub-Saharan Africa that number has increased, especially among smallholder farmers. Covid-19 has further exacerbated this issue, demanding immediate and extreme action.
Fix the Chain provides a combination of training, consulting, and connection to markets both locally and internationally to ensure that all farmers can diversify and increase their income with absolutely minimal risk involved. They create closed-loop female-centric mushroom growth ecosystems within their partner communities to protect marginalized women against market discrimination, and support the growers along every stage of their mushroom growth journey. The women are paid fair and sustainable wages for their produce, which then gives them the power to invest in their families, themselves, and their communities-ultimately empowering them to raise their entire community out of extreme poverty.
About Pond Foundation
Pond Foundation is a Swiss-registered, global non-profit that inspires strong regenerative action for people and the planet.Its My Carbon Zero, Regen 21, Hilary’s Kids and Earthtrust initiatives break new ground in setting high standards for corporate and individual regenerative actions. It focuses on supporting communities, biodiversity, and the removal of company lifetime carbon from the atmosphere.
For more information about Pond Foundation, please visit https://www.pond.foundation/ or contact Scott Poynton at scott@pond.foundation
About Fix the Chain
Fix the Chain is a social enterprise dedicated to fighting extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. We strongly believe that the most sustainable and practical path out of poverty is pure, respectful business. We have therefore made it our foremost goal to create community-centric, practical, female-focused business opportunities for farmers across sub-SaharanAfrica, and humbly share this journey with our tremendous partner farmers.
For more information about Fix the Chain and its founder Tzippora, please visit fix-the-chain.com or contact Tzippora at tzipporak@gmail.com
