Capital Campaign
Burkina Hub - 4 Phase Sustainability & Empowerment Project
Mission- We empower women for life, one woman at a time.
Vision- We envision a world where the warrior inside us all rises in agreement with our Christ-Given identity so that chains are broken, and freedom is found to live out the abundant life God intends for us to live.
Creative Warriors Empower Women for Life by educating, mentoring and discipling women so they have an opportunity for spiritual, emotional, and financial freedom. Since 2015, we have provided a variety of trade programs, a sewing school, business & health training, and over 400 no-fee, no-interests micro loans. We walk with women, side by side to help them, help themselves, and the community around them. We believe that as you raise up a woman, you not only raise up her family and community but you also have the opportunity to change the culture. A culture that views women as insignificant. In support of our mission, we are creating a powerful and sustainable Hub where our efforts are concentrated, one village at a time, to help bring this freedom.
Current Program:
Currently, we have $160,000 rolling from one loan to another, where the Lisa Stirrett Creative Warrior Art Studio pays the administrative costs to run the no-fee, no-interest micro-loan program. We have 7 employees in Burkina, a sewing school, a business training program, and a health program for over 1000 women. We know our programs have made a huge impact on so many lives, in so many different villages. The beautiful testimonies come in weekly.
Project Overview:
We believe land & a water source is the lifeline to sustainability. If women can farm they can not only provide a food source for their families but sell the excess to buy meat & other food supplies, as well as pay for medical expenses, housing, schooling, clothing, and other basic human needs.
Our intent is to provide not only parcels of land for women to farm, but also a place to gather, to create community, and even a place to stay. A place of refuge, a place to be discipled, a place for our trade schools, education programs, and even house our trade school students or others in need. In partnership with a Local Church, our goal is to have the Hub operated and one day owned by our in-country team, where the leasing of the land, and the proceeds from products sold generates income to create sustainability as well as bring hope, the love of Christ, and empowerment to so many. With this land, we will create sustainability in so many people’s lives.
Phase 1: Purchase the Land
We have located 4 hectares of land that is for sale (approximately 10 acres), and has a water source on the property. The owner has agreed to lower the cost for this special project but has multiple people interested in the property so time is sensitive. The location of the land is important. We need it close to Adama Ouedraogo’s church. Adama is not only the Creative Warriors director’s husband, but is a trusted friend and working companion with Lisa and the team for the last 10 years. This land is just a 15 minute walk away from his church. The location is key so that Adama and his disciples can take part in caring for & discipling ANY of our women, use the property as a refuge, and a place where the women of Adama’s church can grow food for church use and or donation. In turn, the disciples can watch over the property.
We believe purchasing land gives greater stability to the overall program. Our vision of purchasing 4 hectares is part of a scalable plan. Once we acquire the 4 hectares, and complete phase 2, providing a water source and preparing the land, we can start small by farming 1 hectare of land first. Each hectare has approx 2 ½ acres of land where approximately 100 women can farm. This would provide stability to many, and have a great impact.
Logistics: The Creative Warrior Non-profit would, with the help of donors, purchase the land. CW would be responsible for taxes, and maintenance of the land and future buildings on site. The Creative Warriors Pay it Forward Loan program will create and manage the leasing program for the agricultural parcels. No-fee, no-interest loans provide women the ability to buy seed and additional fertilizer to start their gardens. The money coming from women paying back their loans will go back to the loan fund. The money that comes in from leasing the land will be held for taxes, and to maintain pumps, the grounds, hoses, and houses. Leasing the land would generate .03 – .10 cents a foot per month. There are 108,900 feet per hectare. Any additional funds will be used to help women and the church.
Following this phase could be adding in phase 3, or completing & opening the second hectare of farm land for use.
In years to come, We also would like to duplicate these efforts in additional villages.
Phase 2: Drilling a well – Water Tower – Solar Pump
Water is key to this project. It is the life source that most everyone in the country is missing. When there is access to water, so many things change. In this case, we can bring a water source to every woman’s parcel so her garden can grow all year-around. This will help her provide for her family, and stop the high and low degrees of prosperity she normally experiences. Typically, there is an abundance of food after the rainy season but then the food runs out quickly, driving prices up and making food more scarce.
Preparing the Land -We will need to remove the sparse brush, plow the land for the gardening fields and fruit trees, plot out different size parcels for women to lease, install an irrigation system, and build a fence around the farming area.
Sustainability:
We see a future where the land generates enough food and funds to help a multitude of women, and the church becomes more sustainable.
Phase 3: Build a community meeting facility
This is a facility that has many functions. We see this as a large rectangle building approximately 60’ x 60’ that holds over 100 people with a corrugated metal roofing that extends out 15 feet around the entire building, providing shade for women as they gather and for additional training space.
This facility would have a kitchen built on one side of the building that consists of a set of walls to block the wind from putting out the cooking fires. Pots and supplies to outfit this kitchen are in the estimate. There would be a section for lockable storage. The supplies would be stored until used when we have a scheduled meeting or training session.
Adjacent to this building, would be the outdoor restrooms. This is a 3 compartment building with 3 separate locking doors. The bathrooms are for everyone using the farmland, the Hub, and the guest houses.
This building will be a hub for women to become empowered, educated, mentored, loved, and discipled. Here are the different functions for the building:
•Women’s Empowerment meetings and conferences.
•Sewing school
•Business trainings
•Bible study & Discipleship programs
•Trainings on agriculture techniques
•Veterinary trainings on how to breed and vaccinate
•Quarterly Trade schools such as weaving, soap making, hair weaving, and more
•Health training
•Counseling & Inner healing center
•Meeting space for Loan Program
•Church functions and revivals
•Gathering space to share the love of Jesus
•In the future, a space where people can gather for a mobile medical and or dental team.
Phase 4:
Guest Houses
Guest houses consist of one main space, 3 bedrooms, and a shower room (water bucket and a drain to the outside). These homes usually house many many people. We have 4 on our wishlist. Guest houses are necessary for 2 reasons. We need space to be able to house girls from the village to attend our trade schools. Currently we have trade schools in a number of villages that last 3-4 months, for 12-15 women. The small fee programs provide daily training and food. There is also a need at the church to house widows, displaced moms with children, and others in need for a period of time as the church helps them back onto their feet. There are no services like in the United States. The church and your neighbor are the only life-lines people have. We will co-manage these homes with Adama and our director Bernadette. This is also a place where we can stay when we are in-country.
Timeline:
For Phase 1, we need to commit to purchasing the land by June 1, 2024. By December we would like to drill a well and be working on raising money for Phase 2, fully or partially, depending upon funds.
We invite you to join us in building an economic path for independence that is based on giving a hand up, not a hand out.
