Volunteer

George and Ben, two Ripples volunteers, were celebrating the Yam Festival in this picture with the Village Chief, Chief Nike Okundaye, (far left). At the Yam Festival, locals celebrate the new yam harvest by participating in a masquerade with the goal of leading the village chief out to participate in the festivities. At Ripples, we are immensely grateful for the work our volunteers contribute to ongoing projects, but we also want to give them opportunities to participate in local festivities and traditions. We believe that in getting to know a culture, you have a greater understanding of how best to work with it, and a more profound investment in its people.

As part of Ripples’ stakeholder farming initiative, women were given 2 hectares of land, along with seeds and training. In total, there were 70 female participants for the pilot project in 2018. Here, the founder and CEO of Ripples USA, Anne Toba (left), is pictured with Daphne and Tope, two Ripples volunteers. The three of them are surveying land in Nigeria before it is cleared for the Ripples Farm program. The idea to begin Ripples Farm, a project co-designed by Ogidi Ripples and the international Ripples Team, was introduced as a solution after a discussion with local women to address the provision of food and income, and to help farmers weather annual environmental crises.