Arthur Kong

Country: Zambia
Partner: International Development Enterprises (IDE)
Placement: Supporting field staff to implement market facilitation training programs.

As both a professional environmental-civil engineer and a long-time Engineers Without Borders member, it is no surprise that Arthur Kong is driven to solve the complex nature of poverty.

Arthur is putting this passion for international development to work as an EWB long-term overseas volunteer in Pemba, Zambia. Here, he is partnered with International Development Enterprises (IDE), a non-profit organization focused on reducing poverty by increasing market access for rural farmers to sell their crops.

Improving the prosperity of rural farmers is especially important in Zambia, where 60% of the population depends on agriculture for survival. However, with limited access to technology, knowledge, and markets, farmers are unable to transform their subsistence farms into sustainable income-generating businesses. This often leaves Zambian farmers unable to support their families over the long-term. To address this, IDE is helping small-scale farmers move towards commercial farming in Zambia. Unlike many other organizations, IDE is focused on building lasting market opportunity for farmers - they are improving linkages to skills training, microcredit, farmer groups, suppliers, and regional markets. These critical inputs provide farmers the opportunity to take an entrepreneurial approach to create their own brighter future.

Arthur works with Willard Chitimbo – the only IDE staff member in Pemba – to implement 6 programs for 1,500 farmers in the region. Arthur is helping to build Willard’s monitoring, evaluation, and implementation skills, to ensure he can have the most widespread and meaningful impact for rural farmers. Arthur hopes to set Willard up with strong systems and structures, so he can spend more time identifying new ways to improve the incomes of Pemba’s rural farmers.

At the end of the day, Arthur goes home to live among a 73 year old energetic farmer and his family. By living with the people whose lives he is hoping to impact, Arthur has gained a stronger understanding of life as a rural farmer in Zambia. Each day he sees the obstacles they must face, and how they are working to overcome them.

“I have gained a better understanding of small-scale farmers’ needs, their constraints, and their realities,” says Arthur. “I understand firsthand how they make decisions, and how they cope.”

These important insights are driving Arthur’s work with IDE – and Willard – forward to create lasting change in lives of rural farmers in Pemba.