# @sonder_project on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C01rQI-JusM
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/10343390-sonder-project-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/282b307424.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-12-14T15:35:39.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** TheSonderProject (@Sonder_Project) — https://gondola.cc/Sonder_Project

## Caption

Clarisse Nikiema, and her husband Barthelemy, are subsistence farmers with 6 children living in the Komsnedego community of Burkina Faso. 

But over the past 15 years, unreliable rains, shifting seasons, and increased use of chemical fertilizers have lessened harvests, degraded soil quality, and reduced incomes. 

Life became especially stressful as Clarisse and Barthelemy struggled more and more each year to pay school fees for their kids and keep enough food on the table. 

When The Sonder Project drilled a well in Komsnedego in 2018, a plan was made to support the local farmers with a solar-irrigated, community farm resilient to the unreliable climate. 

Clarisse suddenly could see a light at the end of the tunnel, and volunteered to support the farm on Day 1, even being nominated as the farm’s secretary. 

With the changes brought to the farm in the past year including a new water catchment system, and individualized land plots, Clarisse has seen the greatest economic impact of the farm yet.

In one season, Clarisse made 7x what she used to make in a month, and now she can have up to 3 strong planting seasons a year. 

She has expanded to cultivating diversified crops like eggplants, and she is able to bring home vegetables to feed her family and save on expenses.

As Clarisse’s income grows, so does her optimism. She coaches and mentors other women on the farm using her own story as an example. 

“I always encourage other women to persevere,” Clarisse tells us, “because it pays off. See for yourself how much money I made in such a short time. I did not think it was possible.” 

Looking ahead, she tells us, “In the next 5 years, I will have saved a lot of money and I’m sure my life will be totally different.”

This holiday season, help us #UnwrapOpportunity for more farmers just like Clarisse. Click the link in our bio to make a contribution today! 

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#UnwrapPotential #SonderProject #BurkinaFaso #SonderStory #SonderStories #WeSonder #HolidayGiving #InternationalDevelopment #SustainableDevelopment #TheSonderProject #FoodSecurity #SustainableAgriculture #SolarIrrigation #AfricaAgriculture #Farming #CommunityFarm

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- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 9
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## Tags

unwrappotential, communityfarm, burkinafaso, solarirrigation, sonderstory, farming, africaagriculture, sonderstories, sustainabledevelopment, internationaldevelopment, wesonder, thesonderproject, sustainableagriculture, holidaygiving, foodsecurity, unwrapopportunity, sonderproject

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