Small Tractor Project

The Small Tractor Project helps the local church in Albania provide practical assistance to poor families in rural villages, enabling them to work the land and provide income for their families.

A few years ago a church in Lushnjë in Albania initiated this project with an idea to make small tractors available to very poor families in a nearby village, which would enable them to work the land and to provide income for their families.

This project has helped the local church show God's love and care for poor families in a very practical way. It has transformed lives in the community by providing income for feeding their families and improving their general well-being.

Project leader, Alma Syla:

“Early on we saw that the area and people are very poor and so we as a church started by providing some groceries for them. Delivering groceries to the poorest families was a good way of solving an immediate problem but we didn't want them to become dependent on handouts. We wanted them to be able to work and have the dignity of providing for themselves.

So we came up with an idea to provide small tractors to enable them to work their own land and since then we have seen that these families not only work for themselves, but are also helping other families by giving them the use of the tractors as well. In this way they are not only providing for themselves but have grown a stronger relationship with their neighbours and the village has been transformed.”

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INGREDIENTS

To replicate this project your church will need

• A project leader with a heart for helping people and some knowledge of farming;
• Access to a rural community who are impoverished;
• A community of families who have the ability to farm the land;
• To research the unique needs of the agricultural community, identifying the tools needed to help them farm the land;
• A plan to raise funds to purchase relevant agricultural equipment for the region;

METHOD

Steps to run this project

1. Research the rural area to determine if farming is viable in the region;
2. Build relationship with rural families in the area;
3. Embark on a drive to raise funds to purchase the tractors or necessary equipment;
4. Arrange an event to handover the equipment and include some training on how to use it;
5. The project leader to walk a constant journey with the recipients to make sure they receive the necessary support;

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“We realised that if we wanted to help bring change in the community, it would only come when people work for themselves - to change their life by working, not waiting for others to help them.”

- Alma Syla : Small Tractors Project