Harvest Impact: Communities Investing in Themselves

Shifting the paradigm with a new path forward to sustained community change

Harvest Impact is a place-based social finance lending program offered by 10C Shared Space, a change-making organization ded icated to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in the food, farm, and environment sectors in support of a circular economy transition.

Harvest Impact is helping pur pose-driven individuals and busi nesses to build the circular economy in Southern Ontario and, through its collaboration with COIL, the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad, across Canada.

The socially and environmental ly sustainable businesses building the circular economy, one inno vation at a time, are often led by community members from equi ty-deserving groups who don’t al ways qualify for financing through traditional institutions. Inspired by these entrepreneurs, the Harvest Impact team believes a sustainable future—in which everyone can thrive—is possible by centering the voices, ideas, and needs of these equity-deserving individuals and groups and providing access to funding and financing.

ing practices that take into account the borrower’s character-based attributes, values, community context, and potential social impact in addition to business plans, past financial history, and income projections. This approach ensures that investments that advance equity, diversity and inclusion are made to forward-thinking tential to create positive change.

Harvest Impact provides circular economy projects with risk-supported lending from $2,500 to $50,000 as well as access to other funding opportunities. To date, Harvest Impact has made loans to 14 enterprises totalling $215,000. Of those projects, 70 per cent are women-led.

Jennifer Osborn of All Sorts

Acres in Ayton, Ontario, is one such leader, with a circular focus on using waste wool to build soil health. Less than three per cent of Canada’s yearly wool clip is suitable for fine textiles. In addition to diverting wool from landfill by producing insoles, rugs, sponges and pet products, All Sorts Acres received a loan from Harvest Impact to purchase one of the first small-scale pelletizers in Southern Ontario. The end product, waste wool pellets, can improve soil health and reduce the amount of water, fertilizers and pesticides needed for agricultural growth.

Delivering on impact is essential to creating environmental, social and economic change and is an important aspect of Harvest Impact’s mission. By aligning impact measurement with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), circular economy businesses can connect how their activities contribute to the global effort to create a more sustainable and equitable world.

ENTREPRENEURS

Harvest Impact’s tailored social lending and mentorship programs can help you overcome barriers to financing and grow your circular economy business. Connect at harvestimpact.ca

IMPACT INVESTORS

If you are aligning your portfolio to invest in impact, learn about Harvest Impact’s Circular Community Bond— an investment that provides a financial return and creates meaningful environmental and social change—launching in May 2023. Connect at investment@ harvestimpact.ca

The development of Harvest Impact by 10C was made possible in part through the Smart Cities Challenge initiative, which is being developed collaboratively with the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington and is funded by the Government of Canada through Infrastructure Canada and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Building a Better Future: The Arab Community Centre of Toronto's Vision for Inclusive Communities

The Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT) has a rich history of helping immigrants and newcomers to Canada. It all started in 1974, when a group of Arab immigrants came together to create a support system for one another. They recognized the unique challenges that come with immigrating to a new country and wanted to make the transition a little bit easier for those who came after them.

As the years went by, the organization grew and evolved. It expanded its focus to include immigrants from all backgrounds, not just those from the Middle East. Today, the ACCT provides settlement, integration, and community services to more than 6,000 individuals each year from a wide range of countries, including the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The ACCT is staffed by a dedicated and compassionate team of individuals who speak over 18 languages. They understand the unique challenges that new immigrants face and strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and valued. The organization’s services are naturally anti-racist and anti-hate, focusing on increasing understanding, fighting xenophobia, and advocating for minorities who may be victims of racism or hate.

One of the most important aspects of the ACCT’s work is helping new immigrants understand the various systems in Canada, such as healthcare, legal, and financial. Navigating these systems can be confusing and overwhelming, which is why the organization provides information and assistance to help new immigrants understand their rights and access the services they need.

These services include language classes, employment counselling, housing assistance, and support in accessing healthcare. The ACCT understands that immigrating to a new country can be a daunting experience, and they want to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The organization also offers a wide range of support services for youth, including school support and community connection programs, like Made by Me, a skills-building leadership program for newcomer youth that promotes social inclusion and builds confidence in public speaking. This program and others of its kind help young immigrants to enhance their cultural understanding of their surroundings, improve their English language proficiency, and build meaningful relationships with their communities.

Women and seniors can also find crucial support services with the help of ACCT. Programs such as Windows to the Soul allow women to come together in an understanding environment where they can share personal feelings, experiences, and coping strategies, building a strong community support system. In addition to mental health and well-being programs that are free of charge and founded on culturally sensitive principles, the ACCT aims to support not just the physical transition of beginning a new chapter in life but also the mental and emotional transition. This holistic approach to support sets the ACCT apart and helps to ensure that new immigrants can thrive in their new homes.

The Arab Community Centre of Toronto has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Today, it is a beacon of hope for immigrants and newcomers, providing the support and resources they need to build a new life in Canada. Through its various services and programs, the ACCT strives to enable and empower individuals, families, and communities to lead informed, productive, and culturally sensitive lives.

Find more information about ACCT services at acctonline.ca

Zambian TikTok Star Shuns Trolls to Build Village School

When Zambian teacher Dora Moono Nyambe started posting videos on TikTok three years ago, she had to ask her daughter’s 13-year-old friend how to use the popular social media platform.

Today, Nyambe has amassed four million TikTok followers with colourful videos of daily life in her village of Mapapa—and raised almost $500,000 to bring education to hundreds of marginalized rural children.

“I had no idea when I first started using TikTok—so I just started showing how life in the village was,” Nyambe told the Thomson Reuters Foundation via video call from the Zambian capital Lusaka.

“How we lived under the thatch roof, how we cook on open fire and how we used to teach under a tree as there was no proper school for the children. The response was overwhelming—people were so interested.”

Nyambe, 30, started a crowdfunding appeal in 2020 with the aim of building a school for the children of Mapapa—located 280 km north of Lusaka.

In three years, she has founded a charity called Footprints of

Hope and built a school, which has 350 children and 24 teachers. It has 12 classrooms, a kitchen, dining hall, dormitories and a science laboratory.

The TikTok star—who has 13 adopted and 150 foster children—has also installed four water boreholes in Mapapa and hired teachers to work in schools in neighbouring villages.

While nearly 72 per cent of Zambian children complete primary school, there are considerable regional disparities that mask the lack of education in many rural areas, according to the U.N. children’s agency (UNICEF).

Girls are more disadvantaged than boys and have higher dropout rates in upper primary and secondary grades due to factors like teenage pregnancy, child marriage and a lack of menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, UNICEF adds.

Nyambe, who is not originally from Mapapa, said she visited the village in late 2019 to see a friend's family and was shocked by the number of children who were out of school, and high rates of early marriage and teen pregnancies.

“As a teacher, as a human being, I felt I had to do something to bring education to these children,” said Nyambe.

With her savings and her then five adopted children, Nyambe moved to Mapapa, bought a plot of land, and started teaching the village children under a tree in the hope that she would eventually be able to build a school.

“I just tried different things and the TikTok posts seemed to get a lot of likes and comments...people wanted to know more and wanted to help me,” said Nyambe.

Nyambe’s videos now attract tens of thousands of views—even drawing the attention of U.S. popstar Meghan Trainor, who shared one of Nyambe’s videos of the school dormitories set to Trainor’s hit song “Made You Look.”

Nyambe’s charity funds the school, and also supports rural children through food distribution, clothing drives and health assistance.

A book titled “Under a Zambian Tree” documenting her journey was released on Feb. 7, with proceeds of the first 5,000 copies going towards her charity.

The former English teacher has faced online abuse, with some accusing her of exploiting the students for personal gain.

Nyambe said much of the negativity came from people in Zambia who said she was a fraud or painting a bad image of the southern African country.

“Most comments are positive, but on almost every post, there will be a comment where I am accused of being a scammer, stealing money or exploiting the children,” she said.

“The trolling used to bother me a ton. But with everything comes growth...I know I am not using the children and if people came to Mapapa, they would see it too.”

Nyambe said she planned to grow her following on other platforms like Instagram and YouTube, and wants the school to become more financially self-sufficient through activities like raising chickens and planting kitchen gardens.

But she cannot imagine leaving TikTok behind.

“There is no way I would have been able to achieve what I have if it wasn't for all the TikTokers who have supported me,” said Nyambe.

—Reuters

Building a Bridge to Safety: Mulberry's Role in Connecting GBV Survivors to Support

ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF INTERVAL AND TRANSITION HOUSING (OAITH)

Did you know gender-based violence (GBV) is not limited to physical abuse? Survivors experience a wide range of types of violence and abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional, financial, and coercive control.

No matter their background, identity, or circumstance, abuse can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, many survivors across Ontario may not be aware of the vital support systems available.

Most survivors may need to access multiple services when seeking support related to violence and abuse. In seeking safety and assistance that speaks to them, they may often encounter barriers in system navigation that stop them from connecting with the most relevant supports.

One support system, for example, is counselling available at local GBV agencies—which can be found on mulberry, a one-stop hub for information on GBV and support services.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated barriers to connecting with support, making it more difficult for survivors to access vital resources, especially during a time when GBV was on the rise due to quarantine measures and changing health and safety procedures. Coming out of the pandemic, mulberry seeks to make it easier than ever before for survivors and their support groups to get help when and where they need it. Mulberry also includes supports and resources for men related to GBV, including parenting supports, healthy masculinity programming, and services specifically for those who have caused harm in relationships.

By reducing the barriers to support, mulberry allows survivors to easily and effectively access the services they need to heal and thrive. Survivors engaging with multiple systems and services, such as shelter, the criminal justice system and family court services, as well as support services for children and youth, employment, and income services, can find everything they need in one place, with a mix of both web-based resources and platforms as well as mobile applications that can be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet. The goal of the platform is to increase access to information about services to improve safety outcomes for survivors and connect those who perpetrate harm with support that can intervene and prevent future violence from occurring.

Moreover, mulberry is also a crucial resource for family members, friends, coworkers, and even neighbours—often vital resources to safety and services within the community—and service providers specializing in GBV. Anyone can access mulberry and be a bridge to safety by learning about the support available to survivors and how they can get involved in the healing process. For those who don’t know where to start or may be seeking support for the very first time, mulberry makes it easy to find the information you need—whether you are looking for some support over chat, a 24-hour crisis line, or a shelter. From there, visitors can find a detailed list of GBV services, focused on immediate safety, prevention, and longerterm support.

“We know the difficulty that can often come with navigating complex systems for survivors seeking safety and support. Mulberry offers a one-stop opportunity for anyone searching for gender-based violence services across Ontario; you can quickly get a sense of what’s available in your community and beyond.”

—Marlene Ham, Executive Director, OAITH

Beyond mulberry’s information on direct GBV supports and services available through social service organizations, the platform also offers non-traditional services like peer support groups, faith and cultural-based services. Options for accessing trained crisis counsellors through provincial crisis lines are offered on every page of the mulberry platform. Unique filtering options allow users to search for services by type, location, language, if services are available in-person, virtually or if services are mobile. An all-in-one platform like mulberry works to ensure that no community member is left behind.

Ultimately, mulberry is more than a website; it’s an opportunity for new growth, new knowledge and safer tomorrows. At the root of mulberry is the hope that for many survivors across Ontario, safety starts here.

Safety Starts Here. Visit mulberryfinder.ca to learn more about the GBV services in your community.