Solar Data Systems is proud to support Chido Govera and The Future of Hope Foundation in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Silvia (Blumi) Blumenschein, CEO of Solar Data Systems, and her husband Peter Schutz have been long-time friends and supporters of Chido Govera. Chido is the Founder and Director of The Future of Hope Foundation which teaches women and girls how to be sustainable mushroom farmers. This environmentally-friendly skill creates a stable source of income so they can feed their families.
The Mushroom Project is central to the Future of Hope Foundation’s work. Chido first learned to farm mushrooms when she was just 11 years old. Immediately when she realized the benefits of mushrooms, she set out to simplify the art of cultivating mushrooms so she could use mushrooms to help others. What fascinated her about mushrooms was how they enabled her to convert agricultural waste into food and income for her family. She says, “Witnessing the benefits of mushrooms was like magic! Agricultural waste was all I had at the end of every farming season. It was and remains the most abundant resource in many poor farming communities, and even in our cities. Mushrooms convert this abundance into food and income in record time!”
Blumi first met Chido in 2015 through a good friend, Eva Michelin, who was an active supporter of renewable energy projects and environmental issues. Eva had been working with Chido for years. Blumi reached out to Eva to see how she could help.
“In 2015, I contacted Eva and said I would love to help somehow, especially since the refugee topic was so relevant at that time,” says Blumi, “I thought it might help to address the root cause – supporting the people in their home country – to find ways to survive better and thrive at home.”
Blumi’s husband Peter wanted to help as well. As part of his former career, Peter was very active in helping others, especially in countries with no infrastructure.
“Eva brought me and Peter in contact with Chido, so here we are.”
The couple now supports the Foundation in many ways. Peter spends a few weeks in Zimbabwe each year, providing hands-on help with everything from structural repairs, constructing new buildings, and even meeting with authorities and government officials, addressing topics that impact the Foundation. Blumi works more in the background, visiting the Foundation once a year and focusing on project fundraising and shipment coordination.
Blumi took over as CEO of Solar Data Systems, Inc. in Bethel, Connecticut in 2018. Although thousands of miles apart, the environmentally-friendly Mushroom Project and the Renewable Energy company share similar missions.
“At Solar Data Systems, we work to protect and improve the environment. We support programs that positively impact our community and others. Supporting The Future of Hope Foundation is an important part of this mission,” says Blumenschein.
Blumi and Peter’s next project for the foundation is to install an off-grid solar plus storage system. Electricity-use restrictions in Zimbabwe have recently complicated the organization’s ability to refrigerate the mushrooms. Electricity is only available to them during certain hours of the day.
“The mushrooms are grown from agricultural waste and without needing any power. But, once they are harvested, they need to be refrigerated while waiting for the supermarket to pick them up,” explains Blumi, “If there is no electricity then the mushrooms can’t be refrigerated and have to be thrown out.”
The solar plus storage project was put on hold due to COVID-19, but the group plans to resume the project soon.
For more information about the The Future of Hope Foundation and how you can help, please visit The Future of Hope Foundation.
