Our Economic Development Program is partnering with Liberians to get their crops and goods to market!

With average annual incomes around $1,200, Liberia ranks as one of the 12th poorest nations. In rural areas, families primarily earn a living as subsistence farmers. While this permits them to care for most of their food needs, they severely struggle to earn cash for other needs.

In 2023, King of Glory Church generously provided us a large gift to start a ministry to improve economic conditions. After many conversations and research, our Economic Development Team identified three major hurdles rural farmers face: 1) Limited access to affordable transportation to get crops to market; 2) High humidity and temperatures cause harvested crops to quickly spoil; and 3) Limited knowledge of alternative crops or livestock operations. Each challenge is even greater due to limited access to bank loans.

     We decided to helping our neighbors by starting 3 programs: transportation, farm education, and cassava milling. Each program is lead and operated by Liberians and designed to: meet a well defined need, provide employment at a market wage, actively share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and provide training opportunities. In addition, each program is designed to be as economically sustainable as possible.

CRI’s first truck and motorbike were purchased in early 2024.

In 2024 a farm was purchased and is being readied for planting. Cassava (a tuber similar to a potato) will be one of the crops.

Footings being prepared for a community run warehouse.

Next up is the construction of a warehouse and the purchase of a small cassava mill.