Our Program Model

Desta identifies products and services, which have a proven track record for cost savings and income generation. Desta provides the logistics and training on these products and services to individuals within the village communities who have applied and qualified to join Desta as Village Managers. Most individuals who become Village Managers are local farmers, literate, and make a very meager income. In addition to training on product uses, benefits, and maintenance, Village Managers are trained in financial literacy, how to use technological tools, sales, and market development.

Each Village Manager is equipped with a technology package. These enable him to access information and services, provide educational trainings, advertise, and set up an area of sale for their products and services. The majority of products sold by Village Managers are one time buys priced between $6 and $400 with the majority of the products costing $50 or less. Services and trainings are available on a repeatable basis and vary in cost from $2-$20. Most products and services fall within the following sectors: Agriculture, Health, and Education.
  • Agriculture: Desta provides immediate income generating tools, such as affordable drip irrigation kits, labor saving cotton-picking machines, and innovative harvesters. Desta also plans to carry out soil testing, pest management, crop management and market linkage to individual farmers by using mobile software consulting to increase income of farmers. By providing these products and services Desta equips farmers to have better knowledge and techniques to produce a greater and more sustainable yield.
  • Health: Each Desta Village Manager will have diagnostic tools on their phones. He will communicate patient test results to a customer service center that will recommend actions using software and doctors recommendations. Services will focus on primary healthcare and maternal and child health. By providing these services Desta expects a decrease in the spread of illnesses and an increase in healthy living and recovery time.
  • Education: Because of family and professional commitments, the majority of rural adults cannot travel away from their villages for skill enhancement and to learn new livelihoods. Using videos, Desta will provide income generating and general education courses such as new agriculture and allied services training, vocational training for new livelihoods, English speaking classes, and healthy living. These trainings will equip customers with greater knowledge and skills to expand or change their livelihood.