The WVI Story

The idea for Working Villages International came about in 2004, when Alexander Petroff was studying economic development in rural east Africa, as part of a Hampshire College study abroad program. During an internship at the Namalu Ox Hire and Ox Training center in eastern Uganda, he took the opportunity to visit nearby development projects in the area and study their varying effectiveness in helping local people. In a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in March of that year, became inspired by the challenge and the human potential of the Ruzizi Valley in the eastern part of that country.

Working with Congolese friends, Petroff quickly saw Congo was an area of great need, practically untouched by international aid efforts. In addition he felt that the Ruzizi Valley, specifically, was the ideal location to implement Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of self-sufficient, sustainable development. A village founded on Gandhian principles would be an important step towards leading the citizens out of the chaos of war, to peace and productivity. Therefore, he returned to the U.S., and, in the spring of 2005, he founded Working Villages International, and began raising funds to launch a project in Ruzizi.

Despite the desperate conditions in the region, the Ruzizi Valley was in many ways the ideal location to begin such a project:

1. Before the recent civil war, the Ruzizi Valley was known as the “Breadbasket of the Congo” and was one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country.

2. The year round temperate climate allows for three-four growing seasons. The soil is rich and water is readily available.

3. There is incredible support from the local leaders and population for WVI’s alternative economic approach

4. There are thousands of unemployed Congolese within 2 miles of the project, providing a nearly unlimited supply of ready labor eager to help rebuild their country.

5. There are large numbers of skilled local Congolese carpenters, architects, masons, quarriers, brick makers, adobe brick makers, builders, artists, cooks, etc.

 6. Good quality cows, adapted to the local climate and pests, are available from nearby sources. These cows can provide milk, and more importantly, strong oxen who will become the engine for economic growth in WVI’s post-petroleum village.