© 2007 AID AFRICA UK Registered Charity Number 1116336
Additionally, it was hoped that we would be able to help our 360 volunteers to buy Government subsidised fertilizer, but all were bitterly disappointed when most of the coupons failed to arrive in time to plant with the rains. With the coupons each farmer would have had the chance to harvest enough maize for his family, but now it’s expected the harvests will be minimal, so hunger probable from autumn 2008, with the next harvest due Spring 2009.
Travelling from the searing heat and high humidity of the African Bush, to the freezing temperatures here in England, is quite a shock to the system! But it’s good to be back to share some of the amazing things that have happened in Malawi during the past few months....
We’ve planted 36 Community Agri-Gardens throughout the region which should harvest dozens of tonnes of maize in April 2008
OPEN HAND PROJECTS (OHP) - our “working title” in Malawi - continues to profoundly impact the lives of thousands in the rural areas. Life is tough, the climate’s aggressive, and the vulnerable indescribably poor, so always at the mercy of hunger, disease and lack of education.
However, we urgently keep training in manure production to break the local, gloomy mindset that claims “fertilizer or famine!” We believe manure is much more valuable.
Last year’s Rainfed and this years Irrigation Agri-Gardens have fed hundreds of families with maize and vegetables, but the situation is deteriorating. The next few months promise to be increasingly difficult as hunger develops into starvation. So much maize has been lost to weevils this season, despite chemical treatment, so we’re urgently investigating innovative ways of preservation, and alternative crops.
Last year’s Rainfed and this years Irrigation Agri-
FOOD - Community Agri-Gardens
By Lynda
Mills
Mills
