The red earth of Zimbabwe is similar to the fecund soil of the American South. Beautiful, rich, great for growing organic crops. Walking the farm between harvests in the freshly plowed fields is a sight to behold. Africa, the Continent, our homeland, our heart.
After we cleared the land, we hired a farmer to advise us on a high-demand crop that is a food staple. He recommended corn which is relatively easy to grow despite having a long maturation cycle. Of all the crops which have been planted to date, corn has been the most robust and resistant to serious problems such as disease and insect pests. It is easy to grow, and the size of the field in which we plant the corn is expansive. This is necessary since the plant requires a lot of space to grow healthily, and consequently produce a high yield. The project yielded a harvest of 3.5 tons in our first season. The greatest threat to our cornfields is the troops of baboons that live in the area. We use fencing with barbed wire on the top to dissuade them from entering the property because they can strip a field in a single night. A cornmeal-based dietary staple of Zimbabwe is also the national dish, called sadza. Sadza to the Zimbabweans is like rice to the Chinese, or pasta to Italians. (Source: Food in Every Country)
Gaining access to clean water is at the heart of programs designed to improve the lives of people living in regions of the world in which this is a challenge. Clean water initiatives are funded by private, public, and charitable organizations, because people can survive with little to no food, but will die without water. We implemented a water conservation program as part of our mission, and in adherence to the Zimbabwe Farm Project’s commitment to foster sustainable agriculture. With the repair of the wind-pump, and the rehabilitation of the borehole, farm employees and residents now have consistent access to potable water free of contaminants that transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, etc. The success of our clean water initiative has enabled us to conserve the water resources, thus reducing the stress on the borehole, as well as realizing greater efficiencies in terms of human productivity, and crop yield.
Meet some of the women of the Zimbabwe Farm Project. We are making a positive difference in the lives of women and children living in the local agrarian community, sowing positive seeds of empowerment into their lives.
Growing potatoes has been a wonderfully enlightening. The Zimbabwe Farm Project manager, Mr. Charles Chirwa recommended planting root and tuber crops. Since he has successfully managed the planting and harvest of four seasons of crops for the project, this seemed like a worthwhile investment. Unlike previous years, rains have been plentiful this season, and since potatoes require consistent moisture, this was immensely helpful. The ‘ridging,’ also known as ‘hilling’ of the fields was done by a local tractor owner. This is typically done every few weeks to make sure that dirt covers the roots of the plants, and that the green potatoes are not exposed to sunlight which will cause them to be bitter.
