Blog of my trip to Chipata 2023
This is my blog which describes the experiences of my trip to Chipata in the autumn of 2023.
03/11/2023 I traveled to Zambia via Johannesburg, South Africa. There I stayed with my daughter and her husband and their parents. Eager to see my granddaughter! On the picture you see my daughter and granddaughter with a new puppy.
05/11/2023 My family lived several years in South Africa, so I was eager to see my friend and pastor Ernest
06/11/2023 Just as last year, I stayed in the house of my friends Dawson Lupili and his wife Severine. In the picture you also see their daugter Espina. We have been working together for several years, and I am always welcomed by them when I come to Zambia.
07/11/2023 One of the NGOs we are working with is Harvest Plus. It is an organization that does research in crop development and is providing farmers with seeds and vines. On the pictures you see me together with Mrs. Banda after we met in Lusaka.
08/11/2023 Before going to Chipata, together with Dawson Lupili, I had a meeting with Reverend Phiri, his wife Betty and his assistant Fabrice. He is the national pastor of the FWU in Zambia. He is very supportive of the project and helps us to connect our project with the national project and developments.
The same day we visited the house of Archbishop Milingo and his wife Maria Milingo. They have a beautiful garden and a big farm where they run a school and a small hospital. We came to learn from them and also to see their garden. They have lived many years in the Chipata area and gave advice for our project.
10/11/2023 Today I went on a trip with Dawson to a quarry where big blocks of stones are grinded. We drove a long way through a beautiful landscape and ended up in a place that could be on the moon.
19/11/2023 Early morning at 4 am we drove from Lusaka to Ndola, a city located in the Copper Belt. This is the area where copper is mined, but also the place where our good friend Nicolas Chisha lives with his family. On the picture you see Nicolas and his family. Dawson and I are standing in front of a plant and a tree that we planted in their garden. Nicolas gave us a tour through his garden and showed us many varieties of trees. This was a very helpful tour and helped us to prepare for our garden project in the Chipata area.
20/11/2023 Visiting the school that was founded by Nicolas Chisha. Here young people receive free education which at last opens up new possibilities for them in their lives. Here you see Nicolas together with the headmaster in front of the schoolbuilding.
22/11/2023 Before going to Chipata we still had to do research regarding organic farming and gardening in Zambia. Therefore we visited our good friends, the Faber family. They have been missionairies in Zambia for many years. Mr. Faber is the head of the local farmers association. He advised us to visit the Kasisi Institute which has done extensive research in the area of organic farming.
24/11/2023 And here we are at the Kasisi Institute where we were received by Emanuel. The institute helped us on our way regarding organic farming in Zambia. Here the farmers can receive a 5-day training course that helps them on the way by providing very practical training materials. The institute is situated on a large farming area with many facillities.
26/11/2023 This picture was taken in Chipata city together with Felix Chanda (third from left), his wife Florence (fourth from left) and their children. Felix has been taking responsibility for our center located in Mishore village and the educational programs. This year many villages attended educational programs run by him.
29/11/2023 Finally after much preparation we arrived at our center in Mishoro Village. During the summer the guesthouse was built where guests and we ourselves can stay. The house turned out very beautiful. We still don't have electricity and running water but with a simple solar panel system we can at least have light and charge our computers and phones.
30/11/2023 Here, together with the young people from the surrounding villages we are doing the landscaping to establish our organic garden / small farm. In the garden we grow organic food and we teach villagers how to transition to organic farming. The design of the garden is based the principles of harmony as well as design ideas of permaculture.
3/12/2023 Water management is very important in organic farming. This year the rains did not come at the normal time of the year so we had to find ways to extend the growing season. On our farm we harvest now some of the rain by capturing it from the roof and we dug a swale that can capture 3000 liters of water. This way the soil does not erode on the land situated below and the water becomes available for the plants.
9/12/2023 An important part of the work we do is youth education. We teach them about family values and how to be succesful in their lives by following heavenly principles. Many of the participants on the picture are also helping us with setting up the organic farm. During the next phase of our program we intend to add more practical training. Some of the youth leaders are already being sent to the Kasisi Institute to learn about organic farming.
15/12/2023 In order to ensure the circular aspect of our organic farm, the soil must be resupplied with everything that is taken out by the crops, ideally with local materials. Compost is the best way to do this, but in order to make good compost, animal manure is needed. This is the main reason we also raise chickens. During the day we let the chickens roam in a protected area in the forest in front of which we placed a traditional chickenhouse.
16/12/2023 The chickenhouse is made from bamboo that is split. Then holes are made in the ground to place vertical bamboo sticks. Then bamboo reeds are woven through horizontally. On the second picture you see the chickenhouse placed on the foundation in front of the roaming area of the forest. A roof will be added shortly.
16/12/2023 One of the most important things to do is to create compost. This will not only resupply all the elements that the crops take from the soil, but also infuses the soil with new life. This living soil is the key for organic farming. Once the compost heap was finished it quickly became warm. Through this warm composting method it takes only one month for the compost to mature. On the picture is Shema, who is taking care of our organic farm.
21/12/2023 Just before Christmas we completed the setup of the farm. Everything was planted just before the rains started. One of the things we needed to do is to construct a fence around the garden. This is necessary because many goats are roaming freely in the area. We used locally grown bamboo that was placed in the traditional way. Later we will grow Gliricidia as a life hedge. Gliricidia is a nitrogen fixing plant and the leave clippings will be used for compost.
23/12/2023 Here are some photos of our completed model organic farm. We will gain much experience from working here and we will be able to train many farmers in order to help them transition to organic farming.
23/12/2023 There are many Christian churches in our area and the villagers attend church services very diligently. One of the pastors in our area is also chief Chaplin and chair of the local pastors council. His name is pastor Mbao and he has been supporting us from the very beginning. Our own pastor Felix was accepted as a council member so we can work closely together. Most of the pastors are also farmers so we also took time to show them our garden!
20/12/2023 Just after completing the garden we received visitors. Here you see three tribal leaders of a village called Gundani. They are very interested to also start a model organic garden in the hope they can transition to this farming method. We gave them a tour through our garden and discussed on how to setup their garden and what would be needed to set it up even this season!
20/12/2023 This is the field day in Gundani village. We were received very well and Headman Gundani had already prepared a piece of land that can serve as their garden.
23/12/2023 After we handed over all the seeds and training materials for their garden we held a small Christmas celebration. Here we handover the trees for the garden and say goodbye until next year!