One Fine Day

Last Thursday RUFA had organized a special media events day, which showcased some of their successful sites in various local communities. It was a great learning opportunity for me to learn about the activities they facilitate, and thought I’d share some of it with you, so you can learn with me as we go. The morning started with a motorbike ride with Geoffrey to the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture in the local trading centre Rumphi. It’s not the smoothest ride ever, but watching the world zoom by, feeling the warm morning air on your skin, and taking a few minutes to take it all in makes it an enjoyable experience.

There, we met up with a representative from Find your Feet/Harvest Help, a UK based NGO that funds RUFA’s programs, a few members of local press from newspapers and radio stations, and members of the ministry of agriculture. A convoy packed into the cab and back of a pick up truck, we headed out to the first site, a farm demonstrating the benefits of crop rotation to prevent stripping the earth of its nitrogen content. The system uses lead farmers within the community to try the new technology or agricultural method and after demonstrating success, promoting the use with their friends and fellow farmers, benefiting the whole community.

Back into the truck we piled, this time I sat in the back and a woman named Jane pointed out the different fruit trees, and land features as we drove on. She couldn’t believe I’d never seen a banana or a mango tree before, lol.
The second site demonstrated a livestock program where an initial set of goats is given to one farmer as an added source of wealth, meat and manure. Once they’ve bread the offspring would be passed on for free to another farmer, creating a chain of beneficiaries.



The third site showed a winter crop farm. Here in Malawi the ‘summer’ is the wet season which ends in April, while the winter months (slightly cooler temperatures) are called the dry season, from May till August. There is a potential to have a complete second harvest during this season if farmers have access to a source of water and irrigation techniques. This requires some special training and assistance in the way of infrastructure in most cases. One of the most successful units to assist with this technique is called a treadle pump. We actually have one for demonstration purposes at the western chapter of EWB, so it was pretty awesome to see it in action after using it as a promotional tool for so long.
The women here were particularly lively and greeted us with traditional dances and song. It was pretty awesome to watch – and then Jane grabbed my hand and said, ah, let’s join them…. Everyone got a kick out of watching the white lady pick up the rhythm, even if it didn’t last long, lol.






The fourth site was in my village of mkombezi, and showed how to make your own fertilizer from livestock manure, and how manure can actually help crops more than other fertilizer in cases of drought. Many farmers are unable to afford fertilizers, so this seems like it could be really useful training for farmers. The day ended with a recap and discussion of best practices between the farmers, including some skits and dances, and finally a meal.
The whole day left me with a huge high, it was so great to see the initiatives farmers are undertaking to try and counter the vulnerabilities of poverty. I went to bed that night sunburned but smiling, and hopeful for the future of Malawi.