Saturday, August 7, 2010

A Bible And A Hoe

Kyamukama is a small community about 35 km south of Masaka.  P1050283About 2 months ago Karl received a call from a pastor asking him to come and share farming principles in a 2 day workshop with a number of churches.  People in these communities have been struggling with traditional practices, not being able to grow enough to provide for their own households.  As a result many live in abject poverty.

On Friday and Saturday of this week Karl held a two day workshop for the community, sharing principles from Farming God’s Way, a sustainable farming resources that has seen great results in many African countries for the last 25 years.
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Julius Musamya, a former student in Kibaale Community Secondary School, assisted Karl with a Farming God’s Way demonstration plot at the Timothy Centre and joined Karl to help with translation and some of the facilitation.
083 About 80 people took part in the workshops.
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The workshop concluded with the planting of a demonstration plot called a ‘Well Watered Garden’.  The site was purposely chosen close to the town centre and beside a well worn path, so community members will be able to see the results.
P1050291 Everyone who attended the workshop assisted with digging holes or rows.
P1050296 Fertilizer was added to the holes.

P1050304 It was then covered with soil.

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Maize and beans were then planted.


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P1050331 The final step before watering was placing a blanket of mulch over the newly planted garden.
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Most of the workshop participants were women.  They testified that they had never seen farming done like this and many of them were eager to begin preparing their garden plots before the rains come later this month.  Karl will be following up with this group for the next 5-6 seasons, to encourage the participants and assist with any difficulties they may encounter.

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