Man With A Hoe

Since Karl has been training others in Farming God’s Way, he’s been dubbed with the name Najanakumbi – “He came with a hoe”.

This last week he was asked to present a two day workshop at Eagle’s Wings Children’s Village near Lukaya – a town about 30 minutes north of Masaka.

Classroom instruction was combined with practical field training in Farming God’s Way principles.

Participants were shown how to make terran ropes (measuring lines).

       A skit was presented contrasting Farming God’s Way with conventional methods of farming.          

The workshop concluded with a field implementation.

The field was laid out and squared off.

Holes were dug for planting maize and beans.

  

Both organic and inorganic fertilizers were applied.

  

Seeds were then planted.

 

Once the holes were covered…

…the garden was watered…

 

…and God’s blanket was applied.

After the garden was complete, this man danced around rejoicing!

The man on the right approached me and said, “Uncle Karl,  you have not given us fish, but taught us how to fish. Thank you very much”.

     

To Blanket or Not To Blanket?

I met with a young man, Emma, this morning who had participated in one of my Farming God’s Way workshops a few months ago.  When the rains began, he planted this field field of maize, but did not use a blanket to cover the soil.

Look at the next photo.  He planted this field few weeks later but used “God’s blanket”.  Emma is amazed at the results, and is looking to fully implement Farming God’s Way next season.

Joy In The Harvest

Back towards the end of August, land preparation began for our fourth season of gardening using Farming God’s Way principles.  Through all the effort you anticipate the joy of the harvest.

Applying God’s blanket of mulch to the planted field

I planted towards the end of August…most farmers delayed for a month before preparing their fields and planting.  The maize and beans at the Timothy Centre are the healthiest of anyone’s in the community.

 

After the harvest, in January, we’ll start training in the community again using Farming God’s Way principles to help others achieve these results, as they prepare their fields for the March planting season.

Lesotho: Kingdom in the Sky

Lesotho is known as the Kingdom in the Sky.  Found in the middle of South Africa, Lesotho is surrounded by stunningly beautiful mountain terrain.

For two centuries the plough has been used for farming with devastating results.  Dongas, or massive ravines, have formed as summer storms have washed away much of the top soil. 

This donga measured over 6 meters high!

A group of about 60 of us converged to set up a campground on the Growing Nations site.  Our purpose was twofold: to assist the Lesotho people with a proven conservation farming method called Farming God’s Way (with yields up to 10x higher than traditional methods of farming), and to take part in in-field mentoring and training.

    

The first day focused on orientation, training in large scale field implementation…

 

and training in contour farming.

 

We then divided into 4 teams and travelled to various venues where we trained Lesotho farmers in Farming God’s Way principles.  Training focused on the biblical foundation for Farming God’s Way, technology and management keys.

Training was done with practical demonstrations…

drama…

and hands on training.         For the next 2 days we worked with farmers on their fields, mentoring them and helping them to implement Farming God’s Way.         At the end of the training we were able to bless farmers with new hoes. 

My prayer for the Lesotho people is to, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3