Our goal in this sector is to achieve food security for our orphans in Kivu, and for the rural population in Central Kasai. Our organization is aware that these institutions cannot depend indefinitely and for every need on the external assistance provided by the people of goodwill. Therefore, efforts will be made to secure additional land for food production of essential commodities such as corn, beans, tubers such as cassava, yams and sweet potatoes among others. This is particularly true for the Kasai province because of the high malnutrition rate in the region.
Mpongo Community Center
To support our work in reinforcing sustainable communities, our organization has constructed a community center in the village of Mpongo in Kasai Central which will be a hub for local farmers to congregate, share knowledge and ideas, procure supplies, and it will be a base of deployment for any organization of good will which is looking to launch development projects in the area. The center will provide temporary housing, indoor and outdoor classrooms and meeting spaces to facilitate these exchanges.
The short list of the crops to promote will be determined according to the preferred main staple by region, for example: beans, banana and plantains can be selected for the Kivu province, while Cassava and corn emerge as the preferred crops for the Kasai province.
However, based on our experience in the international development sector, the program will be advised to consider some serious shifts in the food habits, this being particularly true for the Kasai province where they may need to learn from West Africa to include Yam and millet in their diet. Some of the activities to be undertaken in this sector include the following:
- Securing land from local chiefs for food production
- Identifying the markets where needed seeds can be procured
- Gradual introduction of new crops such as yam and millet which are not part of the diet
- Teaching techniques for land protection and fertilization
- Planting fruit trees and other fast growing species for soil revegetation
The soil has dramatically deteriorated, particularly in the Kasai province where the overuse of the soil without composting or other techniques to feed the land before the land can feed you is practiced. The population spoiled by the availability of undesignated land keeps moving further and further in search of new land than improving the land which is close by, complicating children’s schooling, etc. People have to live from their land, produce food for their consumption and make money from the sale of excess food, in order to pay for their family healthcare and children’s education. The importance of land care cannot be overemphasized. The program management will do just that, integrating organic composting instead of chemical fertilizers into the village farming system. Promoting a combination of agriculture and animal raising will be essential for the production of needed manure to fertilize the land. Similarly to the eastern region of the country, families will be encouraged to practice serious gardening in the vicinity of their houses to stop the nomad phenomenon which keeps parents away from their homes and children as they search for distant arable lands.
Farmers helping Farmers
We are well aware that there are people of goodwill in North America that have tremendous experience, knowledge of techniques and access to tools and products that would vastly help farmers in the Congo that are trying to grow better crops or raise more robust farm animals. Our organization welcomes the support of such people and will create a bridge between those who want to contribute their farming expertise and resources to the betterment of other people’s lives in the developing world.
Drop Us a Message!
If you have any inquiries about us and our programs, please do not hesitate to send us a message. We would love to entertain them.