Friday, November 3, 2017

Chigonthi Irrigation Project


Chigonthi Irrigation Project was a new project for us in 2017. The Chigonthi area comprises about 25,000 households in the rural north west of Lilongwe district. Our objective was to decease the risk of hunger and malnutrition in 11 communities by training farmers in 8 food security strategies.


In total, 384 households were trained. Every community has a demonstration garden, where they are practicing crop management, irrigation, organic composting, pest control, and mulching. Budgeting, planning, balanced diet, and crop storage are practiced at home.


In pictures: community and individual gardens, some have even harvested and planted again under irrigation. These crops will be met with rainfall in November and December, easing the irrigation challenge and providing a food crop late in the year when most other families are running out of food.


Farmers dig shallow wells by hand. It's a muddy job. The well in the picture below is being deepened to extend the irrigation season.