Likuni Irrigation underway!

On Friday we began the irrigation training process at NAPHAM's new site at Likuni in Lilongwe. The irrigation club was well prepared for us, having dug a new well and cleared the first section of their field.

First, we went through the initial set up of the pump, a maintenance overview, and how to use it.

Then we began digging the first feeder canal which will carry water to the beds where maize, tomatoes, and onions will be planted. In this training, there is no main canal, so water is fed directly into the feeder canal. As the garden expands, water will first enter a main canal, flowing laterally across the top of the garden, from where it will be diverted into feeders, and finally beds or basins.

For the next two days (Saturday and Monday) we will return to help them finish the digging of beds and to oversee the planting of maize. Within two weeks we expect to see maize emerging in the field and tomatoes and onions coming up in a nursery. At that point we will need to expand the garden to accommodate the tomatoes and onions.

First Roots in the Ground at Siyasiya, Salima

Farmers were busy in their irrigated gardens the past three weeks, putting to practice what they learned during the initial trainings in April. At Salima, the St. Barnabas irrigation club transplanted tomato seedlings into the first section of their garden.

Though they said they had some challenges at first, the irrigation process has not been difficult for them. They were excited to share with us their plans for expansion.

 

Grass Mat Making at Mziza

Not just an outstanding lead farmer, our good friend Mr. Store is also an expert mat maker.

We stumbled upon his craft before a meeting with the Mziza Farming Club.

Fly on the Wall

If you were a fly on the wall at the AWP office today, you would be the fly most equipped to provide high-impact irrigation training in probably the whole of Malawi, even in all of Africa. Maybe you'd be the best six legged irrigation trainer in the WORLD!

Ok, not many irrigation experts to compare in the insect family, but if you were a human on the wall at AWP (get off the wall and have chair), I hope you and the rest of the staff present today would be ready to deliver some outstanding training sessions to farmers in the field.

Teaching a group of adults whose ages range over 40 years, who may or may not be able to read, who usually have heavy burdens put on hold outside the classroom, teaching such a group is no easy task. And you just try for ten minutes to focus with an empty stomach... no, didn't think so.

After a few hours spent discussing how our training programme should adapt to the particular challenges we face in the field, we came up with a short protocol to guide us. 

1. Adults can only be expected to learn 5 simple things a day. If we selfishly take all those things for irrigation, we still should only expect 5 learned outcomes. Some things aren't so simple, so fewer expected outcomes is better.
2. Good teachers deliver their outcomes over multiple routes; we should bring the learned outcomes through a variety of components: verbal/aural, visual (photographic/text), tactile, and participatory. These should be highly memorable and form memory indicators or associations.
3. The visual and tactile elements should be left in the hands of the trainees to review/repeat in the future.
4. We should hit the key memory indicators once more at the end of the training session.

The "Aha! moment"

In 7th grade I had a math teacher who said that rather than teach for the standardized tests, she teaches for the "Aha! moment". She was a good teacher, and we all learned a lot from her, about geometry and algebra, but the teaching philosophy most importantly. The "Aha! moment" is the moment when a person realizes they know what they are doing. In other words, the teacher may give us information, and we (lifelong students) may possess that information, but what is important is that we know that we know it.

And what signifies (to the teacher) that we have this knowledge? Some people exclaim "Aha!", but the surest sign is when the student corrects a teacher's mistake. It takes a good teacher to realize that being corrected by students is a good thing.

Some recent field days with farmers at Mziza have driven this point home.

What is causing the low water flow out of this pump?


AWP hypothesis: low rpm caused by bad gearing
Farmer's hypothesis: broken or bent washers caused by slack in the rope
Answer: improperly sized washers used to replace broken washers

One to the student... Of course, if we teachers had followed our own method, we should have come to the same hypothesis as the farmer.

What is causing low germination rate in this maize field?


AWP hypothesis: insufficient water
Farmer's hypothesis: mice
Answer: probably mice, as the problem ceased after burning out the mice holes.

Two lessons the teacher should take away from this:
1) follow your own method, and start with the simplest analysis.
2) local wisdom is exceptionally wise in its own locale; heed its advice.


Farmers are getting irrigation now. There is an intuitive understanding of how to use the water pumps, how to design and cultivate the garden, and how to plan their farming activities.


The next step, we hope, is that those who have excelled may start teaching others, first time irrigators and those who are struggling at some point in the process.

Keeping bees, diversifying income

Farmers we work with regularly live hand-to-mouth. Whatever they have, it's only enough for today, if even that. Tomorrow, they will go out to their fields to get some more food, they will go to the market to sell a handful of tomatoes to afford a bar of soap, or they will simply beg from a neighbour.

One thing that can help a farmer to get his head above water long enough to save and plan for the future is to diversify his income. A farmer who relies entirely on one small irrigated garden may produce enough food for his household, but what about school fees? Clothes? Medicine?

Africa Windmill Project is introducing bee keeping to the Mziza farming club. The club will share 5 beehives to start with, and expand later out of proceeds from selling honey. The benefits of beekeeping are threefold: first, there is the income from selling honey; second, the nutritional benefit of eating the honey; and third, the bees will help pollinate crops. Oh yes, and the farmers will be encourage to conserve their forests. And also, they may use the beeswax to make candles or soap. OK, so that was fivefold... and the benefits only get better as the farmers make more hives.

Mziza club members received their first hives on Tuesday. They had never seen the Kenyan Top Bar hive design, and thought it looked a lot better than their traditional hives, which consist of an overturned clay pot. They quickly went around hanging the hives in various strategic locations.

At the same time, AWP staff members were teaching them about how to monitor the hives for pests and overflowing honey.

The club should bring enough money to purchase one new hive for each one they harvest. 5 become 10 become 20, 40, 80... within about 18 months. The limiting factor is of course space to hang them. This is where forest conservation becomes worth doing, so to speak. Without growing their forests, the farmers cannot grow their collection of hives.

Windmill Water Pump

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Wallace Storo and Custom Gabson now have another hand in pumping water. the long awaited windmill now pumps water 24/7, provided the wind blows strong enough of course.

Windmill construction

Meet The Staff

Here at AWP, we are constantly making a difference in the lives of others. Meet the people who make our vision a reality.

Chris Adare and his fiancé

Christopher Adare is currently serving as the International Director for AWP. Adare manages administrative duties, as well as designing and building water pumps, and implementing projects. 

Adare knows his calling to serve in Malawi came in 2006, when he spent the summer working at an orphanage in Kasungu, Malawi. After graduating from the University of Washington, Adare moved to Malawi where he worked with Children of the Nations, an orphan assistance organization. Adare believes his biggest challenge since moving to Malawi has been learning to be accepted. As an outsider, Adare has overcome prejudices and is now able to examine and change the way he treats other cultures. Adare says he has seen changes in the Malawian villages through his work with AWP and believes they are on the right track.

“I would love people to be praying for my upcoming wedding; for the AWP staff to be effective in the community, and for peace, stability and security in the region.”

John Fry

John Fry is a workshop assistant for AWP and helps set-up irrigation systems in local villages.

Fry grew up in Mtandire, Lilongwe, where he lived with his parents and three siblings. His father died at an early age and Fry was supported by an orphan assistance organization, Children of the Nations. COTN provided for Fry to go to school and upon completing his twelfth year, he began working for COTN. Before starting with AWP, Fry was a part-time builder. Fry considers AWP to be a blessing to Malawi and seeks to help villagers understand the importance of irrigation systems and how they work. 

Fry requests your prayers for his mother, who is unemployed, and siblings, who are still in school: “I want them to do well so they can have good educations and good jobs.”

Chaswezi Zulu Simwela is from the Katetele Village in northern Malawi. An Environmental Management Specialist & Partnership Coordinator for AWP, Simwela first begin working for AWP as a volunteer, before joining as staff full-time in November 2011. 

Growing up in a large family, Simwela understands first hand the difficulties Malawians are facing when it comes to providing for and raising a family. Simwela helped start Action for Behavior Change with Carol Maclean, an organization devoted to counseling youth, and was able to pull from his life experiences to mentor younger people. Simwela later attended school in Lilongwe, where he began working toward a degree in Sustainable Development. Simwela plans to go back to school and study for his Bachelors at the University of Livingstonia. “Working for AWP has opened my eyes to see beyond what farmers in rural communities are lacking. I believe I can become a strong and reliable bridge to help them achieve sustainable livelihoods if I ...attain higher education.” 

Under Simwela’s guidance, AWP has been able to partner with groups like Ukwe Extension Planning Area and Matindi Youth Organization, helping villages throughout southern Africa. 

Blessings Malamba and family

Blessings Malamba, one of thirty children, spent his childhood divided between his village and town. He worked at a local market during secondary school to pay for his education and later found a job as a dog handler. Malamba first became aware of AWP in 2010, when he met Chris Adare. Conscious of poverty and lack of water in Malawian villages, Malamba was eager to get involved with AWP and help his community. 

“It is always my prayer to God [that] AWP should go in[to] many districts in Malawi so that Malawi can be transformed.”

Wallace Storr and family

Wallace Storr works in the AWP demonstration gardens, irrigating and pumping to maintain the vegetation. Storr, a Malawian farmer, husband, and father of three, attended school through grade eight, before stopping because of school fees. 

Storr asks for prayers for AWP, his family and problems in the community. 

Custom Gabson and family

Custom Gabson has been working full-time for AWP since January 2012, primarily in the demonstration gardens alongside Wallace Storr. Before coming to AWP, Gabson worked for a farmer growing maize on the other side of Mziza, Chiwaza. Recently widowed, Gabson has three children, ages 10, 12 and 18.

Please keep Gabson in your prayers, that God will give him wisdom and grant his family peace.

Chiefs, chiefs, more chiefs

Our work this month -and over much of this year- culminated in yesterday's field day with the chiefs and Group Village Headman (GVH) of the Mziza area.




In the area, we have 23 chiefs (i.e. 23 distinct groups of houses, or villages, with a chief) over whom presides one GVH. The chiefs in one Group report to the GVH on development, judicial, and other civil issues. They work together to meet their goals as a group. The failure, or success, of one chief can have an impact on the whole group when government assistance is determined by collective performance.




When we conceived of the Mziza Demo Garden, we had in mind a place that would attract farmers from a radius of about 25km. There are 3 GVHs in that area, the closest being GVH Mzindo. Today Mzindo and representatives from his 23 subchiefs met us at the demo garden.




We toured the garden and described the different activities taking place. Some chiefs took the opportunity to try out two water pumps we had on display. We went over issues related to farm planning, and seeing our onions in 3 stages of growth drove home the idea of year-round production.




In the end, the chiefs said they would each bring 5 farmers to learn more about irrigation at the Demo Garden. Some chiefs were even discussing what materials they could find to start making their own water pumps.

Mr. Storo's Plan

To many, hunger seems an inevitable experience in the community. This year, rains did not fall according to the people’s expectations. Many areas received erratic rains. This situation has resulted in poor yields, bringing a threat to most of the households that have small scale agriculture lands in Malawi. According to our observations, very few households have managed to harvest crops that will carry them through the entire winter season up to the period of planting rain-fed crops. This is a major blow especially to children who will need nutritious foods, every day.



However, AWP beneficiaries look at the problem stated above as an opportunity to show the community that there is a solution to the pending hunger. For instance, Mr Storo (one of the AWP beneficiaries in irrigation farming) has a different story to tell. He requested maize seeds from AWP sometime back. Having fears with the way the rains fell in the area. AWP took this request into consideration and provided maize and beans seeds to farmers to supplement food availability to AWP beneficiaries in Mziza village. As for Mr Storo, he planted maize and beans on an irrigated garden where he uses a rope-and-washer pump developed by Africa Windmill Project.
The picture you see above, is part of his garden where Mr Storo expects to get up to 5 bags (50kg each ) of maize that he will be able to feed his family up to the next rainy season.

When hunger strikes, that is the time that people recognize the importance of irrigation farming (Winter cropping in Malawi). In Malawi, farmers who are direct beneficiaries of AWP irrigation technologies will tell successful stories due to the irrigation farming solution that AWP has made available for them. The contribution of irrigation farming in reducing hunger and poverty will be clear this year. As I’m writing, many farmers are seeking AWP irrigation systems that have proven to ease irrigation farming to potential small scale irrigation farmers in Malawi.

Biltong in the Dryer

Well here it is, about 2 lbs. of silverside in the box. 4-5 days should do the trick. I moved it in doors to keep out pests/dust.

Weekend Warrior - Biltong Dryer

I'm starting a new series here, our first series really. Calling it Weekend Warrior, and as the name suggests its all about weekend projects.

Weekdays get pretty bogged down with "daily grind" stuff here at AWP. Don't get me wrong, our day to day is probably a lot different than yours, unless you spend a lot of time teaching farmers about irrigation. But one thing is the same, let's face it, new and exciting projects get piled up on the weekends. Not that there's anything wrong with the old Mo-Fri; weekends are just so much better.

Each week I'll be picking one "exciting" project off the shelf and we'll get it whipped up over the weekend. Some projects will be of substantial importance to our work here; others may just be of some interest. But the cool thing is, if any of you are do-it-yourself types, readers can contribute to, follow along with, improve, and critique, the weekend projects.

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Just to get things started, for this weekend: Biltong Dryer.

Biltong is a South Africa preserved meat similar to beef jerky. The seed for this project was planted by AWP founder John Drake. The CBP agents won't let you bring Biltong into the US, so why not make your own? For Malawi, a combination meat/vegetable/fruit dryer could help preserve food items that might otherwise rot.

The basic build is quite simple: make a box from 1/2 plywood, 3'x2'x2'.


One 3x2' side should be on hinges to provide access.


Install a light socket in the bottom and cover the socket from dripping juices. Use a 40w incandescent bulb or higher in humid conditions.


Drill intake holes on the bottom and exhaust holes on the top, boths sides. Remember hot air rises. Hot air also absorbs moisture from the meat.


Put some wires and hooks at the top to hang meat from. (I've got 8 rows with about 10 hooks per, for 90 pieces of biltong total.)



It takes about 7 days to dry the meat, maybe less in this dry climate. We leave the bulb on 24/7, so there may be a need for mosquito netting on the holes to keep out ngumbe. I'll hang the meat tomorrow. Check in to see how it's doing.

The recipe I plan to try was found here: BiltongBox.com

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