Windmill go!

Second generation windmill at Mziza Demo Garden. We installed the windmill last week, letting it run over the weekend to check for any kinks. We hooked on the pumping rod today and a makeshift pump to see if we could get water into the tank. We did get water all the way to the tank, 3m above and 20m laterally from the water source.

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.

New Irrigation Sites with NAPHAM

The National Association for People living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM) is an organization established in Malawi to look into the needs of people affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). NAPHAM engage in advocacy campaigns, testing and counseling, education, and livelihood development. With over 1,000 support groups throughout the country, they reach out to tens of thousands of people to support their efforts to live positively even with the reality of HIV and AIDS in their communities and families.

Africa Windmill Project began training members of the Nathenje support group under a NAPHAM project aimed at developing nutritious and income-generating gardens. With such a great potential to improve the well being of their members, NAPHAM has decided to send the project into another community. This is the second phase of a long process of bringing irrigation training to thousands of their members across the country, people who generally struggle with insufficient nutrition.

At the Likuni support group outside Lilongwe, we saw relatively good irrigation activities already taking place. Using watering cans, most farmers are growing small plots of tomatoes and greens. It is our hope that with better water pumps and training, these farmers will be able to scale up to larger fields and diversify their crops.

AWP will return on Friday the 12th of July to begin the training process.

In View

An irrigation chain: approx. 2,000 maize plants, 500 bean plants

The demo garden pumps:

A view of most of the demo:

Water flow at the demo: (onions at 2 months)

Flow at the corner:

Watering onions, with mulch:

Onion nursery near the demo, belongs to one of the Mziza club members:

Katsumwa Irrigation: Up and Running

Irrigation is underway at Katsumwa Village, Lilongwe. There are five irrigation farmers using this system and 15 additional farmers participating in the training course, to eventually start their own irrigated gardens. Up to three acres of irrigable land sits within range of the water tank. For a start the farmers have cultivated about half and acre.

Due to the sandy soil the farmers had to dig a well farther from the water tank. In order to fill the tank over that distance we installed a 200 liter drum near the pump which is connected by ground pipes to the 13,000 liter tank. As the drum fills, the pressure in the drum exceed the pressure in the tank, and water begins to flow into the tank.

The water pump can usually pump faster than the water transfers from the drum to the tank, which could lead to an overflowing tank. However, this does not present a problem under normal conditions because the farmers take short breaks while pumping, allowing the drum and tank to equalize.

Water tank:

 Distribution pipes:

 Flow under minimum pressure:

 Farmers learn pump maintenance:

Demonstrating how to water-in the basins:

 Demonstrating how to direct water into the basins:

 Demonstrating how to mulch the basins:

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.

 

Wind Power!

Here is a brief look at some of the windmills we are working on this season:

Old Faithful: the AWP Demo Garden windmill has been pumping water into the reservoir since the end of last dry season. The windmill was disabled during the rainy season. Yesterday we hooked everything back up to mark the start of irrigation at the Demo.

Salima, a lakeshore district, is an exceptionally windy area. The potential for wind power is known by some local village residents. One such resident has constructed his own windmill not far from our Siyasiya irrigation site. When we venture into the area we always stop by his windmill to see what progress he has made. On our last trip we brought him some PVC turbine blades to improve the efficiency of his design. He was able to get some consistent voltage from the attached bicycle dynamo but not enough to light his house. As he refines the design, we will give him any advice and assistance we can.

More windmill to come as the 

Siyasiya irrigation training

Last week, we went to Siyasiya in Salima to train farmers in basin irrigation. We were invited by World Relief international who support Ministry Teams from local churches in development and relief projects in the area.

The group picked up the ideas and techniques quickly and had a quarter acre ready for planting by the time we left. Over the next two weeks they will expand their garden up to 2-3 acres, where they will grow onions, tomatoes, maize and green vegetables.

Getting Ready For Growth

The Mziza Farming Club is getting into irrigation as early as possible this season. On Monday this week, we delivered farm inputs which the farmers accessed through a revolving fund for input loans.

In order to access the loan, a farmer was required to participate in irrigation training and plant at least two season under the new irrigation techniques. Farmers who proved that they could be successful irrigation farmers could then apply to receive inputs to expand the size of their irrigated gardens.

Each member will pay back the loan over two consecutive planting cycles this season. In this way, the loss of capital incurred by paying back the loan is mitigated by the extra income of the second planting. In other words, with two planting cycles it is easier to balance the crop yield between: 1) paying back the loan, 2) eating a balanced diet at home, and 3) using income for other purposes (e.g. paying school fees).