Forest Vale Agro-Ecological Project

What is Agro-forestry

2011-12-26T12:21:00.004+02:00

Agroforestry is a new word for a very old farming method. The word, and also the practical meaning,combine agro as in farming and forestry as in trees.
Very simply Agroforestry combines or intergrates trees and shrubs with crops and or animals in farming system. In this it deffers from forestry which may have a large area covered with only one type (or a few) of trees,and clearly it deffers from conventional agriculture which may have large areas only covered in Maize or Wheat. In Agroforestry trees and shrubs maybe grown either at the same time as the crops or in rotation with the crops.

There is nothing new about growing trees and crops together. Our ancestors did this. Agroforestry began through the careful observation and sound common sense of our ancestors as they worked out the best ways of sustainably feeding themselves while keeping the soil constantly rich,productive and fertile,and benefiting from all those resources that nature provided for free.

What may be really new in Agroforestry is now farmers do a lot of tree planting and caring of those trees, whereas traditionaly the farmer mainly used existing trees.
Agroforestry is about using traditional knowledge and improving the methodes and techniquies that have been used over generations.It combines from traditional experiencies and scientific experiments.

Agroforestry is a farming system - This means that the diffent parts of the farm are dependent on each other and that the parts co-operate. This means that crops,animals and trees support each other to produce the totral yield on farm.Think about the parts of a bicycle co-operate to m,ove the vehicle and what it is carrying.
One reasopn why Agroforestry is such a successful system is that it imitates a natural ecosystem in which a great variety of living and non-living matter interact in a highly productive and sustainable fashion.Think about how plants,trees, and animals licve and rot in a forest, and how this seems to go on and on.......
Consider Agroforestry the next time you do your field/farm plan!

Environmental economics should be streagthened

2011-10-26T10:19:00.005+02:00

Through my practices as an agricultural extension officer I had found that though farmers and householders may be aware of dangers of using non-sustainable,fossil energy based farming practices, they keep doing it as they lack valid economic reasons to substantiate that ecological farming is the key to both our health and that of our planet.
Quite a lot of good agric extension officers,environmentalist and permaculturist I meet fail to convience me with economic reasons why ecological farming must be persued though they could show attractive field results of thier work. I had researched and found out that the following are some of the main reasons why we should use our environmental resources protectively and wisely from the economic point of view.

1) Firstly there is a consensus that many environmental goods which were once regarded as free goods,have now become scarce resources, therefore unless immediate action is taken to prevent depletion/depreciation of these resources sustainable growth may not be feasible

2) Scientific and engeering aproaches to environmental problems can help in understanding the two way linkages between ecological and economic system in identifying the caouses of environmental degradation and in obtaining physical measurements of environmental damages, while for many decision-making problems an economic approach is needed to obtain money values of the damages

3) There has been a gradual shift in many developed countries from command and control type of policy approach to environmental protection to a policy regime which relies largely on economic/market-based instruments to achieve environmental policy goals. The reason for this shift is the reaslization that economic based instruments are incentive based and that they provide an opportunity to economic agaents to use their private information which is seldom available to the regulator,in their search for least cost option for compliance with the regulations.

4)Gorvenments require cost- benefit analysis of environmental legislations,resetting environmental standards and introductions of new policy instruments for enviromental protection.The ipmact of the proposed policy changes on cost,outputs, prices and exports prospects at the industry level and their ovaral impact at the economy level must be assessed.

5) In reaching binding international agreements on global environmental issues, economic analysisi is neeeded to assess the likely impact of different policy options on the distributions of cost and benefit among the nations and in devising mechanisms for sharing the cost and benefit in equitable manner.

There is a diffrence between an ecologists' perspective and economists' perspective in their approach to environmental problems. While the ecologists' perspective is holistic in the sense that they approach environmental problems from the viewpoint of all living organismsm,economists, particularly those trained in utilitarian framework,adopt an anthropocentric approach to the problem. We need to streaghthen environmental economics and encourage youths to take this route in studying as thats were our future lies!!

Thinking Ecologically pays

2011-10-04T15:32:00.006+02:00

At Manda Wilderness Agricultural Project the major problem was and is still poor soil fertility. The farm where the project is being undertaken lies less than 200m away from the shores of the great lake Malawi. The soils are as one might predict highly draining poor beach sandy soils.
Several volunteers and managers had worked at the project and managfed to improved on other aspects of production but not soil fertility. I then listed it as one of my major goals to improve the fertility of the soil so that a variety of vegetables can be grown other than just s herbs an a few salads that the farm was specialising on. My first action ws to get the soil tested , so I sampled two batches of soil. One of our guests volunteered to take one sample with him to Kenya where soil testing laboratories are more efficient than in Mozambique while we took the other sample to the Mozambician national soil analysis lab in Maputo.
While I was waiting for the results to give me directions I started constructing a worm farm. The place is of very limited resources and I only managed to get one large plastic container, a guaze wire to cover on top. I partitioned the innerside of the container into two, the bottom part for reception and storage of worm wee and the top part where my worms will stay. There wasn't even anything to use as a lead that can fit on that large bin of about 60cm diameter so I took a piece of guaze wire that I had left on my chicken tractor construction and put it on top as a cover with stones tied around to stop it from being blown away by wind. The result of this interesting craftwork is that shown in the photo above.
I then started collecting worms from the compost piles and from anywhere around the farm as there was nowhere to buy the breeding stock. After about three weeks of collecting, domesticating and feeding of only a handfull of worms we started to harvest the 'precious liquid' vermileachate. The liquid become more and more stronger at every harvest till it was dark black in colour a sign that the worms were multiplying very rapidly and were happy with the environment. One day when we decided to harvest the worm cast we were shocked to find out that we had over two kgs of worms in stock. We took some to the compost piles to help with decomposition and some we directily place them under mulch in vegetable beds.
A month later the Kenyan Laboratories brought the results indicating that apart from lack of nitrogen the soil was too alkaline dew to the use of Lake Malawi water for irrigation and one of the few available options to control that situation organically was to add "organic acids" and Vermileachate was listed as one of the best sources.
The Mozambician labs eventually sent their portuguees written results two months before my term was over. Thank god the nutrient status were quoted in scientific chemical symbols so though I couldn't read their analysis reportr myself I could see that our soils had very low levels of potassium and nitrogen. Even the compost samples that I had sent together with the soil had insufficient Nitrigen to cover up the difficiency, the four litres of worm wee that we were geting couldn't cover up the defficience on the whole farm either. So a plan come to my mind - to visit the famous bat full baobab tree and find out how much Guano (bat manure) was loaded inside its cave. The task was a marmoth one. The cave had not been entered since the liberation war in Mozambique and none of our bush guides was willing to lower himself inside the 4m deep,dark and scary 2000 year old cave, so I took the responsibility to myself.
We managed to harvest about 60 kgs of guano and I knew I had found one of the best natural sources of nitrogen and potassium. I conservatively used it in compost making and make some of it into guano tea by soaking in water it for 24hrs. I also blended it with the vermileachate and produced a thic black tea that I was diluting 1 part : 10 . God knows what blend was that but what I can testify is - it brought the first carrots ever on the farm to the kitchen.Carrot production was totally impossible at this farm dew to high infestation of nematodes so I believe dew to the nematocide properties of the guano tea blended with the vermileachate, naturaly and simply cures the problem.Ofcourse the chicken tractor effect also contributed, but whatever the reason was ,it was a function of ecological thinking and designing that I am proud of.

CULTURE EXCHANGE IS IMPORTANT

2011-10-04T15:05:00.008+02:00

Exchanging culture is one of the best ways to improve diversity and sustainability in agriculture through sharing ideas and knowledge.Different individuals from different countries or regions have different but useful ways and ideas of tackling agricultural and food production issues.
The U.S military trainees visited MWAP (Manda Wilderness Agricultural Project ) in Mozambique and enjoyed my campany for a week.

A renouned Dutch painter and florist Mr Benzon tought me how to decorate interior walls and even how to improve the appearance of our packaging through stylish wraping and decorating I very much enjoyed his company.

importance of Guano.

2011-05-22T13:54:00.000+02:00

GUANO FERTILIZER IS ONE OF THE FINEST NATURAL FERTILIZERS AVAILABLE

PAGE CONTENTS

Guano fertilizer
Source
Nutrients
Benefits
Fertilizer forms
N.P.K. Analysis
Application Rate

Link to other fetilizer pages

GUANO

The definition of the word guano varieties depending on which reference source you consult. One source suggests the word derived from the Quichua language of the Inca civilization and refers to the droppings of seabirds. While another implies it is from the Quichua language of the Inca civilization and that it refers to, feces and urine of seabirds, bats, and seals.

Regardless of the correct interpretation of the word it has been integrated into our language to refer to both seabirds and bats and is one of the finest natural fertilizers available on the market today.

SOURCE

Guano is collected from natural deposits of seabirds and bat droppings in areas where favorable climatic conditions insured a minimal loss of nutrients through leaching. Either from seabirds in coastal areas with minimal rainfall, or in the case of bats, from inside caves where climate has little or no effect on the guano deposit.

NUTRIENTS

Guano contributes more than its share of nutrients to the soil. Both the bat and seabird guano are an exceptionally rich source of natural nutrients that supplies many beneficial enzymes and bacteria, large amounts of minor and trace minerals as well as being high in nitrogen and phosphorus.

Guano can vary greatly in the levels of N.P.K. and trace minerals and is dependent on many factors including, environment, mineral composition of the land or cave of the deposit, food source of the animal and age of the guano deposit. So as with other animal manures a chemical analysis of guano, is only a general approximation of the nutritional plant food value.

BENEFITS

In addition to everything else bats droppings go through a process of natural decomposition aided by guano beetles and decomposing microbes, which help control many soil-borne diseases. These microbes help to break down any toxins in the soil and act as a natural fungicide when it is fed to plants via their leaves. It is these same properties of guano that also makes it an excellent compost activator.

The end result is a natural organic fertilizer that improves the natural balance of the soil, building and conditioner the texture and friability of it without increasing either salt content or acidity. Guano fertilizer is considered to be one of the top sources of organic nutrients available for vegetable gardeners today.

FERTILIZER FORM

Guano usually comes to the gardener in the forms of powder, pellets or liquid. It can be applied as a top dressing and worked into the soil, mixed with water and applied as a foliar spray or injected into an irrigation system.Guano supplies both fast and slow release nutrients to the soil biological system.

As with all natural manures guano will need time to break down the nutrients into the soluble inorganic form needed for plants. Although guano fertilizer is one of the fastest manure to breakdown the amount of micro bacteria in your soil will have a bearing on the time this takes. Pure guano is applied in much smaller amounts than ordinary barnyard or poultry manure.

Guano Tea

To make guano tea for feeding plants, add 1 cup of guano powdered fertilizer to 1 gallon of water. Mix thoroughly and let stand for 24 hours. Strain the solids out and apply tea at 1 - 2 cups per plant. For larger plants apply 2 - 4 cups of tea. As with comfrey tea don’t waste the residue, use it to mulch around the root zone of established plants.

GUANO TYPICAL NPK ANALYSIS

	N	P	K
Guano Bat high N	10	3.0	1.0
Guano Bat high P	3.0	10	1.0
Guano Seabird high N	12	8.0	1.0
Guano Seabird high P	1.0	10	1.0

APPLICATION

The large variations in the N.P.K content in guano from the different sources allow guano to be process for either high nitrogen or high phosphorus levels. Guano that is processed for high nitrogen is used primarily
for its nitrogen content but will still contain a good amount of phosphorous, potassium and micro-nutrients.

Similarly, guano fertilizer processed for high phosphorous will have some nitrogen, potassium and micro-nutrients.

The guano raw product can also be manipulated for the finished product to contain equal portions of both.

Broadcasting

All garden vegetables will benefit from the nutrient rich guano. Leafy greens prefer high-nitrogen for growth, as the plant approaches budding and fruiting time the phosphorous, flowering guano, is more appropriate.

Average application of all guano is 1/2 to 2 pounds per 100 sq. ft. of vegetable garden preferably broadcast before planting.

For large transplants dig a hole 2-3 times larger than the root ball. Mix into the soil 1 cup of guano fertilizer.

For established Plants, Use 1/2 cup - 3 cups per plant depending on size. Lightly scratch into the top 1inch (2.5 cm) of soil and water thoroughly.

Seedlings

Seedlings and young tender plants do not need much fertilizer, if any is to be used, mix 1-2 heaping tablespoons per one gallon of potting soil or use a liquid solution.

Containers

Guano is excellent for adding to growing mixes in your container garden. New Container Plants add 2 Tbsp. per gallon of soil.

For established container plants use 1/2 cup 1 cup per plant. Lightly scratch the powder into the top 1inch (2.5 cm) of soil and water thoroughly.

Liquid

A liquid guano solution can be applied more often. Mix 1-2 cup of guano into about 5 gallons of water. One application of liquid guano every second week will be enough to gauge future applications. Liquid fertilizer is excellent if plant deficiencies are discovered and immediate nutrient addition is needed as with all liquid fertilizers the plant nutrients are immediately available to the plant.

Hydroponic

Because of the various choices of NPK content in guano fertilizer it can be used as a natural alternative to chemical solution for growing hydroponically.

The farmers weekly article by Tarirai Mpofu

2011-03-06T11:08:00.003+02:00

Once again the farmers weekly magazine had found it worth to publish my letter. Though I have not seen the copy yet below is what I sent to the editor , hope he did not edit it much. The article was in the 18 february issue.

They need goals

Editor it is of great concern to me that most of the so called emerging farmers are failing to put the land under productive use. I had personally concluded that among others the lack of productivity comes from not knowing what to do with the land rather than lacking capacity. It is widely believed that capacity is what emerging farmers need but I am putting that second to goals and objectives.

Farmers need to understand that, when they have taken up or acquired land by whatever means the fist and foremost thing is to clearly layout what they intend to achieve in form of short comprehensive statements that are usually known as objectives. As farming is not only turning available agricultural resources into money but also a way of turning some of the available money into resources that enhances and helps the ecosystem to ultimately support your farming process. Sadly a few farmers even the experienced ones does not understand the principle of holistic goal formation. The way in which every aspect present on the farm is considered in forming goals, the way of putting landscape and quality of life first before production and profit. Jumping into applying tools or production principles on the land without well designed and collectively attained goals is just like a military troop following the command to grab their guns and put them into use with little or no knowledge of what they are fighting for and for how long. Our lands have different characteristics, brittle, non-brittle, arid, arable, low velds and high velds all these determine what one can use his/her farm for. It is not what the neighbor is doing that controls your objectives and goals.

I think goal formation had never been so useful until now when our Earth is showing big signs of misuse and is unfortunately throwing natural disasters and climate change in the face of the poor and emerging farmers. This might seem to be a big challenge that one farmer’s effort cannot make a dent, but following a well planned mission will make a difference at least to one’s farm. Clearly stating what kind of legumes you need to establish, how many thorn trees you want to see per acre, how much ground cover must be left your pastures when the herd is moved to another, location of water troughs and how many ox-packers you want to see hanging around with your herd in 2 years time .These factors determines what your farm will finally look like and comprise of, they are therefore called landscape goals. Emerging livestock farmers’ objectives must be focused mostly on designing their landscape than on profit figures. This holistic approach will help them to build a stable, diverse and sustainable environment that will produce milk and meat almost entirely as by- products.

I have been discreetly following a group of residents in my farm community here who have a great quest of benefiting from land reform program but are failing to reach the department of lands’ offices because of lack of consensus on what the land will be used for. In this case where a family or a group of people are shareholders and decision makers, the goal formation process must better not include the word profit at all but come as statements that describe the QUALITY OF LIFE that everybody is looking forward to get from the land. Every one should think deeply about their lives and freely put forward their values broadly in terms of cultural activity, employment opportunities, security, freedom, healthy, food, etc. Taking statements like ‘making profit from vegetables’ as a goal will normally raise conflicts on what tools to apply and therefore cause a deadlock. The values of life mentioned above will ultimately make profit if well followed. A group of emerging farmers working on creation of employment and production of health food as a goal will obviously realize some money accumulating in their accounts not only from dividends but reduced supermarket purchases as they start producing to meet their healthy food goal.

Our small scale and emerging farmers are devoid of goals and their inexperience in setting them rationally leads to much confusion, unattainable goals, non-goals and goals mixed with tools. Without goals land cannot be managed sensibly let alone economically. I understand they are emerging but as long as they are not emerging from mars lets teach them to set goals and objectives first.

pictures of the sorghum IPM trail

2011-01-30T08:29:00.003+02:00

The integrated pest management that we have tried seem to be working well as there are very few signs of the Chillo partellus on the sorghum plants,especially in the double strip desimodium plots. This could mean that to some extent the Napier grass (which is freely available in our area) and the green leaf desimodium can be used to control the devastating stalk borer. However the we haven't yet reached a conclusion, we will be certain after the official report from the entomology department of the research institute leading the trial.

composting

2010-12-12T21:01:00.002+02:00

good rains improved the grass

2010-11-17T21:05:00.004+02:00

We have witnessed a very good wet spell in the past three or four weeks.These rains have been unexpectedly plentiful (equating with the whole summer rainfall of some of the worst years)had left everything green.Though its still tender and in need of some more rains grass have an impressive outlook and will for a considerable time sustain our cows with little or no worries about supplements.

2010-11-17T20:31:00.003+02:00

Abuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play an important role in plant health by improving nutrient (especially phosphorus) and water uptake by their host plant and providing protection against soil-borne pathogens. In return, the fungi receive carbohydrates (sugars) and growth factors from the host plant. Other benefits include: increased resistance to foliar-feeding insects (Gange and West, 1994), improved drought resistance and increased tolerance of salinity and heavy metals. Increased uptake of macronutrients other than P, including N, K and Mg has also been measured as well as increased uptake of some micronutrients maintaining soil aggregate stability. Many agricultural practices including use of fertilizers and biocides, tillage, monocultures and the growing of non-mycorrhizal crops are detrimental to AM fungus communities.
Mycorrhizal fungi is one of the most important fungi known to man which must be given room to grow and establish in any mycorrhizal plants to promote its beneficial symbiotic relationship with about 82% plant species.
We have recently introduced spores of this fungi into our vegetable and grass fields.The fungi that comes in powder form has been supplied by Biocult S.A.in a 200g packet that can cover a hectare of vegetables.

Research and Trials

2010-11-05T20:50:00.003+02:00

IPM field trial photos

Progress of the field trial,planting of desimodium green leaf.

2010-11-03T22:51:00.003+02:00

We planted the napier grass on the 21st- 25th of October.
Desimodium green leaf was planted on the 2nd of November, we intend to plant our sorghum three weeks later to allow the push and pull agents( desimodium and Napier grass)to establish.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) trial.

2010-10-24T10:36:00.005+02:00

Dew to the destruction of our sweet sorghum crop by Chillo partellus stalk borer last season, we had decided to partner with the Department of Agriculture in Eastern cape through its reaserch centre Dohne, to test the effectiness of the Push and Pull system in controlling sterm borers.The system is ussually used to control stalk borers in Maize in various countries in Africa and had been reported to be successful.

TITLE: Effects of intercropping with Silverleaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) on Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) populations on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) plants in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

RESPONSIBLE OFFICER: N. Skenjana (Department of agriculture Eastern Cape Entomologist)

AIM: To control Chilo partellus on sorghum using push-pull strategies

Objective:
• To determine the effects of intercropping silverleaf desmodium with sorghum on Chilo partellus populations.
• To assess the potential of increasing income generation for smallholder farmers by reducing input costs and increasing crop quality

6. PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL SITE: Forest View Farm, Chintsa East, East
London
7. PROPOSED TRIAL DURATION: 3 years (2010-2013)

8. JUSTIFICATION:
Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidopteara: Pyralidae), an invasive pest, introduced from India in the early 1930’s has been recorded as one of the most important pests of cereals including sorghurm (Sorghum bicolor L.) (Moench) in South Africa and the rest of Africa (Kfir et al., 2002). Last February, it was found infesting and damaging more than 45% of sorghum in the Chintsa East area of East London. According to the agronomist who visited the site, the sorghurm was in its vegetative stage when most of the damage was noticed. The Plant and Crops production Research Services directorate of Dohne Agricultural Development Institute has since been receiving numerous specimens of Chilo partellus from different maize/sorghum farmers in the area asking for an intervention.

Sorghum is known to be the second most important cereal in South Africa after maize. Morever it has proven to be a gem due to its multi purpose nature and the fact that it has been found to out-perform other cereals including maize under various environmental stresses. It is crucially important to food security right now due to its uniquely drought resistant nature and the fact that it can withstand periods of high temperature. More than 35% of sorghum in Africa is grown directly for human consumption. The rest is used primarily for animal feed, alcohol and industrial products (Kangama and Rumei, 2005). Sorghum has also become one of the crops that are being used to produce bio-ethanol at practical scales for both rural communities and industries. A bio-fuels research programme has been established at the University of Stellenbosch for the production of bio-ethanol (Esterhuizen, 2009).

On the other hand, Chilo partellus is known to be a very good competitor, and there have been numerous reports of the pest displacing native cereal pests all over Africa. In the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, there are records of the pest displacing Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) an indigenous pest of maize and sorghum in higher altitudes. This apparently is attributed to the rise in temperature and the fact that C. partellus develops faster than the indigenous pest. None of the biological control initiatives introduced against the pest have established yet in South Africa. Chemical pesticides due to their association with risks to human and animal health, the fact that they tend to kill natural enemies and their contributions to environmental pollution are being discouraged as a unilateral approach to insect control. They are also blamed for the increase in input costs as a result making agriculture to be unaffordable to resource poor small-holder farmers. Entomologists are now encouraged to develop economically viable, sustainable and eco-friendly pest management strategies.

The push-pull system which uses a combination of behaviour-modifying stimuli to manipulate the distribution and abundance of insect pests and/or natural enemies will be investigated in this study. Trials conducted in different parts of Africa by ICIPE, and in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa by the ARC have been successful in controlling targeted stem borers. After successful on-farm trials, the push pull was then officially released in Kenya and is being disseminated through their extension systems. Most of the trials concentrated on intercropping maize with different wild grasses and legumes. This study will concentrate on sorghum as a sole crop due to the importance of sorghum in this era. The legume chosen for the study; silverleaf desmodium was also used in the trials conducted in Kenya and trials have yielded pleasant results. It has also been found to grow well in the East London area and farmers in the Eastern Cape Province are familiar with it.

Forestvale reaserch and training farm will during and after this field reaserch work be doing extension and training services to local farmers and Individuals who wish to gain knowledge on Integrated Pest Management.This is an important step taken to strengthen our Rural Agro-ecological Development initiative scientifically.

woofing

2010-10-11T23:51:00.003+02:00

Stephania's first day at Forest vale.She helped with soil preparation we were making flat beds in the garden.She described her first feel of the farm as cool and lovely?

composting at Wensleydale organic farm.

2010-10-02T00:12:00.006+02:00

During my one work stay I was tought one of the best compost making fomula.

The compost in the photo is made of alternating layers of grass, cow manure,chicken manure and horse manure. Its 2m long, 1m wide, 1,5m high and every strata is 45cm high, watered 100lt per day turned in four weeks time and harvested after 6-8 weeks (depending on the type of biomas used, grass compost mature faster).

Apart from improving soil fertility its said that compost helps to control pest and diseases by keeping the soil at optimum condition and providing alternative food for crop parasites and pests.

At Wensleydale farms compost heaps are also used as nursary beds for sweet potatoes for early planting,Because its always hot up to 72degrees so sweet potato shoots don't get frozen during winter when most farmers start nursing it for early summer but often lose it to frost or alternatively delay their planting.

At Tlholego village

2010-10-01T23:01:00.006+02:00

On 22 August 2010 I become one of the community development workers attending a workshop on Dynamic facilitation and sustainable community building. The workshop was hosted at Tlholego village near Rusternburg. Tlholego is a well kept eco-village cum training centre with incredible permaculture designes and initiatives running.

The workshop was lead by Robina McCurdy from New Zealand.

We were taken through various concepts and tools in community development which includes the Integral Theory, wholistic goal setting, watershed design and management, cooperative learning, group formation and development, ice breaking and energizing, PRA(participatory rural appraisal) among other things.

The workshop was attended by people from D.R.C, Swaziland, South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Among these environmentalist was the director and founder of Njeremoto Biodiversity Institute (zimbabwe) Osmond Mugweni commoly known in his country as chief Svosve.

We shared ,learnt and enjoyed a lot.

Ox training 2

2010-08-15T10:21:00.003+02:00

yoking them is now less difficult and less dangerous.we engaged the load but they kept on jumping and rotating around,next step must be to train them walk forward with the load.Nothing works better than a painful wip at this stage.Tuesday,,,,.

THE FIRST STEP

2010-08-06T12:31:00.003+02:00

We had taken one of the most important action on our initiative - ox training .

Training oxen for ploughing is hard, dramatic and needs a lot of patience. Today we managed to do the first step successfully. Tying the two together leading them outside the kraal,putting the yoke on(spanning) and moving them around.All went well however we failed to reach where the load was as the animals kept on turning and escaping into the bushes.Its a lesson that the load have to be somewhere just outside the kraal,when not pulling anything untrained animals never walk but run.The whole job was difficult and dangerous, i found myself twice between the fence and the mad oxen with the yoke across.The first step is to get them yoked and we did it!!.Second step on Monday pulling a load!

beneficial insects in the garden.

2010-07-28T14:18:00.005+02:00

The ecosystem is shared by all species, good and bad. Beneficial garden insects or downright rotten cheeky pests, they all have a right to their place and a role to play in the dynamic relationship to keep nature balanced.
Sometimes it's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Good garden bugs in your garden can overwhelm a different area if they are taken out of their natural environment. Loveable rabbits in the wild or zoo are naughty bunnies on your land and butterflies are beautiful but not their killer caterpillar kids!
What are the beneficial garden insects birds and animals?
Who are we to say... as a writer once said: "It may be that frogs, ducks, hedgehogs and moles are good because they eat slugs. Or it may be that slugs are good because they feed frogs, ducks, hedgehogs and moles. More likely, there's no morality in nature at all."
So in praise of good garden bugs and creatures here we go:

Green lacewing
Lacewings should be called race wings — they work fast, going flat-out eating (or rather sucking dry) hundreds of bugs and their eggs. It is the lacewing larvae which are most predatory, and their favourite targets are aphids, whitefly, leafhoppers, mites, mealybugs, scale insects and some moths and caterpillars.
Native to Australia, and now found worldwide, lacewings can be bought from bug suppliers in quantity. It helps to encourage them to stay around by providing a varied diet. For a start, they also like nectar, so grow flowering plants nearby. Have a variety of plants so they get a variety of bugs.
They're more faithful than ladybugs, but the adult lacewings fly around at night, and are attracted to nearby lights.
Ladybugs
Often called Ladybirds or Ladybeetles, ladybugs look just the dearest ladies, waddling along in their pretty spots. But they have a roving eye and will desert you for another. Even if you buy them, don't always expect to find many around when you need them. Green lacewings are a safer buy.
Any faithful ladybugs you have are true beneficial insects and devour aphids, scale, mealybugs and other small soft-bodied insects. They soon clean up the aphids on a plant... if fact you can carefully move ladybugs around your garden if you wish. As long as they are well fed, they will stay true to you.
If a ladybug sees you coming, it will curl up and fall off the edge of the leaf, so hold your hand to catch it. Soon it will stop hiding under its shell and you can place it where you want it — say on a badly infested plant at the other side of the garden.
Ladybug larvae are about 4mm long with similar markings to adults. They are very hungry and not so likely to leave the scene than their parents.
There are many different ladybugs all with their own markings and habits. Not all are red with black spots; they come in yellow with stripes even. There is one variety which attacks the pupae of native ladybugs. Called the Asiatic harlequin ladybird, it has only recently been accidentally introduced into some countries.
Parasite Wasps
These are tiny wasps quite unlike big yellow-striped bullies that sting. Parasitic wasps are divided into many species and the adults feed on nectar and pollen, therefore planting flowers near your vegetables encourages these little winged creatures.
The family of Chalcid wasps include Trichogramma which kill the eggs of the moth species Lepidoptera, such as codling moth and others which turn into ravenous caterpillar pests.
Trichogramma lay their eggs inside the larger eggs of Lepidoptera, then hatch out into larvae and no guesses what they feed on. Instead of a pesky caterpillar emerging from a lepidoptera moth egg, there is an adult Trichogramma wasp, ready to find a mate and start the good cycle again.
Other Chalcid wasps and wasps from the Ichneumon and Braconid family kill many of the pests that eat or suck plants. The likes of the tomato hornworm, cut worm, cabbage worm and cabbage looper, corn earworm and corn borer, cutworm, armyworm, aphids, leaf roller, codling moth and various other caterpillars and grubs, all fall prey to parasitic wasps.
As well as invading the eggs of their host, parasitic wasps can also inject their eggs into live hosts, usually a caterpillar or pest worm. Still other wasps lay their minute white eggs on the outside of a pest. The eggs turn into larvae and burrow and pupate inside the host or form a cocoon on the outside.
Trichogramma and a few of the other wasps can be usually be bought and posted to you from suppliers.
Slaters
Talk about community living, their abundance knows no bounds. Slaters, also known as woodlice, sowbugs or pill bugs, generally ignore green plants, preferring decayed damp material. They are sensitive to hot, dry conditions and will die of dehydration if exposed too long, especially in their young moulting stages.
Slaters are beneficial insects in that they help breakdown organic matter, but if there is a population explosion, they have been known to dine on ripe, soft fruits touching the soil, such as strawberries, and very occasionally plant roots, and even young growth shoots.
Control slaters by keeping areas where you don't want them well swept, dry and free of any organic material.
Slugs
Slimy, slippery slugs (... like politicians), seem to create havoc where ever they go, but some praise must go to them (like some politicians).
They are stars in your compost; in fact they help with any rotting vegetation anywhere. Interestingly, they will also break down animal fat – if you put that in your compost. The smallest slugs are the worst for fresh green leaves, but the adults prefer rotten old stuff which they nicely turn in compost.
Spiders
It would be rare to find anyone that holds spiders in deep affection... more like fear and loathing. Respect would be the best way to look at spiders and avoid them if you can but benefit from their predatory insect feasting in your garden and house.
Their value as natural pest control providers is mammoth and calculations have shown unbelievable amounts of insects are trapped and killed by spiders. Along with birds, spiders are the main controllers of cicadas which damage plants where they lay eggs and suck tree roots when in their nymph stage underground.
By attracting beneficial garden insects and encouraging wildlife, it means these helpful bugs and creatures multiply

animal power

2010-07-15T10:29:00.015+02:00

Moving towards one of our GOALS!!
Preparations for animal draft power at forestvale.

our worm farm

2010-07-15T09:09:00.005+02:00

We acquired a worm farm!!

Vermicompost is the practice of using worms to turn organic waste into nutrient-laden fertilizer. It is nutritionally more beneficial than plant compost due to the addition of worm excrement, called worm casting.

Vermicomposting is less labor-intensive than traditional plant composting because the worms do almost all of the work. All compost mixes microorganisms, organic matter and nutrients.Worm castings hold beneficial microorganisms longer then traditional compost. Worms can eat up to half of their body weight per day and--under optimal conditions--reproduce quickly, making vermiculture a self-sustaining business. Plus, worms are fun to watch for both kids and

In the United Kingdom, worms are used for vermification, or treating sewage. Unlike traditional sewage treatment plants, worms do not produce biohazardous waste products and save money. Worms studied by Dr. Rajiv Sinha in India and Australia have been shown to remove heavy metals from soil, which he termed vermiremediation.

Besides housing beneficial microorganisms, worm castings protect your plants. Root diseases are reduced; due to the diversity of organisms present, none of them become populous enough to cause damage.

Our worm farm comes in form of three tiered black plastic bins

The middle bin is lined with chicken wire and shredded paper, and a layer of organic waste.The bottom bin is mainly for collecting the "worm wee" and a tape is fitted to it for easy collection of the liquid.we use the top bin when harvesting the "castings" and it also works as a cover for the middle bin with the worms.

We are feeding them most of the kitchen waste except onions,citrus fruits,tomatoes and chillies.We had recently started to add fresh cow dung as their feed(advised by Nolitha skenjana-Duhne agric research centre Entomologist)

we add 2lt of water 3 times per week into the bin which collects into the bottom of the bin and harvested as "worm wee"-great liquid fertilizer!.We then dillute it to the colour of weak tea and water it to our plants directly.

We are looking forward to have one of the best wormery/vermiculture in the country.

2010-06-18T23:43:00.004+02:00

The possible role of Moringa oleifera in HIV/AIDS supportive treatment.
Burger DJ, Fuglie L, Herzig JW; International Conference on AIDS. Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. F12423.
University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Aims: To present Moringa powder supplementation as an immune stimulant for HIV+ people, particularly those who cannot afford good nutrition and medicines in Africa. Introduction: 70% of all HIV positive people live in sub-Saharan Africa where malnutrition is rife. The collapse of the immune system in an HIV+ individual results in the symptoms of AIDS. It is known that certain elements and vitamins (For example Vit C,E,A elements Zinc, Iron ) can stimulate the immune system and thereby improve the health and lifestyle of an individual for many years. ISSUE: Dried leaf powder from the Moringa oleifera is an excellent nutrient source and can easily supplement basic food intake of African people. Moringa is exceptionally rich in Vit A/[beta] carotene, Vit C, E and key elements including selenium, but also contains almost a full RDA of other nutrients required for a healthy lifestyle. Literature reports support a synergism between Nutrition Acquired Immunodeficiency and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. This suggests that enhanced nutrition (such as that which can be achieved via Moringa) could benefit a person with AIDS. The effects of Moringa powder supplementation are currently under investigation in a phase 1 clinical trial of HIV patients at the Medical Faculty, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. RECOMMENDATION: Moringa dry leaf powder may be a valuable nutrient for the poor communities of Africa by boosting the immune system to fight infections and thereby enhancing the well-being of HIV+ persons.Publication Types:
Meeting AbstractsKeywords:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Africa
Africa South of the Sahara
HIV
HIV Infections
HIV Seropositivity
Health
Health Planning Guidelines
Humans
Infection
Moringa oleifera
Nutrition Disorders
Nutrition Physiology
Poverty
South Africa
therapy Other ID:
GWAIDS0014663UI: 102252161
From Meeting Abstract

castration

2010-06-12T15:48:00.004+02:00

we castrated the our 2 little bulls using ring rubber method

volunteer programme at Forestvale

2010-06-08T22:47:00.002+02:00

comming soon!

forestvale photo update

2010-06-01T23:49:00.009+02:00

below is 1)silage making from sweet sorgum,roots are cut off and the stock chopped and ensiliged..2)at home making bamboo step ladder ..3)Forthare university,serious in animal traction.4)Tarirai and Farmers weekly photo journalist Greg at Miles' Brahman show in kei mouth.5)open polunated varieties of maize and beans that have a record yield in mexico.

ecological benefits of Bats

2010-05-15T15:58:00.005+02:00

there is growing evidence that bats play vitally important ecological roles which may also have significant economic benefits.Bats are the major predators of night flying insects Co-operative Extension Farm adviser from the university of California,Rachel Long found that agricultural pest featured prominently in the diet of Bats.In another study done by Long,reported in the new scientific magazine,California, pear farmers suffered crop losses of less than 5% dew corn ear moth when a bat colony was situated 2km away,crop losses of 60% were reported when the bat colony was located 4km away in other words the presence of sufficient Numbers of bats reduced crop damage by 55%.closer to home South Africa's largest colony of 300 000 bats occupying De Hoop Guano Cave assist farmers in the Bredasdorp area by consuming approx 100 tonnes of insects annually,including many crop pests each growing season, so instead of eradicating bat colonies from farm house farmer are now finding ways of attracting bats to their fields by erecting bat houses.(Bats of southern Africa by John Tylor)
we had also considered keeping bats after experiencing a devastating attack of the Chillo patellas spoted stalk borer.WE had put one Bat house on one of our northwest facing walls and we are expecting bats to roost in it soon.

NGUNI Power

2010-05-15T14:51:00.006+02:00

our nguni cattle
As one of our main objectives is to create sustainability through use of renewable resources that are friendly to the environment,we had acquired a multipurpose Nguni cattle.We are looking forward to use the cattle for ploughing(ox-ploughing),manure production,milk and beef production.Our herd of 5 consist of 2 pure Nguni bullocks and 3 Nguni-cross Holstein-friesland heifers.
We are now getting manure conveniently for the garden,fields and for composting.However this had added some weight on our workload.the general organic practice is that the kraal must be always with bedding(dip litter). the bedding usually made of straw or grass is used mainly to absorb urine and to keep animals warm in winter.My current observation showed me that this is also a way of getting an excellent nitrogen rich well trashed mulch and compost matter as long as you constantly replace it before decaying and oxidation.
We are currently grazing the cattle allaround the farm while working on ways to put a better grazing system, we therefore welcome any sugestions on grazing and feeding.We are also feeding them stalkborer affected sweet-sorghum using cut and carry method.

is it being backwards?

2010-05-09T15:27:00.005+02:00

our aim is to resacitate this system and add some more production ingredients that are ecologically compatable!!.we aren't backwards but we are extremely frontward coz we had already discovered the wall that morden chemical and mechanical farming is going to bang on.We had turned and the majority is still going.whats wrong with this old tradition?

Settling patterns may differ, for example , most Bantu, stretching from the Cape to Kenya, do not settle in large compounds. Each family settles within reach of a communal water supply such as a river. So individually family housing units may be quite widely spread but always close to water and the communal grazing which obviously also needs to be close to water. All the other requirements as illustrated in the video are present. The grazing is communal but each individuals cattle are kraaled in the sacred family kraal at the homestead and are not communally owned. The manure collected from the overnighting of cattle is collected at the beginning of each planting season and spread on the arable lands. One bovine provides sufficient manure for one acre.
In many areas the grain is stored under the kraal. Heavy ammonia from the urine filters through the soil into the sealed store. No chemicals are needed to control pests or fungi.
Each arable land is close to the family home and once more is not communally owned. The system does not allow for "beef production" so no individual or family may own more cattle than is required for plowing and transport, family milk and meat and rituals. The arable lands are to supply food, beer and medicine for the family and not for commercial crops such as cotton etc.
Whenever work is required to be done which an individual family cannot cope with, the burden of seasonal work is shared by the members of the community. For example it is usual for careful hand cultivation with a hoe, to be shared with the community. Hand cultivation is necessary because intercropping is the usual practice. The community will circulate from from arable land to arable land until each family's fields have been completed. This requires some careful planning by the women, who brew the traditional umqomboti or doro, (sorghum beer) which is an essential part of the system. This takes seven days to ferment so requires some joint planning by all the families so that there is no overlapping. This 'nhimbe system' of communal help is an important part of communal living. The building of a new cattle kraal or the building of a new house requiring help for the collection of thatching grass, mud and manure for the walls and floor, is shared. Ritual beer is essential to bless the labour and the project.
Rather than buying or bartering, the ubique communal spirit of 'ubuntu' is illustrated by the borrowing of a broody hen from one person and the borrowing of a dozen eggs from another. When the eggs have hatched, the hen is kept with the chicks until she lays a dozen eggs. By this the chicks can look after themselves. The hen is returned to the owner and so are the twelve eggs. The owner of the new eggs has now acquired some genetic diversity for his flock.

In a modern agro-ecological system, using this already perfect system as the foundation, the addition of a biodigester might require some thought as to storing the effluent from the digester in an efficient manner, not to upset the tradition of spreading the manure at planting time.

stalk borers attacking our sorghum

2010-02-21T13:14:00.007+02:00

We are suspecting that the worm pictured above that had invaded our sorghum field is a member of the stalk borer family.The borer is found always inside the stalk and only one per plant.We are currently thinning out all the affected plants destroying them, hoping that this is the second flight and therefore second generation of the season and the crop have great chance to servive after this,However we are still waiting for experts to advise.

Sorghum is suitable for low rainfall areas

2010-02-21T12:18:00.006+02:00

We had clearly seen that sorghum does very well at forestvale farm and probably in most areas around the wild coast region of earstern cape.Despite the eratic insufficient rainfall that we had recieved this season our sweet sorghum is showing no signs of moisture stress.If an ecological solution can be found to reduce damages by Stalk borer and Quellia birds this can be one of the most profitable crop to grow in our area. The crop is evergreen except during midday.We are looking forward to have a good harvest and this will help to shape our rural sustainable development model.The goal is to show the local community how sustainably they can earn a living from sugar,biofuel,beverages(wine),cattle feed etc through the use of their seemingly unproductive land for sorgum production.

We are expecting more local small scale farmers to also join and grow this sweet sorghum so that it can be economically viable,have a planned effective production and distribution system that is effective local production,effective value addition proccess,effective disribution of finished products and effective fair wealth building of the community.

We planted Sweet Sorghum

2010-02-21T11:11:00.005+02:00

We had planted a sweet sorghum variety called sugargraze on our ridged piece of land.
This is going to serve as a trial in sorghum production for silage,sugar,ethanol,grazing,traditional beer brewing among other uses in the community.
The seed was treated and according to organic principles we had to wash it before we plant that also gave the seed chance to sprout and enhanced germination.On the 26 of December the seeds were planted.

The big benefit of growing sweet sorghum is that it has high sugar content.
According to Pacific Seeds a registered seed house sugar-graze had tested 35% sugar on drymatter.
Its sugar content increases as it matures with high levels occuring after flowering and during the seed set stege- this is when it should be cut for silage.
key features
1)very high dry matter production
2)very high sugar leves
3)drought resistance
4)wide range of disease resistance.

the miracle tree

2010-02-13T09:05:00.005+02:00

Check it out we are going to have Moringa tree seedlings ready by end of March.Moringa the world's most nutritious tree had joined the list of medicinal herbs at Forestvale Farm.The seeds had been collected from a certain part of ZIMBABWE with ralatively the same environmental conditions as Eastern Cape and so its expected to florish.the Moringa oliefera spp originated from India and had a variety of uses

Its a family field day!

2009-12-26T21:01:00.006+02:00

its a family field day.

forestvale tick-eating dog!!

2009-12-26T19:22:00.007+02:00

our dog is somehow permanantly disabled, it can't open its mouth despite several attempts to get experts to help.Tessa's jaws are locked how and why we dont know,only what we know is She has a strange behaviour that goes along with her strange deformity.Tessa understands the logic of ecological interdependence more than most five sensed people.
whenever the Horse comes close to her she moved herself carefully under its belly and with great care tries hard with her lips and front teeth to get every present tick into her mouth.The horse has nothing to worry about as it had discoverd that Tessa can't bite and after all the scretching of her belly and thighs is the best massege and leisure a horse can get on earth.
Vet doctors have advised not to breed Tessa becouse of her deformities and her unclear pedgree but how about having a generation of nonbiting tick eating dogs on organic farms.

we have uninformed,noncommited hence ineffective youth

2009-12-26T18:11:00.008+02:00

youths are not only leaders of tommorow but are the next generation of Earth castodians therefore I feel that they must be fully equiped and be highly paticipative in enviromental turnaround strategies.Thanks to the farmers weekly magazine for publishing my article on Novermber 20.

To The editor

From Tarirai MPOFU

editor I am much concerned about the young south africans living in farms or farm compounds.once upon a time I asked a 30 year old guy what he likes for breakfast he joyously answered 'porridge with peanut butter', when again I asked him how about planting some groundnuts in his back yard , he annoyedly answered with a question 'what are groundnuts?'.again one weekend of september ,I [qualified agric extension officer] spent the whole day cleaning and sorting a fowlrun for a 27 year old lady who had requisted my technical help during my off duty but could't make it outside her bedroom because she was very bussy with her unemployed boyfriend and secrificed to let me withdraw my free technical support .On satuday 24 october I bumped ito a meeting for youth called by a church organisation at old bylets school in cintsa, the attendace was pretty disgracefull.Just imagine a meeting called by a church which has a vision to freely equip about 300 youths with technical skills nevertheless only 7 including myself were the only youth the paster preached to ,other 9 or 10 were white haired chaps.What a shame youth, you are school drop outs ,you are poor,you are unskilled you are compound dwellers you are immature fathers and mothers but you are keen to let oppotunities slid away from your hands so crazyly.what can any one do for you then?

hands on!

2009-12-19T09:55:00.001+02:00

MARK MAKING FINAL TOUCHES BEFORE THE TRACTOR.WHEN LABOUR IS EXPENSIVE AND UNAVAILABLE PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE JOB!.

hill plouging and rain water harvesting techniq

2009-12-19T09:28:00.001+02:00

for maxmum rain water harvesting and soil water conservation in hilly land one can consider the method below.on a slope that decrease 1 in every 4,5 we had decided an managed to produce a contour-farrow like surface throughout the whole field.these closely packed ridges will stop runoff,maxmise infiltration,reduce erosion and enhance easy root penetration.we are still modifying the idea and comments and suggestions are wellcome.crops will planted just on the slope othe ridge and the cover crop may also occupy the flat surface between the ridge.

Other members of the garden

2009-12-07T21:12:00.001+02:00

these natches trees are now enjoying being part the garden as they are benefiting from vegetable irrigation.

its also beautful

2009-12-04T00:29:00.001+02:00

not only do we get vegetables from this garden but we are now also spending time just appriciating its beauty.nature is wonderful,organic gardens are pretty and everything becomes attractive!

old men are careful

2009-12-04T00:18:00.001+02:00

under intensive farming there is no room for mistake, the best way is to work with old guys who are careful and often enjoys nature much more than youths.below is Seps whose help is valuable in this garden.

Double-Digging Pays

2009-12-04T00:10:00.000+02:00

the leaf of this mastard is 55cm long and over 30cm wide,amazing growth on these raised,doubledug beds.

how I had transformed it!

2009-12-03T23:56:00.000+02:00

BEFORE(ON TOP)

NOW(BELOW)

together we can learn and do more!

2009-12-03T23:45:00.000+02:00

cooperation,exchange of information and research are some of my values to this project.I therefore interact as much as I can with other Organic and sustanable practitioners.Obove is sally and Jeylen with me in a drip irrigated garden in cinsta west.

other oganic projects nearby

2009-12-03T23:37:00.000+02:00

A neatly established organic veg garden that I visited today in cinsta west

conservation

2009-11-04T00:12:00.000+02:00

WE HAD THIS WEEK BEEN WORKING ON WAYS OF CONSERVING OUR SOIL AND WATER. 6 COUNTOURS HAD BEEN PEGED ON A 1,2H FIELD AND WE ARE STILL WORKING ON THE BEST WAYS TO INCOPERATE OTHER CONSERVATION MEASURES TO ACHIEVE OUR ULTIMATE GOAL OF HOLISTIC SUSTANABLE PRODUCTION .POTATOES ARE PLANNED TO BE THIS YEAR'S MAIN CROP.THE AVERAGE MEASURENMENT OF OUR CONTOUR IS ABOUT 1,2M BASE WIDTH ,45CM RIDGE HIEGHT AND 1M RIDGE BASE WIDTH.
THE CONTOURS THEMSELVES ARE SPACED ABOUT 15M APART AS WE WANT TO HARVEST AS MUCH WATER AS POSSIBLE.THE PLOTS ARE AS WELL DIVIDED INTO 2 POTIONS ONE WILL SERVE AS MINIMUM OR ZERO TILLAGE PLOT AND THE OTHR AS A CONVERCTIONAL TILLAGE PLOT.NO TRACTOR DRAWN EMPLEMENTS WILL BE USED IN THE ZERO TILLAGE PLOT AND THE SOIL WILL BE KEPT FREE FROM COMPACTION THEN THE YIELD RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED.CONTOURS ARE WIDELY USED AS A RAIN WATER HARVESTING AND SOIL CONSERVATION TECHNIQUE.

2009-10-29T16:46:00.000+02:00

In the kitchen
we always make it a point that our garden produce makes part of almost every meal.Our kitchen is accessable to every member or worker and needs are kindly addressed.The house keeper is one of the very responsible individuals who keeps her time and always do her tasks perfectly .however we are still improving our kitchen facilities to meet our plan for maximum accomodation by trainees,this includes renovations and installing state of the art gardgets that each visitor would enjoy.We also have serious examinations and rules on food bought or brought in 'to make sure our Organic guidlines are kept intact.For those who are married to salads this is a place to be ,were you can find a variety of it everyday.

PREFACE

2009-10-18T02:40:00.000+02:00

PREFACE
As an Agricutural extention officer trained in zimbabwe at Gwebi College of Agriculture ,were I also worked for 2 years in the department of A griculture.My experiance have shown me that more has to be done for rural farming to develop, apart from government's specialised extention services--holistic resourse management is a missing link.We have to understand the WHOLE ecosystem in wich every thing is taking place for us to achieve sustanable farming.nothing can work were nuture is provocked.At forestvale farm we are initiating a workable example of this wholesome,holistic or ecological faming which is designed to provide solution to modern day small farmer's problem naturally.Follow us as we go.

The first sale

2009-10-17T18:17:00.000+02:00

Our first batch of organic Spinach were marketed on 14 0ctcber 2009 and were highly complemented by customers.Members of the community are also showing interest by purchasing single bundles @R5,00 each.The demand is very high that we had already started extending the garden ,this is also dew to even higher demand expected in the forth coming festive season let alone the world football show case next year.Our earning from spinach alone so far is +_R100,00 per week .I (Tarirai) expect the garden to produce about R500, per week by January 2010.However we still working on how we can create a cost effective distribution system araund the local retailers as the aim is to provide the community healthy vegs

Organic Certification

2009-10-13T21:32:00.001+02:00

Today BCODA Organic Certifier Gary Atherstone visited the farm to assess the fields and gardens for Organic Certification. This process will cost R2500 per year and the expense could be reduced if certification is applied for as a cooperative.
Gary also mentioned that the cost to properly fence and install irrigation for two ha of organic gardens was about R100,000.