Key people: Peter Chomba, Judas Chomba, Brown Bobo
The orphans program still continues but as pupils finish school the funds are being decreased. There are now 45 orphans remaining on the program, all at secondary school in Grade 10 to 12.
There have been two more orphans that have completed Grade 12 who have had excellent results. This has meant that they have achieved a government scholarship to go to higher education. Alex Pendu is now studying in Kitwe to be a doctor, and Paul Kunda has also gone to study. This means four orphans from Chaba have achieved a government scholarship in total - a great testament to the Chaba education program and the schools in the area!
The milling season is about to start and Brown is heading to Lusaka to buy replacement rollers for the machine. It is still working well, and with good quality rice they are able to produce a good product.
They are charging 2 kwacha per gallon to mill the rice. Brown Bobo is the only one who works in the milling, and just part time, as they don’t want to pay for a labour unit at this stage.
Rice:
They have 65 members who have been trained. This year the rains have not been so good, meaning those who planted rice deeper in the swamps have had a good result but those who planted shallow have not had a good harvest.
The agricultural teacher who comes to teach is still trying to get them some better quality seed called Supa. This gives larger kernels and a higher yield.
A number of the trainees have been taking micro-loans but then not following the methods taught, i.e. the method of planting a nursery and then transplanting is what is being taught as the best method, rather than just hoeing ground and then scattering seed. Those that use a nursery and transplant have the advantage of being able to plant seed very early and water, meaning the plants are well established when planted into the field giving them a better yield. Also the spacing of the plants is correct.
We discussed that the trainees need to be “serious” and that no loan should be given unless they commit to planting with the new method.
Maize:
They have now trained 75 people in maize. The yields this year are likely to be less than the previous year due to lack of rain. They will supply the figures in the next month after harvest is completed.
Cassava:
Last year they purchased some new variety plant material from Kaishe Skills Training Centre (ZAM14c). They gave 10 people the new sticks and had a training seminar from the local Government Agricultural Officer. The method basically is to plant in flat ground and space 1m apart.
They have been amazed at the growth of these sticks, being planted in December and six months later they are overhead height and have already developed large tubers (new variety on right, traditional on left - big difference!). They are saying that if this program can be expanded there will be no more hunger in Chaba.
The original 10 trainees will give back stick seeds after harvest that will allow another 20 trainees for the next season.
Business Micro-LoansFor all the business and farming loans there is still 100% repayment of the loans.
In 2015 there are 22 people on the loan program, with some of the interest (20%) earned on the funds being used to increase the number by two extra people. The loan officer (Judas) takes half the interest as a fee for managing the program.
They have requested another 10 business loans for 1,000 kwacha each (US$130).
The original amount given in 2012 of 3,000 kwacha (US$400) was going to be used to transport agricultural inputs from Luwingue (60km away) and supply to the farmers as there is no supply shop in Chaba.
They have still been trading fish and other goods to increase the funds to enable them to purchase a truck load and put up a small shelter to sell the goods. Looking at the accounts they have managed to save 2,500 kwacha (US$330) into the Samfya bank account, to help fund Judas Chipulou (see Personal Stories).
They are in the process of wanting to build the small stand and have enough funds saved to purchase some iron sheets and cement.
Judas was one of the first orphans on the Chaba program in 2007. Since then he has graduated Grade 12 and had good enough marks to be accepted into teachers college in Kitwe. Before going to teachers college he attended Samfya Bible School in 2013. He had enough funds to put himself into teachers college in 2014 but then ran out of funds for the second year.
CCCG decided to help him out by paying for his fees in 2015, a cost of 2,000 kwacha (US$260) that they had saved from the supply shop funds.
He wants to do teaching because he sees it as his spiritual gift. He is studying to be a primary school teacher (it was too competitive to get into the secondary school teaching program). Once he is qualified in primary school teaching he wants to upgrade to secondary level by distance learning.
He is currently on placement, which means working at a school for four months. He chose to come back to Chaba and is teaching a Grade 4 class. To be a good teacher he says you have to be friendly and kind to the students. There are 84 pupils in his class.
After the school lessons finish he has been giving extra lessons to many pupils in the area for free. Normally teachers charge a lot for this service but he says, "well I was helped in my education so I can now help others."
We asked him if he eventually would want to move back to Chaba, he said “well what can I say, this place is my home”.
Chisembe means “Big Axe”! Theresa is a widow who has three children. All of them are in school, aged 17, 15 and 11. For her family support she is farming, mainly rice and cassava.
She was trained in growing rice on the CCCG program in 2013, where they taught her about planting a nursery then transplanting. She says the benefits of this method are that you can plant the seed early and water it in the nursery, plus she adds some D compound fertilizer to just the small area of the nursery. Then when the plants are ready she can plant out at the correct spacing. She has seen that this gives her a head start as the people using the traditional methods only sow seed at that time, meaning her plants are well established.
The rice she gets from the new method is much better quality, giving very big and consistent kernels. Last year she had a problem with “cut worm” which she thinks reduced her crop by 50% but she still managed to get 8 bags from a lima. The family will consume about three bags themselves and sell the rest of the rice for around 100 kwacha (US$16).
She is thankful for this program saying it is very good and has helped her feed the family and send the children to school.
Joseph has a family of 10 living with him, including some of his grandchildren. He was trained in maize farming in 2014 and is very thankful for the program.
Before training he used to grow maize and get 7 bags per lima but since being trained and encouraged by CCCG visits, last season he got 60 bags from 2 limas. This year the rains have not been so good but he still expects to have a bigger harvest due a better understanding of the methods.
He really likes the new methods although the one big challenge he has is to find enough manure for his compost. He shows good knowledge of the methods, having planted from 15th November (on time), using the correct amount of Urea fertilizer 2 applications of 1 bottle cap (at standard), keeping his field weed free by weeding 4 times (no waste), and his joy is complete because he says the family have more food and are not going hungry!
They ate 15 bags of maize and sold 45 to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) for 70 kwacha (US$10) each.
His one request is that the CCCG extend the cassava growing program which he has seen.
I'm not entirely sure if this is a great thing but people are suggesting to Peter Chomba that he should be running for MP of the area. However it does show the respect the people are giving to this partnership.
Chaba is interested in using the services of Samfya Bible School Church Extension Program, where they come for one weekend per month for two years to train leaders in the churches. Peter Chomba is one of the teachers at the Bible school who does this training, and Judas Bobo has completed a full year course at the Bible school. They are to continue discussing this and figure out how in the future this may work. They may be able to run it themselves in some way with input from the Bible college.
It was great to see these guys again and to see they are still having a large impact on the small scale farmers. They are wanting to train another 60 people in maize, rice and cassava this year. We discussed that they may need to look at the capacity of the trainers to follow up so many people and to visit the fields, but they say they will be ok. However in the future they may need more than just the two that are doing this.
The micro-loan fund for farming is working more like a revolving credit facility for the loanees, i.e. as long as they pay it back they know they can get another loan for the same amount for the next growing season's inputs. In the future they may look at trying to phase out some people but set them up with a saving scheme.