Report on BHW Partners' Foundations for Farming Workshop in Conjunction with GLO Zambia 24th Feb - 2nd March 

Key Person: Edwin Chama

Training Workshop

The training took five days and there were 20 participants in total. 14 farmers were financially sponsored by Bright Hope World from different parts of Zambia and six were mobilised by GLO Zambia. During this period, the participants learnt the following topics:

DAY 1:

- Let’s talk introduction game; Important lessons learnt were communication, networking, unity etc.

- Stewardship concept; They learnt stewardship from a biblical point of view. Personal life, social, good use of natural resources and leaving a good legacy were the matters emphasised.

- Problem defined

- Implementation management; The four biblical management principles of On time, At standard, Without wastage, and With joy were the centre of teaching and learning in this topic.

- The heart of Foundations for Farming (FfF); The lesson was presented basically to inculcate the sense of looking after the poor people with what God has blessed us. The lesson was anchored on Isaiah 58v1 to be a well-watered garden, we need to make a plan for the poor people. Participants were challenged and provoked on the affairs of poor people and how to take care of them as the Lord demands according to Isaiah 58 and also the blessings that are coming by obeying Gods' word.

DAY 2:

- Creation picture; farmers learnt about the creation picture as shown in the photo. They learnt the importance of both understanding what God does in nature and why farmers should copy from nature. The natural forest is the perfect example of mixed farming so farmers practicing FfF should embrace mixed farming and help their soil regenerate by allowing organic matter to cover and rot on top of the soil.

- Folly of ploughing; basically the participants learnt about the disadvantages of conventional farming and its negative impact on climate, crops, etc. Besides this, they also learnt about the advantages, importance, and urgent need to start practicing conservation farming on their farms.

- Demonstrations / Run off demonstrations; The importance of mulch was clearly demonstrated in the run-off splash pan demonstrations and the effect of soil erosion if they continue not to cover their farms.

- Land preparation videos & practicals; The land preparation lesson was presented both as theory and practical. Farmers learnt how to select land, observing the land, the type of soil, grasses, trees etc and to consider all these factors when preparing the land. I also taught them how to measure the field based on the standard principle.

- Syntropic farming

DAY 3:

- Green manures
- Compost theory
- Compost making practical

The farmers learnt how to make their own organic fertilizers from materials regarded as dirt and useless like dead leaves, grasses, and chicken manure. Compost and green manure cover crops were the centre of learning as shown in the photos. 

DAY 4:

- Dawn Trust trip
- Vegetable production videos

As well as learning at GLO Zambia, I took the participants on a field trip to better appreciate the knowledge they had learnt. We visited another NGO called Dawn Trust as shown in the pictures below. The students learnt more on various topics, ideas and innovations in farming at Dawn Trust including how to plant and manage citrus trees, crop rotation, and the effects of late planting.

DAY 5:

- Vegetable production practical
- Demo plots showcasing
- Livestock

Note that every day we had morning devotions and evening prayers. 

Comments

Generally, the seminar was good although one challenge was the limited language of some participants as they can’t fully understand certain words in English which made me to take time to explain in the local language.

Personally, I enjoyed the unity, concentration, and the willingness to learn by the participants and am looking forward to more of similar kinds of community FfF training in the future.

Thank you to Bright Hope World for the financial support and participant mobilization towards this seminar. All the Glory be to our God Almighty for the successful seminar conducted.