Breaking away from handouts
Farmers training farmers
Like many farmers in East Africa, Mesele Madebo struggled to grow enough to feed his family.
But after he adopted farming practices he learned from one of our local church partners, his life was transformed. He was so excited and wanted to tell all of his neighbours, so he volunteered to be a local animator!
Animators are a group of local farmers who train other farmers in conservation agriculture. As a local animator, Mesele has taught over one hundred and twenty other farmers in his community about how to grow more food. His success lies in partnering with local churches who often allow Mesele to set up small model farm plots on their properties.
“I teach in local churches after the Sunday worship program,” Mesele says. “Now when people come to church, not only do their spiritual bellies get full, their physical bellies do too.”
The community impact goes far beyond the official training. Many farmers, after seeing the change in their neighbour’s crops, become curious and ask them how it happened.
That is exactly what happened for Esaya Kenfero. He saw that his neighbour’s crops were thriving while his were dying, and asked his neighbour why. His neighbour told him about conservation agriculture, and Esaya decided to try it out for himself.
Esaya is what we call a “spontaneous adopter,” and now his crops are thriving too!
We believe that all people have been equipped with God-given abilities. When unlocked, there is no end to the transformation possible.
