Bananas, Chickens and Purses

This spring brings some really big news….we have Maize, Chickens, and Bananas!!! Here is an update from Board Member David Derr. For those of you who are new to the project - the farm is just 20 minutes away from Ngombe Compound - and the mission of the farm is to provide food for the hungry children of the Needs Care School.

Chickens: As you can see from the picture below, our first batch of chickens (about 400) are now being carefully cared for by Nicholas and his team on the farm. This is part of our dream come true as we have been considering doing a chicken project for a while now. And thanks to some generous contributions which arrived at the end of 2018, we have now been able to move ahead. Yay!

For some of you this may seem like a small thing, but actually it is a really big deal. Raising large quantities of chickens safely and properly takes quite a bit of knowledge and experience. Working with this first batch of chickens has already been a fantastic learning experience for our farm team and it really does represent a significant step forward with our operations. These are meat chickens (not layers) and the plan is that some of the chickens, once they are fully grown, will be given to families associated with the Ngombe Needs Care center while others will be sold in the market to raise funds for the farm. 

Maize Corn: In addition to the chicken project, the most recent planting of maize (corn) is coming up really well (picture below) and we are expecting an excellent harvest a little later in the growing season. 

Bananas: We have the new banana trees planted! This is exciting because they will begin to bare fruit quickly. Plus they'll produce a huge amount for the children at the school. The new trees look pretty bad right now, but they are alive and in the Zambian climate, they will thrive. 

Pray For Us & Join Us In The Effort: Overall, we are very pleased with how things are progressing and developing on the farm. Our journey to sustainability continues and we have now moved several steps closer to taking full advantage of the land and resources we have been given. Thank you again for your prayers and support which are helping to make all of this possible.

If you'd like to learn more about giving financially to support the farm, visit this page.

Blessings to you all,

David Derr