Organic Farming

90% of Rwanda's production is in agriculture. 90% of the work force in agriculture are women. 90% of those women are illiterate. One man had a vision to change the way agriculture is done for greater yield and to teach with hands on methods so that everyone can understand. He runs a working organic farm and training center called Gako. A group of us went out to tour the farm. There is a couple from the States who have been here teaching organic gardening to Rwandan government officials, I believe. They came along with us because they were intensely interested in the work being done at Gako and hoped to learn more from it. This couple is putting together a text book of sorts to instruct people in how to make different types of gardens, how to make compost, etc. The book is made of mostly of pictures, showing each step of the process. Richard, the guy in charge of Gako, is excited about these books because of the fact that most of the people being trained and others who would use it are illiterate and pictures are the best way to teach them.
It was incredible to see the work they are doing here. I thought I would let you come along on the tour!


This is what they call a kitchen garden. A person can make one or more of these on a very small plot of land near the kitchen. Crops are planted in levels and they make a hole in the middle of the hill for the compost. That way the good minerals get to every part of the garden. They put their used dish water on the garden.


Here is another space-saving method they use: sack gardening. They put plants on top, as well as sticking them through holes in the sides of the bag.


This is a handmade clay oven where they cook and bake for the students. It's probably also a model that people can copy at their homes. It's so amazing that they can make something like this out of clay that will last a long time, despite the rain and the heat!


Most of the students here are women. Here they are learning how to make compost. They get as excited as the kids over having their picture taken!






I think they dug this well by hand! The picture doesn't really show you the depth of it. There wasn't much water in the bottom, and I'm not sure if it was finished.


We were surprised to see this man in the well! They lowered him down on the bucket rope. Then he would fill the bucket with either water or mud, I'm not sure which, and they would pull it up. It may be that they are still digging and taking
bucketfulls of mud out.


This is part of the vast pineapple fields they are raising. But for all the pineapples they produce, they get very little income from them. I guess they go cheap here because there are so many.


Babe the pig! They have dozens of pigs in all sizes. They also have cows and rabbits. They collect the animal droppings and urine to fertilize the gardens. Nothing is wasted.


Here is a very cool rabbit apartment complex!


This is at a test home a little ways up the road from the farm. It is to demonstrate how the students can put these methods into practice at their own homes. There is a house here where the small children of the students are cared for and the nursing mothers can come and nurse the babies. This picture shows the system for keeping the animals in a small space and collecting their waste. Chickens go on top of the cage unit, rabbits on the bottom. Then the goats are down on the ground. The waste runs down from the top level and it all collects together somewhere at the bottom. They also had demonstration gardens here.
One thing we heard is that even with the excellent training, it is hard for the Rwandans to change the way they have always done things. Many of them do not put all of this into practice at home. It is a slow process. But hopefully they are learning that these methods produce far greater yields and little by little they will embrace them and teach them to others.