Love's Harvest 2010
Helping the rural poor of Malawi grow the food they need on their own land.
Our day began with a 6:00 am departure from Lilongwe to visit our two new Love’s Harvest “One Village at a Time” projects in Mfula and Embangweni. We drove off the main road for many hours, and at Embangweni we finally had to abandon the car and walk. Leaders at both villages have done very well with the first steps of Permaculture, both at their demonstration gardens and at individual women’s kitchen gardens. They still have work to do to leave conventional farming behind and implement Permaculture, but great creativity, energy and enthusiasm was everywhere on display.
At both villages, Pastor Joseph taught, cajoled and encouraged the women and men who had worked so hard at this first phase. We enjoyed the camaraderie of the team from the Northern Diocese as well as the warmth and hospitality of members of both villages, the local chiefs and priest. It was a fourteen hour day with a lot of dust and a lot of driving but that is nothing compared with the lush and growing gardens, the dedication of the Mothers’ Union leaders and the determination on the faces of fledgling Permaculturalists. Tomorrow is church and then even farther north to Karonga, site of St. Anne’s Mother’s Day garden.
