Love's Harvest 2010
Helping the rural poor of Malawi grow the food they need on their own land.
Our day began with a teeming rainstorm and worship at St. Mark’s parish in Mzuzu. We left immediately after church to drive north to Karonga, the site of St. Anne’s in the Fields Permaculture Garden project. As we drove, the skies cleared and after about two and a half hours, Lake Malawi appeared before us in all its splendor. We arrived in Karonga at about 1:30 pm to be greeted by the priest for St. Ambrose Parish, Fr. Leslie Mtekateka. He journeyed with us out to the outstation at Kasowa, where the Mothers’ Union ladies, the men of the parish and all the children welcomed us with singing and dancing.
From that moment on, we were on cloud nine, as Pastor Joseph aptly put it. John Kania and Kate Malin brought greetings from St. Anne’s to St. Ambrose’s, with several small gifts and pictures of the parish and Sunday School. The children were particularly delighted to see photos of St. Anne’s kids. We met the leaders of the project, men as well as women, and then walked to see the demonstration garden and four of the kitchen gardens. Pastor Joseph offered encouragement and teaching, praising the women for their creativity and diligence in implementing Permaculture. He spoke of the next phase of the program, which is valuing the product of each garden in order to monitor success.
The Love’s Harvest team could not have been more pleased with the work at Karonga thus far. Animal husbandry begins in August with goats, and the villagers have already prepared the kholas (goat houses) in anticipation of their arrival. We returned for a dinner prepared for us by the women, prayed together, and Kate blessed the community and the program. We concluded the day grateful to God for the joy and grace we experienced in Karonga.
