The villagers of Sipalo receive education and training through Mugove Walter Nyika and this must be spread throughout Africa. It has enormous potential and can radically improve people’s living conditions.
Participants on the workshop: The village-people and visitors representing Ministry of Finance, the Church, representants from the nearby school and the local representative of Ministry of Agriculture.
In addition the board of Home of Hope Zambia and two representatives from Seed of Hope Internatonal in Sweden.
What Mugove Walter Nyika (SCOPE) teach is partly knowledge they had before, but forgotten in the transmission between the generations.
The idea is that the seeds they already have in the village will be used, but the methods are based on ecological cultivation, permaculture or natural agriculture. The strategy is called “Land Use Design”.
The village went through a baseline survey called LFA workshop (Logical Framework Approach). We ask about living conditions, their problems or challenges and strengths / resources. Based on the information we gather, we create a problem tree. The causes are the roots of the tree and the effects are the branches / foliage / fruits.
We also made a list of the existing kinds of vegetables and fruits in the area. This is baseline for the training.
As you can see on the picture, they have come up with a number of challenges in living in the village. One village-woman presented the results of that group work. They lack water, schools, support, transport, trafficable roads, health clinics, etc. Girls leave school too early to earn money for their families or do housework at home. Some girls get married early – child marriage. Both women and children are exposed to various types of abuse. The men make most decisions and the women complained that they had too little freedom. They want to choose for themselves and participate in decision-making processes both at home and in society.
We designed a problem tree and tried to find out where to begin, as a lot needed to be resolved. Our task is to empower them to help themselves, do it their own way and strengthen them to be the owner of the project.
Through organic farming and permaculture, this is possible. The children and adults will be able to eat healthy and earn enough to support their own family. This means that they will have more profits and energy to present their rights to the authorities. It was quite clear that the authorities had not followed up on their responsibilities in most areas of the village.
Women’s rights are not taken seriously, not all children had equal opportunities for education, – the list is terribly long.
This education is therefore important to gain knowledge about growing organic / permaculture and protect nature. It also raises awareness, changes dysfunctional systems and in the long run contribute to increased health and quality of life.
