In some parts of the world especially Canadian, most people think of chili peppers as something they might have one or two with a spicy dish. In Sierra Leone, however, a meal is not complete without a whole handful chopped up into the sauce. In a tropical country where you wouldn’t think people needed to sweat any more, people like their food hot! Needless to say, there is a high demand for this fiery spice in the country.
Gbongbonto is a scenic village that is set up high in the hills in Diang Chiefdom, Koinadugu District, in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. In this settlement, people are engaged in subsistence farming but also do some small gold mining. Owing to their geographical location however, they have no “swamps” that they can farm in the dry season and therefore only plant rice during the rains.
Meanwhile, when The Family Farm project, in partnership with the Christian Reformed Church of Sierra Leone, decided to help this community grow a crop during the dry season, everyone agreed that pepper would be a good one to plant. It would grow well in the soil and would have a good price when it was ready, early in the rainy season when it is scarce.
With one motorized pump, a few days of land preparation (and perspiration), and the transplanting of over 2200 pepper seedlings, the farmers are looking forward to a bumper harvest in two months that will help pay their kids’ school fees, provide nutrition for the family and support their other farming activities. Proceeds will also support their CRC Church and activities they want to undertake. As a result of their faith and hard work, the people of Gbongbonto and those in the other communities where The Family Farm Project is operating, can always look forward to miracles and a nice spicy sauce!
For more information on the Christian Reformed Church Family Farm Project in Sierra Leone, please contact Travis Wilkins at traviswilkins@gmail.com
Below are pictures of a cross section of Benificiaries of the Family Farm Project in Sierra Leone.
Compiled and Published by:
MAIBOCK MARAH
The IT and Communication Officer for SIT & CES
No comments:
Post a Comment