0001. COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE PROJECT
This project is located in Kenema District, supplying seeds, tools and training to help families become more self-sufficient. The ultimate goal is to help them move beyond subsistence to surplus. The project has been active in sponsoring food gardens at both family and community level. They have helped to develop innovative cash projects that can provide food to eat and surplus for cash sale.
0002. FOOD GARDEN
This project is sponsoring some 420 individual food gardens in Kenema and several chiefdoms, each designed to support a family of eight. Thats around 3,360 people. The project has established several community gardens designed to support approximately 40 families per plot.
The gardens have been a wonderful success. Not only have many families been able to sell their surplus for profit, but there has also been a " rich harvest " in the lives of the participants. Many have discovered the empowering joy of helping others as they share food, seed, and know-how. The gardens provide a range of fresh fruit and vegetables.
0003. SCHOOL GARDENs
School gardens project has helped to start food gardens at several of the project schools and children's homes. The children and staff eat from the gardens and the students sell the surplus to help cover school fees and other facility costs. Meanwhile, the children learn valuable gardening and business skills.
0004. CASH CROP PROJECTS
Rice is a major staple in West Africa and is a natural target for the people as a first crop project in Sierra Leone. This venture has been a huge success. The " Rice Project" supply families with rice for planting, as well as the necessary tools and technical assistance for cultivation. The harvest from the first crop is used for replanting and for food, and a small portion is returned to the project as payment for the original seed rice. These rice is then provided to another family that needed help, and so on. You could call it a " revolving Rice Fund " .
The farm produce one third of the rice in the community and hundreds of families now have a means of productive livelihood. Thays a lot of rice - and a really good return on the original investment.
The project is now self-funding. They have started a " Cassava project " based on the same successful principles. Cassava is another key food staple and valuable cash crop.
WWOOFers or volunteers are welcome to provide help in these organic farms and sustainable agriculture projects in exchange for food, accommodation and learning experience. Details of further information and hosts contacts can be obtained through WWOOF Sierra Leone. These projects are in a cluster of areas in and around Kenema, the third largest city in Eastern Sierra Leone.
0005. Location: Nongowa
Farm Project: Provides training that equips individuals
to work with communities in developing
sustainable farming techniques – and
community development. Farm produces
organic vegetables, for sale in the market.
Individuals are involved in all aspects of
running a working farm ( planning,
production, research, marketing,etc) We
try as much as possible to utilize
production techniques appropriate to
developing – world settings. They include
composting, cover cropping, biointensive
integrated pest management,etc.
Expected Time to Volunteer: Year round.
Type of work: Volunteers teach to develop skills in sustainable
agricultural production and problem – solving;
develop approaches to community development,
cross-cultural communication, and adult
education; food technology, nutrition and health
issues.
Farm Size: n/a
Volunteer hours: 4 – 6 per day
Farm Employees: 5
Language Spoken: English
Comments: Volunteers who wish to lean the local language will
encouraged to do so.
0006. Location: Dama
Farm Project: Backyard/Community gardening/root crops
cultivation. Rice cultivation, brushing,
cleaning, nursing, and transplanting of
vegetables and direct planting of tubers and
legumes for income generation.
Volunteer Expected Time: Year round
Type of work: Help with brushing, clearing, nursing, planting,
and transplanting of tubers and legumes.
Volunteer Hour: 4-6 per day
Farm Size: n/a
Employees: Family
Language: English
Comments: Volunteers will be encouraged to learn the local
languages if interested.
0007. Location: Tunkia
Farm Project: Planting of fruit trees, looking after farm animals,
(goats, sheeps, pigs, etc), harvesting of groundnuts
(peanuts) and other crops, transplanting of
seedlings, and organizing training programmes
for women and youths.
Volunteer Expected Time: Year round
Farm size: n/a
Employees: 3
Volunteer Hours: 4 – 6
Language spoken: English
Comments: Encouraged to learn local languages if interested.
0008. Location: Nongowa
Project Type: Collection and disposal of solid wastes.
Volunteer Expected Time: All year round
Activities/work: Waste collection and disposal
Employees: Youth groups
Volunteer Hours: 4 – 6
Language spoken: English
Comments: If interested in learning the local languages,
volunteers will be encouraged to do so.
0009. Location: Dama
Farm Project: Underbrushing of plantations, using cutlasses,
machetes, and the felling of trees. Also, the
establishment of equipments for processing and
supplying of seedlings.
Volunteer Expected Time: All year round
Activities/work: Brushing, felling of trees, and help with
processing activities.
Farm size: n/a
Volunteer Hours: 4 – 6
Employees: 3
Language spoken: English, but volunteers who may want to
learn the local languages, are encouraged to
do so.
0010. Location: Dama
Farm Project: IVS development. Survey and construction of
Bonds and canals to cultivate swampland.
Upland farming: Brushing, clearing, ploughing,
and direct planting of assorted vegetable seeds
(mixed cropping) in rice farming. Palmoil
Processing: Provision of oil mills for the
extraction of oil.
Volunteer Expected Time: All year round.
Activities/work: Help with labour for construction of bonds and
canals, brushing, clearing, ploughing and
planting.
Employees: 5
Volunteer Hours: 4 – 6
Languages: English
Comments: Volunteers will be encouraged to learn the local languages if they are interested.
0011. Location: Kenema District, Eastern Sierra Leone
Project Name: Community Farming Project
Local Partner: WWOOF Sierra Leone Programme
Project Start Date: January 2009 ( Phase 1, travel to Sierra Leone for project
assesment, initial land clearing and community
meetings).
Project Summary: The Community Farming Project Team will be working to turn a large
plot of land in Dama chiefdom, Kenema District, Eastern Sierra Leone
into a Community farm that will produce onions, groundnuts,
vegetables, rice for community consumption and sale.
Analysis: About 66% of Sierra Leoneans are engaged in subsistence farming, a type of
farming in which all the produce is used to feed and support the family,
leaving little or no surplus for selling. Most are forced to live on less than
$1 a day and lack the tools and access to other farming resources necessary to
improve the yield and quality of what is produced. WWOOfers/volunteers are
invited and encouraged to travel to Sierra Leone from various parts of the
world in order to build a large community farm that will produce high quality food,
provide employment for local residents and raise resources for the important
work WWOOF Sierra Leone Program is involved .
Skills needed: Farming, Social Science, Agribusiness, Reliability, Project and People
Management, and Basic Enthusiasm.
0012. GROWTH CENTER PROJECT
Location: Kenema
The proposed Center is a small industrial project where the manufacture of small farm implements, tailoring, carpentry, blacksmithing and food processing of local cassava and palm oil products will take place.
Background:
The location of the project is Gegbwema Town, in Tonkia Chiefdom, a small farming community about 30 miles South of Kenema. It is the rural area serving with a population of about 1500. Prior to the civil war, there had been a small center for minor amount of food processing as well as skills training center for tailoring, blacksmithing and carpentry. As so much else, the war halted production and much of the properties at the center were destroyed. The war officially ended in January of 2002 and efforts at recovery have been very slow. Funding for a new and rehabilitated building was proposed in February 2007 but the process of discussion actually started in July 2008. A plot of land belonging to one of the project members which was the property of his deceased father have been donated to the project free of charge.
A US-Based partner humanitarian organization supplied 30 sewing machines last July 2008 and a UK-based partner organization have recently been contracted to supply the project with carpentry workshop tools and equipments for the proposed activities at the center by the beginning of 2009.
Production at the Center:
Food processing is to be initially focused in two areas namely, cassava and palm oil products. Cassava is a major local crop and staple food for most of the population, second to rice. There is no small scale food processing plant for cassava and palm oil products in this community. The oil from palm trees is also a basic product used in everyday life such as cooking oil, soap, etc., and has the potential as an alternative fuel for vehicles.
Food processing has not developed in Sierra Leone despite the fact that agriculture is the dominant sector of the economy. Subsistence farming is the main activity. Most products like cassava need to be consumed or processed within 2 – 3 days of harvest and as a result losses are reported to be high, as much as 50% . Food processing allows for greater yields even using simple technologies, increased storage capacity, greater production efficiency with the result that smaller losses result.
Presently, processed foods are imported from Europe and the Middle East and are two expensive and not viable. A focus on two locally produced and successful crop is thus ideal as a basis for food processing.
Food service technology in Sierra Leone is poorly staffed and trained at the moment. At the center, the initial processing will be simple such as grinding, drying and packaging of cassava root as well as the extraction of palm oil from the karnels. Training to see the establishment of laboratories and contribute to food testing, implementation of standards and the training of food processors on food safety is needed. With these skills, a broader range of food processing can be introduced such as jam processing, juicing and bottling, etc.
In addition to the food processing capacity, the center will expand the training of local people in the artisan skills such as blacksmithing, carpentry, tailoring, weaving, soap making, as well as basic farming, etc.
These skills will be taught. Students will typically be male although there will be some female students as a stated priority. Polio victims would be enrolled as students as well as war time amputees. Currently 100 pieces of hand implements for some local farmers have been ordered and these were made reliably by the local youth. The implements such as hoes, spades, cutlasses and watering cans are still in use. The training function seems to be an excellent way to encourage the youth to participate rather than to become restless through unemployment.
The market area into which the products are to be sold is the entire chiefdom and the district in general.
Apart from my revenue mobilization tasks, I have been pretty busy moving this project along and getting a lot of satisfaction from seeing the completion of the project infrastructures.
