In the process of planning for the work in Sierra Leone, I was approached about doing agricultural development work for an orphanage/children’s ministry in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.  7 Rivers Outreach is a faith-based ministry providing support to the many many orphans and children in its area of KZN. The country of South Africa (and to an extent, the entire continent of Africa) has been hard hit with the HIV/AIDS virus, leaving many children without parents. To illustrate the situation, the average age, for example, on the North American continent, is 35. The average age of South America is 31. Europe’s average age is 42. the average age in Africa is 18.

 

Site survey of 7 Rivers Outreach landholding

 

View of Alley-Cropping area

 

Macadamia Agroforestry area discussion

 

Macadamia Blossoms

The landholding for 7 Rivers totals over 100 acres. It is a part of the Natal midlands and c0nsist of rolling hills rising to mountains north and west. The climate is generally subtropical, especially near the coast, but more temperate inland due to the higher elevation.

7 Rivers base map

The design has developed into Agroforestry with Permaculture design to create a sustainable, self productive farm that provides income for the Outreach with a low investment of annual work hours and inputs.

Inputs that will be utilized are: Macadamia nut trees as a cash crop, Moringa (Moringa oleifera) trees for the production of powder sold as a dietary supplement, CowPea (Vigna unguiculata), an edible and nitrogen-fixing legume, Chickens, potentially tractored in the Alley Cropping systems, and Beekeeping.

Moringa seed from Echonet.org for developing a seedling source.

 

Moringa Powder processing research and development

 

Moringa powder research

The Farm Design work is nearing completion and we hope to return to 7 Rivers in August or September to follow-up on the project.

We are undertaking full-time Agricultural development with Equipping Leaders International. More on this in the next post. Stay Tuned!