After the agricultural development work in Sierra Leone and KwaZulu-Natal was so amazingly blessed with resources that seemed to come from out of nowhere, I decided that perhaps I should be working in Agricultural Development vocationally full time. Upon consultation with Rick from Equipping Leaders International, I made plans to attend ELI’s annual meeting in Chattanooga TN. At this meeting, it became quite evident there was a great need for my skill set and that working for improved livelihoods and food security in a mission setting was the correct direction to follow.

Processing health building Moringa, grown in Sierra Leone

I began my interest in Agricultural Development, Food security, and Permaculture Design in the ’90s. After successful careers in Hospital Administration and as a Financial Advisor, I decided to pursue my passion for agriculture full time. I have obtained a number of certifications in Permaculture Design and Tropical Agricultural Development, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Agroforestry from the University of Missouri. Combined with my long-held business degree from Liberty University, and working towards the MSc in Agroforestry from Mizzou, I was ready to answer the vocational call when the opportunity to conduct Agricultural Development work was given.

Malawi

In April I will be traveling to the southern African country of Malawi. Malawi is ranked as the 3rd poorest country in the world. Over 85% of its population depends on fragile subsistence agriculture. Subsistence agriculture simply means if you don’t grow your food, you starve. The agriculture there consists mainly of mono-crops like maize (corn) or sorghum. This agriculture is more susceptible to drought, flooding, and insect pests which are serious problems in Malawi. Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality rate. As in much of Africa, there is a high incidence of HIV/AIDS with over 9% of the population afflicted in 2015.

Malawi

Malawi has a tropical climate, being at 9ºS Latitude. Hot and Humid, though there is some moderation of temperatures in the greater elevations of the several highland areas of the country.

Presently Malawi is dealing with an infestation of a crop pest called Fall Army Worm (Spodoptera frugiperda). The Fall Army Worm (FAW) is similar to the Corn Borer in the United States but larger by 1/2 to 1 inch in length. As a result, entire family crops can be destroyed, leaving the family at risk of starvation.

I have been invited to be “Guest Speaker and Trainer in Agricultural methods and Environmental conservation techniques so that the community members would be vindicated from the current starving conditions”.  Agricultural methods such as Agroforestry and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be put in place that will both mitigate the pest problem, and build agricultural resilience to the wide swings in moisture Malawi has been experiencing in recent years. And these methods don’t require the inputs such as pesticides that aren’t available and can’t be afforded.

An Invitation

Equipping Leaders International (ELI) provides training for church leaders in the least developed world. Oftentimes the areas they serve are deeply impoverished and have very poor nutrition and food security. My wife Holly and I have been led to join ELI, where I will be working as an “Agricultural Specialist”. As with most mission organizations, we raise “support”, asking those who would wish partner in the work to do so by helping financially.  So, officially, we are inviting you to join us in this work. We would be truly honored to have you partner with us to improve the conditions in these places where people have such hard lives.

We send out regular updates as to our work and would love to have you look in on us that way.

Here is the newsletter link: https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=ee1b099fd08822b91758cef31&id=7019a6ee44

Partner with us for this work by Paypal:  https://equippingleadersinternational.org/faculty/

Online at: https://equippingleadersinternational.org/give-online/

Support by check can be made out to ELI and mailed to:

Equipping Leaders International
Attn: Robert Jones
627 Misty Breeze St.
Davenport, FL 33897
(You would then put “Michael and Holly Cooley” in the memo area of your check

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