This 60-hectare farm operation attempts to support the Lutheran school in Ankaramalaza (18 kilometers, 2 1/2 hours away).
Up until recently, Denis (farm manager) and Romuald (school-farm administrator) had been frustrated by an inadequate water supply. The rains seemed to come torrentially or not come at all. The team devised a pumping system which sends water to both the farm cattle and to the garden plots.
About half a mile south of the cattle shed is a slow-moving stream, which never seems to run dry. There, a farm hand uses a foot pump to fill a concrete holding tank. Another worker uses a manual pump to push the water up to two 1,000-liter water tanks next to the cattle shed. The cattle are happy, and there’s a precious faucet right in the center of the garden plots.
This farm produces honey, beans, and vegetables. Much of the yield is sold for cash to buy rice for the Lutheran school nearby. We have provided funds to deepen one well, sink a second, and install a pump to move water from a small water basin to the vegetable plots. While some garden vegetables go directly to the school kitchen, other products, such as ginger, are sold on the local market and the proceeds shared with the school.