Planting for a Sustainable Future in Zambia
Published: Apr 12, 2019 Reading time: 2 minutes
Nalishebo Kalima is one of the community members who benefitted from the People in Need’s pilot project called Women in Innovation (WIN). The beneficiaries were supported with certified seeds such as rape, onion, tomato and eggplant and trained in conservation farming methods.
The vegetable beneficiaries were also provided with a hip-pump and a watering can to enable them to water their crops at any given time and not have difficulties in sourcing water.
In August 2018, trainings were held by PIN for the vegetable beneficiaries of Nangole, Nawinda and Mabuto communities. They learnt how to plant in lines, mulch, intercrop and apply organic matter to lessen the dependency on artificial fertilizers and to enable them to have healthy plants using manure found in their communities.
Ms. Nalishebo Kaima, a 44-year-old married woman and mother of seven, appreciates the seeds that were given to her by People in Need and the new farming methods that were taught to her. She acknowledges that the old methods of planting she had used brought about a poor harvest season after season. In the past, she had only grown rape, but this season she was able to grow new vegetables, which she hopes to plant next season, as well.
From her harvest, Ms. Kalima was able to use part of the yield for family consumption and to sell the other part. This allowed her to pay school fees for the children, buy school uniforms and purchase new clothes for the family. All in all, it has been a very productive farming season for the Kalima family.
