Introduction

During April 2020 Rwanda implemented a nation-wide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tools for Hope (TFH) activities were still ongoing despite the COVID-19 pandemic. We continued our research trials on no-till experimental farming.

During the lockdown we provided food security for the Twisungane farmers. TFH provided rice, corn flour, and cooking oil enough to sustain them for 2 months. Normally, TFH does not give such free aid. However, the COVID-19 problem is unique. TFH provided the (Rwandan) funds to the farmers to purchase their food supplies from Rwandan markets. Providing free food to the farmers would have the effect of undermining local businesses i.e., no businessman can compete with free.

Frank made regular phone calls to the representatives of the Twisungane cooperative to give them current advice on how they should care for themselves and to encourage them to follow all the procedures given by the government as they are law abiding citizens.

Because their farms cannot produce enough food and income our smallholder farmers depend on informal day-work. The government of Rwanda put in place measures to minimize travel. This meant that our farmers could not travel to find work. Without income from day-labor and while waiting for their primary crops to mature they were down to one meal or less per day.

Germination Rate and Weeding on No-till Fields

The no-till experimental research at our farmer’s fields is doing great. Our farmers are managing all the activities and following all the research protocols as Frank has trained them to do. This is especially important to our farmers to learn for themselves and to experience diverse ways of farming without disturbing the soil structure and be able to get good yields

The initial research activity was to record the germination rate after planting. This is particularly important because it shows how good and healthy the seeds are, and how the seeds may perform in the field, and how the seeds are responding to that soil. The germination rate also shows how the abiotic factors are working to help seed germination in an area. We had more than 90% germination rate. This show good sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures above show times before planting and after the germination (just one plot) and as you can see the germination rate is above 90%.  This is exceptionally good in agriculture and we hope to have a good yield, if other agronomics parameters are done properly and on time.

When the rain started after 3 weeks of germination, we conducted another activity which is also very important, and that is the uprooting of all weeds that can compete for nutrient absorption with crops (Beans).

 

 

Weeding activity was done properly.  Frank had trained our farmers to do it as it should be done.  Frank also discussed with them the issue of social distancing while they were weeding.

The picture above shows farmers working on the field uprooting the unwanted plants (weeding).  This activity helps to alter the microclimate below plant leaves, it helps also to reduce humidity as the sun and wind can penetrate deeper and easier in a weeded crop-plot and hence have a positive impact on pest and disease control.

Helping Twisungane Farmers during the COVID-19 Food Shortage

Tools for Hope (TFH) gave the twenty Twisungane families food (25 kgs Rice, 10 maize flour and 3 liters cooking oil per family) to help them during these demanding times where most of them have lost their jobs during this lockdown.

The farmers were incredibly happy to get the food supplies from TFH.  Frank could not gather all of them together for a photograph because of the rules about not gathering more than 10 people.

Below is the Twisungane farmers committee with the post which says “ON BEHALF OF OTHERS WE THANK YOU TFH.  GOD BLESS YOU ALL”

 

Although it was not easy to move from one area to another because of the official lockdown, Frank managed to convince the local leaders to allow our farmers to travel between a distant market and their community.  The local leaders and government officials know TFH and the activities we do to help the farmers, therefore they granted farmers the permission to move from their village to the shopping centers located far from their village.  The quantity and quality of food supplies we wanted were more than the local shops could provide.  So, our farmers had to travel to the large shopping center.  We thank the local leaders for their understanding.

Below are some pictures taken during the process of buying and delivering the food, which was done on Friday 24th April 2020.  These Twisungane representatives distributed the food to each farmer that remained at home.  The process went well.  They thank you a lot and ask God to bless TFH.

They used bicycle and motorbikes to carry the food stuffs.  Our own motorbike (TFH motorbike) was also used to carry the food stuff.  Because it was not working for transporting people, but it can be allowed to carry food commodities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the happiness moments, when you get food to eat during these times of lockdown, it is like a miracle.  And this will sustain them for 2 months, because they have vegetables in their farms, therefore, because each family was given, 25 kgs of Rice, 10 kgs of Maize flour and 3 liters of cooking oil.  Now, they will have a balanced diet for not less than 2 months.

Frank and the farmers discussed nutrition and now they know how to modify their diet to maintain their health.  This is very important during these days as to boost their immune systems so that they can be able to resist so many diseases. Therefore, it was also a good opportunity for TFH to introduce this lesson of combating malnutrition among our farmers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smallholder farmers’ happiness is the most important thing that TFH is working on, because when farmers are happy, they can be able to secure their tomorrow with plenty of innovation and hardworking mood.  They just need a little help and encouragement like this.

 Way forward

The No-till experimental trial is giving hope that we will have good and reliable data that will help us to come with good recommendation.  Again, we believe this pandemic will soon be over and we continue our lives and even have better hope than ever.  Farmers are calm even if they do not understand what is going on in this world, but we still believe in God and we will see this through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Twisungane smallholder farmers group did great work together with Frank Mutesa and Tools For Hope (TFH) in March.  Among the activities that we engaged in was the preparation and launch of our no-till farming research trial.  The launch process was a successful and we welcomed the fact that the farmers did exactly what Frank had been training them to do.

We also completed the process of buying and distributing goats to eleven farmer families, as planned.  This was the most important activity that the farmers had been waiting for.

No-Till Farming Research Trials Launched
In February, the farmers and Frank began preparing the land and doing all the important preliminary work.  On the 21^st of March we launched the research trial.  The results of this trial will help answer questions regarding soil fertility and the proper techniques that should be used to produce good crop yields on small pieces of land without disturbing the soil.  It may also provide information regarding protecting the environment as well.

After showing farmers the differences between the no-till plots and tilling plots, they started doing the land preparations for themselves and they continued with the preparations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank showed them how to apply inputs (fertilizers and seeds) properly in all the plots while respecting crop spacing.  After finishing the preparation for the two treatments (no-till and tilling treatments), the next activity was to apply the inputs i.e., fertilizers, both organic farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic diammonium phosphate (DAP).  The first thing they did was to apply the FYM, this took two days, because the farm is located at a distance from the homestead where we obtained our FYM.

Then followed the DAP.  The application of inorganic DAP was applied in parallel with the seeds.  Because they planted during a sunny day the seeds and the DAP were mixed with a little bit of soil to make sure the seeds were not burnt when they encountered the DAP.  The application of inputs was done successfully following all the best science of soil management and crop production practices. The planting day was followed with rainfall in the evening, so we hope everything will be OK and our crop will germinate and grow well.

The Twisungane farmers are the caretakers of this research, however Frank will be monitoring their progress daily to make sure we get good data for the analysis at the end of the trials.  This is the first such research trial that we have conducted with our farmers.

The farmers were cooperative and showed interest in learning innovative technologies.  They will provide us with valuable feedback and lessons learned about no-till farming in Rwanda.  The farmers are eager to learn; therefore, we believe that from here, our research work will be straightforward and easy.  We can direct all the farming technologies and be sure that the farmers will do their best to help make their projects work.

TFH Helps Eleven Twisungane Group Families Obtain Goats
It wasn’t easy to complete this task because the receiving families and Frank required a lot of discussion about loan repayment agreements for the goats.  They discussed the loan issues and came to a mutual understanding on how to repay the loan.  They also discussed how to take care of their goats before buying them.  Once everything was agreed to, we proceeded with buying the goats.

Frank and the farmers also had to do a survey to look for a marketplace where they could get good goats which can cope with the climate (micro climate) conditions in their area, to avoid difficulties in rearing the goats. They also had to look for female goats which can mate successfully with the male goats that are already in the area.

After discovering a good market in Nyamata Town*, they proceeded with purchasing the goats, another challenging task.  Selecting 22 goats of good health takes time.  They evaluated the goats one by one.  The process of selecting and purchasing the goats took seven hours. The distance from the market to where our farmers village is located is several miles so they had to hire a vehicle that could carry the goats, and a vehicle which could manage the rough roads leading to their village.

Goat purchase and transport was followed by distributing the goats to the 11 families.  The distribution process needed to be fair to all.  The distribution process agreed upon had each family pick their goats by chance.  Frank prepared 22 small pieces of paper, each with a number from 1 to 22.  He folded them so that no one could see the number written on each paper.  He also wrote similar numbered slips of paper and put one on each goat.  Then each family picked 2 folded pieces of paper.  They opened their pieces and found the number corresponding to the number tagged on a goat.  This was a quick and fair process, and everybody was happy.  Each family got 2 goats and the process was done peacefully.

 

 

The goat project has brought happiness to our farmers.  They are now waiting for the goats to multiply.  We believe this will happen soon and farmers will be able to repay their loans.

Their gratitude goes to Tools For Hope for making this possible.  This will help farmers in many ways and help them to continue their journey of achieving better lives.  The next steps of taking good care of these goats are theirs.  And we are also with them day by day and continue mentoring them in numerous ways.
*The town is also the location of Nyamata Genocide Memorial.  Located at the site where Nyamata Parish Catholic Church once stood, the memorial contains the remains of over 45,000 genocide victims, almost all of whom were Tutsi, including over 10,000 who were massacred inside the church itself.

The Way Forward
Farmers are grateful for the projects that were in pipeline and are now operating.  They are eager to continue working with TFH and they are committed.  They will succeed in conquering their abysmal former life and to prosper.

We hope that after this problem of COVID-19 ends, we will have many more projects (e.g., improved crop / food preservation techniques).  While the farming activities are on-going, the farmers are using precautions to fight the spreading of this virus, like washing their hands regularly and making social distancing of 1.5 meters.

We thank you once again for your support.  God bless you and your entire family, and we pray that God will protect you in these dangerous times our world is passing through.

Tools For Hope, Inc.
1540 Robinson Road
Knoxville, TN 37923
http://www.toolsforhope.org/

Thank you for your continued support for Rwandan subsistence farmers.
Please send this newsletter along to anyone you feel may benefit from it.

Introduction

In February, Rwanda had heavy rainfall that destroyed people’s houses with some loss of life.  We thank God that our farmers are all OK. They had minor losses to their harvests.

During February, Frank and the farmers began a research activity to determine the efficacy of no-till farming and to compare it to the usual way of preparing soil for planting.

Additionally, Frank and the farmers held discussions on their up-coming goat purchases through loans from Tools For Hope (TFH). The goats were delivered the first of March 2020. We will be able to report more about the project next month.

Their discussions also included the issue of clean water. The farmers were very much concerned because obtaining clean water is among the difficult issues that they have experienced all their lives. They addressed deposit time-periods and, methods for depositing their loan payments to TFH for their motorbike.

They continued their discussions about food preservation techniques and about how to improve their food supply security through better food / crop preservation. They also discussed the potential of solar energy providing electrical power to their households.

Frank and the farmers also discussed the significant issue of the government closure of the community school. We have asked Frank to gather the details about this issue for us.

Preparation for No-Till Farming Research Trials

Land preparation came after Frank had trained the farmers on the meaning of no-till farming and, the objective of this research. This was their first time to hear about this system.

This is an innovation to our farmers, and we needed to train them on how to do it and on the purpose of this research. They are used to tilling their land in every season, and they haven’t tried any other ways of farming.

Frank explained the technique to them and told them no-till is a farming system that is beneficial to crops and soils. It increases soil fertility and thus increases crop production, it also reduces fuel, labor, and equipment costs and it improves soil structure.

This method can also reduce erosion, as it leaves more residues on the soil surface and thus reduces the velocity of rainwater run off which causes erosion. In Rwanda, the country of a thousand hills, farmers know the damage that erosion can do to their lands.

Looking at the picture above, you can see the differences between plots prepared by tilling the soil and those prepared for no-till farming. In the tilled plots you can see that soil was disturbed, was lifted, and how soil was taken away from its natural state. Looking at the no-till plots you can see the soil is in its natural state. What the farmers did on the no-till plot was just to remove the harvested maize and cut some shrubs without disturbing the soil.

Planting began the weekend of February 29, 2020. Frank put some signposts indicating plots with the different techniques for others to look at and to observe the differences in crop growth for these two different techniques. We have 6 plots for no-till farming and 6 plots for tillage farming. The till and the no-till plots will be used to grow the same crops using the same inputs (e.g., fertilizers, etc.) for comparison purposes.

Meetings with farmers on projects and on their livelihood problems

Farmers have income producing projects that are on-going. These projects increase their earning capacity and their knowledge in adapting to business thinking. An off-farm income producing project for our farmers is crucial because their farms are too small to produce the food and incomes that they need to survive. Off-farm income is often the only barrier between them and malnutrition or starvation.

Eleven Twisungane Group Families Receive Loans for Goats

The (11) families thanked TFH USA for accepting their requests and granting them loans with which to purchase two goats per family. TFH invested ~ $1,870.00 to purchase and deliver the 22 goats. These eleven families needed the goats and they each agreed to the TFH loan repayment terms (i.e., they will each repay TFH for their two goats after 12 months to allow them time to generate income from the goats).

We (Frank, Deo, and TFH USA) have discussed the issue of a pending goat project since the time of our original employee Deo, in 2016. Because of the time lag, the farmers were concerned that TFH might not carry through on its promise to loan them funds for the goats. The project was delayed because everyone involved needed to agree on loan repayment terms and, because the farmers needed their transportation issue addressed as their priority.

Clean Water

Obtaining clean water is one of the most distressing issues the farmers face. The water they use mostly comes from a river near their farms. That river water is dirty. When it rains, many of the farmers get water from small ponds that are in the neighborhood however, the ponds are very dirty.

Above is a photograph of the pond located in the farmer’s neighborhood. Some people are using that dirty water for home consumption. Frank spoke with them about buying some water tanks to be able to catch the rainwater during rainy seasons and use rainwater instead.

They had waited for the government to provide them with clean water taps (hand-pumped water wells) but up until now there has been no action. The government did provide their community with a tank and guttering to collect rainwater runoff from the roof of the local one room school building.

Frank and TFH USA are investigating low-cost, viable, simple, and socially acceptable methods for cleaning the water from their local water sources. Currently, two technologies look promising. One technology involves ceramic water filters impregnated with colloidal silver. Colloidal silver is a mineral. Colloidal silver can kill certain germs by binding to and destroying proteins. A second technology uses silver ions on the internal surfaces of a porous ceramic tablet. The two technologies may be used together or separately.

From the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/ceramic-filtration.html :

“Locally manufactured ceramic filters have traditionally been used throughout the world to treat household water. Currently, the most widely implemented ceramic filter is the Potters for Peace design. The filter is flowerpot shaped, holds about 8-10 liters of water, and sits inside a plastic or ceramic receptacle. To use the ceramic filters, families fill the top receptacle or the ceramic filter itself with water, which flows through the ceramic filter or filters into a storage receptacle. The treated water is then accessed via a spigot embedded within the water storage receptacle. The filters are produced locally at ceramics facilities, and then impregnated with colloidal silver to ensure complete removal of bacteria in treated water and to prevent growth of bacteria within the filter itself. Numerous other locally-made and commercial ceramic filters are widely available in developed and developing countries.”

The other technology is the Madidrop+.   See https://www.madidrop.com/how-it-works.

“Silver ions delivered by nanoparticles to bacteria promote lysis, the process by which cells break down and ultimately die, which makes silver nanoparticles a superior and widely used antibacterial agent. New research by Rice University found that silver ions, not the particles themselves, are toxic to bacteria. They also found that ligands in the vicinity of a bacteria can bind silver ions and prevent them from reaching their target.” (Credit: Zongming Xiu/Rice University)

The Motorbike Taxi Project

Frank and the farmers discussed the best ways of paying the TFH loan for the motorbike. They agreed on modified terms and conditions that will help them with depositing their payments into our bank account. The motorbike project is doing well, and they are depositing money to the TFH account every two weeks to repay their loan. At the same time, they are also depositing money into their own account as well.

Food / Crop Preservation

The farmers and Frank continued their discussions about food preservation. Frank learned that they only utilize a technique of preserving beans where they store beans in a sack and put some product (pills) they buy at the Agropharm (local agricultural supply store) which prevents their beans from spoiling. Other crops such as cassava they just leave in the field and take what they can consume and leave the rest in the field.

There are other techniques for food / crop preservation that they may be able to take advantage of. The photograph above shows a traditional way of drying maize grains. The dried grains are ready to transform to maize flour. This technique is usually used when the farmers need to quickly have their grain turned into flour.

Government Closes the Community’s School

The classrooms are not in service anymore. The government closed the community’s only school. The children are now walking a long distance to attend school in another village. The distance is extremely far for the little children to walk every day. We are afraid the number of children attending school will drop. Frank still encourages parents to keep allowing their children to go school. We are also connecting with local government officials to see if they can influence the central government to reopen their school and to provide salaries to local teachers to come and teach at the school.

Solar Energy for Electrical Power

Last but not the least among what the farmers and Frank discussed, is the issue of electricity. They have shown their interest in having solar energy, and they wanted to start with electricity for lamp lighting. Many of the ladies in the group told Frank that they suffer during the night especially in food preparation and in helping their kids with their homework from school. Solar energy may become one of the next projects that TFH helps with. Frank is investigating the issue(s).

The Way Forward

The farmers were encouraged to make their activities more business-smart and to think of projects that can improve their standards of living. They can grow these ideas into something big in the future.

Next month we hope to have photographs and videos of the farmers with their new goats. The farmers are on the right track for development and what we need to do is to give a little push and help them achieve their goals.

Introduction

January 2020 Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) activities focused on searching for places to establish our research on no-till farming practices and, on planning for a proposed goat project. TFH also began assessing water purification technologies, and potential solar power systems for the farmers.

 

No-till Research Preparation

The no-till farming practice we will initially research is one of the solutions that has been evaluated in many parts of Africa and has shown its potential in improving soil fertility and boosting crop productivity.

Frank Mutesa and the farmers started looking for land with which to start our research. Frank talked with the farmers and they agreed on the terms of the research.   A little later in January Frank was able to identify suitable land and farmers who were willing to collaborate with us and have our trials on their plots. They have also decided to abide by the conditions of the research work.

Eight farmers will participate in the research. Four will use the no-till system and four will use their normal way of farming by ploughing the land. We will use the same inputs (same seeds, fertilizers), the same land size and all the agronomic parameters will be performed on both plots equally. Frank will assess the yields and other relevant parameters.

The farmers will be custodians of these activities and will monitor the plots as usual. TFH will provide the inputs (e.g., to ensure necessary consistency in seed quality) and take data where necessary.

As part of our agreement with the participating farmers, TFH agreed for those who are testing the no-till farming techniques, because this will be their first time to do so, that if their yields are less than those who practice the normal way of farming TFH will compensate their loses.

 

Goat Project and Selection of Participating Farmers

Frank also discussed with the farmers the issue of the proposed goat project. He discussed with them issues such as how to repay the Tools for Hope, Inc. (TFH) loans for the goats. He identified the farmers willing to sign the loan agreements. Frank emphasized that the farmers need to be conscientious and to participate in their own development (i.e., care for the goats and repay the loans).

We decided that each farmer will get two goats and after one year, they will pay back those two goats to TFH to loan to future farmers. Eleven farmers expressed willingness to participate and accepted the conditions of the agreement. After surveillance of the local markets Frank found good goats that can reproduce twice a year. These goats cost 65,000 frw ($69) each. Therefore, for the 22 goats the price will be $1,518.00.

Frank explained that TFH’s job is to provide the tools and they do the work. The farmers fully understand the terms of our contract with them and they are willing to do all they can to continue having projects that correspond to their need for off-farm income producing enterprises.

Goats produce manure which helps in reducing fertilizer or compost costs for the farmers. In addition, goat manure is 2 times richer in nitrogen and phosphorous as compared to cow manure. This was the primary reason that Frank recommended rearing goats to the farmers.

Both small scale and commercial goat farming businesses play key roles in meeting the increasing food demands in Rwanda. Goats are raised for various products such as milk, meat, skin, and fiber, while goat meat and milk are tasty, nutritious, and considered good for human health. The demand for goat meat is growing in Rwanda, as it is popular in making brochettes in many restaurants and hotels all over the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clean Water – Rwandan Standards Bureau

Our subsistence farmers need clean water. Accessing clean water is a challenge to most Rwandan rural populations. It is an issue that the government is working hard to resolve.

TFH has been investigating utilizing a technology represented by MadiDrop (https://www.madidrop.com/). The MadiDrop+ tablets work alone or in conjunction with colloidal silver impregnated ceramic filters to clean and purify unsafe water. See for example the US Center for Disease Control web page (https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/ceramic-filtration.html).

We are working through the Rwandan Standards Bureau (RSB) to ensure the safety and efficacy of the technology before presenting it to the farmers for their use. Frank consulted with the Quality Assurance office of the RSB to determine our obligations.

Renewable Energy

Frank also started talks with a solar energy company known as BBOXX (https://www.bboxx.co.uk/) to see if they can provide our farmers with renewable energy for their domestic use. These talks are ongoing. Below is some information about BBOXX.

BBOXX customers in Kenya and Rwanda usually earn around (USA) $100 per month and spend $6-$12 on energy expenditures such as purchasing candles, kerosene, or batteries for flashlights, and charging their cell phones. BBOXX prices its solar home systems to match these existing energy costs, spreading payments over time to widen its customer base, enabling various segments of the population to purchase clean renewable solar energy.

Their flagship smart solar home system, the bPower50, is designed for rural off-grid customers. Once connected, the bPower50 can power lights, radios, TVs, and charge phones for household and micro-business customers. The bPower50 comes with a 50W roof mounted solar panel and can be purchased on a three-year payment plan. Each unit connects remotely to the BBOXX remote management system to give customer support, predict repairs, and assist upgrades.

 

Our Way Forward

Preparations for the no-till farming research activities are in progress. We believe we will be able to start farming at the end of February.

We also plan to double-check the food preservation techniques that our farmers are using. Frank will document and take pictures of all preservation techniques they have as we approach harvest time. We want to ensure that as much of the harvested crops are preserved as practical.

Frank has verified that the farmers are still repaying their Motorbike project loan as agreed. We believe they will continue to do so without any difficulties. This is a key factor in deciding to loan the funds for their goat project.

They are now waiting for the goat project loans and are discussing other projects that may be able to produce off-farm incomes for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

After Frank’s return to Rwanda from consultations with the Tools For Hope, Inc. (TFH) Board of Directors, there were goals to be achieved. Frank started working on them immediately upon his return. He was pleased that the farmers are also willing to do their part. Frank discussed with the farmers the issues and related to TFH goals for food preservation, no-till agricultural farming techniques, off-farm income from small business activities e.g., their motorbike transportation business.

Frank managed to visit additional farms and provide them with some technical advice. He also solved issues related to the motorbike with the transportation authority in the country and now the farmers are back in the motorbike transportation business.

 

Food Preservation Techniques Used by Our Farmers

Preserving food is not new to Rwandan farmers but many of them do not practice food preservation for several reasons. They only consume the food they grow for a few weeks after the harvest. After that they are left with no preserved crops.

All our farmers are smallholder farmers, so they do not harvest much food that needs to be preserved. Of the food that they cultivate, they either sell all or, they sell half and preserve a little for home consumption. They cannot buy an adequate amount of food because their food will rot as they do not have enough skills regarding food preservation. They live by buying their food almost every day.

The crops they usually preserve are maize/corn, beans, cassava, Irish potato, sweet potato, and onion. The most common method used is drying, after soaking in water sometimes they dry the crops on the ground. We are now looking at the possible food preservation methods that farmers can start using.

Our farmers encounter economic and nutritional difficulties when food prices go up in the market. For example, the price of beans is extremely high in December, because beans are very scarce and difficult to get, especially in the rural areas. Resolving this issue of food/crop preservation will be another step in helping our farmers.

By having proper food preservation, they can store enough and use them during those periods when the price is high, especially during drought season. They can also preserve their harvested crop and sell the product when the price is good at the market.

 

 

 

 

Above are some of the old crop preservation methods. At top left is the local and normal way of preserving cassava by making cassava flour and keeping it for a long time. The photo at top right shows how to preserve sweet potato in a pit for use during drought periods when they are scarce. Bottom left – they store beans in sacks and usually dry them during the day and keep them in sack. Bottom right – they store maize/corn normally in their homes on the floor but during the day they dry them by hanging them outside their house roofs or in a hangar. The above methods are used by some of our farmers.

 

No-Till Farming

The no till agriculture practice is a process of planting crops without disturbing the soil or with minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of soil cover and diversification of plant species. This is one of the best ways of recovering soil fertility. Because our farmers have small pieces of land, their land is being overworked and this has resulted in the decrease of soil fertility and hence poor production which produces hunger.

From a soil perspective, the benefits of no-till farming far outnumber those of tillage-based systems. No-till practices allow the soil structure to stay intact and protect the soil by leaving crop residue on the soil surface. Improved soil structure and soil cover increase the soil’s ability to absorb and infiltrate water, which in turn reduces soil erosion and runoff and prevents pollution from entering nearby water sources.

No-till practices also slow evaporation, which not only means better absorption of rainwater, but it also increases irrigation efficiency, leading to higher yields, especially during hot and dry weather.

Soil microorganisms, fungi, and bacteria, critical to soil health, also benefit from no-till practices. When soil is undisturbed, beneficial soil organisms can establish their communities and feed off the soil’s organic matter. A healthy soil biome (naturally occurring community of flora and fauna) is important for nutrient cycling and suppressing plant diseases. As soil organic matter improves, so does the soil’s internal structure—increasing the soil’s capacity to grow more nutrient-dense crops.

After productive discussions with professors from the University of Tennessee, TFH has decided to start a no-till farming campaign with our farmers. At first, we will do research trials, where we will have plots of land with no-till treatment and regular tilling by hand and we will monitor the growth and yield parameters. Based on the results we will help the farmers make determinations about future sustainable agriculture production techniques.

Frank talked with different farmers and they have agreed to that plan, and we will start with the 2020, February season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are fields that we have found so far that have been abandoned for one season, so we will use these and other lands that farmers can provide for our no-till program.

 

Issues with Motorbike Transportation Authority

For a long time, the motorbike transportation / taxi business has been a flourishing business for many people in Rwanda. This was due in part to Rwandan topography and its lack of proper roadway infrastructure. Many people to use motorbikes as their way of transporting people and goods. With high use comes increased legal and insurance issues. Consequently, there are many regulations and laws to follow.

While Frank was in the USA, officials in charge of transportation wanted to verify the owner of the motorbike and to register the motorbike with the names of those responsible for the motorbike i.e., TFH. The farmers had to wait for Frank’s return, because the Twisungane farmers are not the owner. Frank, as the Rwandan representative of TFH, was required to provide the government officials his identity to be kept on file in case they might need to contact him for more information regarding the motorbike.

The government is extremely strict about such regulations and did not allow the farmers to use the motorbike, until Frank’s return. After getting back in the country Frank resolved this issue and they are now back in business as usual.

 

Other Potential Projects

Previously proposed projects i.e., 2 goats per family, sewing machines for the women and men who are willing to use them, and buying more motorcycles will be funded as TFH is able.

Recently TFH asked about the issue of clean water. Frank showed us the picture he took of Rwandans using dirty water to wash themselves and wash their clothes (see picture below).

This is one of the many challenges that the country suffers.

Clean water is a critical issue and, 70% of the rural population have no access to clean water. TFH is investigating clean water technology utilizing locally (African) made ceramic filters in conjunction with ceramic tablets embedded with anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and germicidal materials. The combination appears viable, economical, and suitable to the Rwandan farmers way of life. TFH will update you on our progress in implementing the processes.

Frank took this picture while working in the field. He was very much concerned because these people were coming from work, found something like a pond because it was raining, and started cleaning themselves with that water. Frank asked them ‘why are you doing this, don’t you know that this water is dirty’? They responded that, they do not have any choice. They know it is not good for their health but that’s the life they live, and they can’t go home with mud all over their bodies, so they prefer using that water to reduce the mud.

Water scarcity can lead to a variety of water-borne tropical diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and diarrheal illnesses. Other conditions, such as plague, typhus, and trachoma (eye infection that can result in blindness), are also common. throughout the continent, water scarcity and pollution continue to get worse.

A lack of clean water also affects the Rwandan people in other ways. Many families must travel significant distances to gain access to clean drinking water. The women and girls in the family often take on this responsibility of having to carry heavy containers of water back to their homes. Younger girls often must drop out of school and miss getting an education to help their families. These journeys to collect water are also dangerous and sometimes result in physical or sexual abuse of girls and women.