The Fields are Ready

Since moving here in 2009, Project Samuel has been planting fields to work towards being self-sustainable. Two years ago, River of Life out of Winnsboro, LA sent a tractor over to help us reach that goal. This past month, River of Life went a step further and sent two farmers to help with the planting so that we can get the best crop possible. These farmers have been a tremendous help to Project Samuel and the kids here.

From the first day Kevin and Drew arrived, we were working on the fields. Our ph level in the soil was low and so we put out 90 tons of lime to correct it. The lime is a very fine powder and when spreading it, you can’t help but get it everywhere including yourself. The kids enjoyed making fun of how dirty we were and even joined in the fun from time to time. After putting out 90 tons of lime, it was a bit of a break when we had to put out 4.5 tons of fertilizer. We learned that to get the kind of tonnage that large scale farmers make, we needed  to increase our fertilizer output. Usually, we put out about 4-5 bags and this year we put out close to 7. I can’t wait for the harvest this year to see just how awesome the Project Samuel crop is going to do.

We are currently waiting on the rains to plant. They are almost a month later in arriving than they were last year. It’s a good thing we have all the field’s ready and all that we have to do is come behind the rains with the seed. This will keep us from planting any later than we have to. Many of the people in the village are asking questions and wanting to learn some of the principles that we are using. They have seen the increase in the size of our fields from just 15 acres to 30 acres. They want to grow a good maize crop and with a little direction, they too could be capable of doing just that. I look forward to harvest, because I will be able look back and see all that we have learned here at Project Samuel and share it with those in our community.