Congratulations for the kick off for the project. Have you also considered diversifying even at the early stages; so instead of just a dairy farm, the youth could also run educational workshops on say impacts of over-grazing on the collective environment; competitive marketing of dairy products internationally- even availing recreational space at the farm? May all the grace to succeed in the project be yours! Good job.

S

--
"You have run with men, now contend with horses."

Thanks Shirleen for your words of encouraging to us. This Diary project has brought knowledge and experience to the group of the youth leading the project. We are still to learn more from the international experiences in the Dairy Farming. Therefore we are appealing to the International Volunteers or students with experiences in Animal Husbandry to visit us and join us to explore this unique project in Dromankese. The farm has been recently extended to keep pigs also. With the help of a Ghanaian Diaspora Organisation based in The Netherlands ( GKKT ) Five pigs have been purchased to breed on the farm. So progress are been made in the Dromankese Community in terms of food production.

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR, NM; Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Nicaragua,
Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan, South Africa
minifarms@gmail.com
Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-ranching worldwide in English & Spanish

Proven Practices for Profitable
Crop and Livestock Production

These are based on the internet, US & international agriculture magazines, experiences teaching agriculture in many countries, farmer experiences in those countries, research data and a demonstration garden. They are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just, economically viable and humanely managed. Practicing the following, farmers can produce all the food the country will ever need regardless of the population. There is unlimited, documented proof. On mechanized farms it reduced production cost 30% the first year and tripled profits in five years [Argentina]. These practices stop the migration of farm families to the cities. [Honduras]. There are 90,000,000 no-till hectares worldwide. "There's this belief that in order to stop poverty, we have to find ways to get people to stop being farmers. What we need to do is find ways to stop them from being poor farmers." Amy Smith, MIT

Organic, no-till gardening/farming [hand tools only] in permanent beds doubles or triples yields, reduces labor by 75%, reduces inputs/expenses to nearly 0 [need seed for new crops and green manure/cover crops], increases fertility, stops soil erosion [no rain water runoff], eliminates most weed, disease and insect problems and greatly increases profits. Use bucket drip irrigation [made by gardener/farmer] to produce during the dry season and in areas of low rainfall.

With no-till, organic matter [green manure/cover crops] generates the following results:
The mulch gradually rots into the soil providing a constant supply of nutrients while eliminating composting.
Moisture retention due to the mulch layer means reduced need for watering; saving both resources and labor.
Mulch prevents weeds from growing, reducing another laborious chore.
Because of greater nutrients, plants can be positioned twice as densely as normally recommended.

Fukaoka Farm, Japan, has been no-till [rice, small grains, vegetables] for 70 years. At the time of my visit, an Indian farmer has been no-till [vegetables] for 5 years; a Malawi farmer has been no-till [vegetables] on permanent beds for 25 years; a Honduras farmer has been no-till [vegetables & fruit] on permanent beds on the contour (73° slope] for 8 years. Ruth Stout [USA] had a no-till garden for 25 years and 7,000 people visited her garden.

No technique yet devised by man has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as 0-tillage (Baker)

1. Willing to make changes [first, in the mind and then, in the field & pasture]
2. Restore the soil to its natural health. Contamination: inorganic pesticides, insecticides & fertilizers]
3. Maintain the healthy soil: Healthy soil produces healthy crops, with highest yields, to produce healthy animals, to have healthy people and prevents most disease, pest and weed problems.
4. Feed the soil; not the crop: Organics feed the soil. Chemicals feed the crop and kill the soil life
5. Increase the soil’s organic matter every year
6. Maintain plant diversity [with crops and/or green manure/cover crops]
7. 12 months production [economical in most climates]
8. Aim for lowest cost; not highest yield per acre/hectare.
9. Little or no external inputs [It is not necessary to buy anything, from anybody. Certain things are recommended]
10. Plant every field every year [no fallow land]
11. Leave crop residue on top of soil [no burning]
12. All manure returned to the soil
13. 0-tillage: no digging, no plowing, no cultiva-ting. No hard physical labor required so children and the elderly can farm easily.
14. Permanent beds [crops and green manure/cover crops]
15. Sloped-land: Up to 70°. Beds on the contour. no trees, grasses, no alley cropping, no SALT.
16. Permanent paths [walking]
17. Hand tools [No tractors, no implements, etc]
18. Organic fertilizers [probably not needed with healthy soil.]
19. Organic disease control [probably not needed].
20. Organic herbicides [probably not needed].
21. Organic pesticides [probably not needed].
22. Biological pest control [probably not needed].
23. Attract beneficials
24. Soil always covered
25. Use green manures/cover crops
26. Feed the soil through the mulch.
27. Organic matter: Use as mulch.
28. Composting: Not necessary. Too much time and work. Use organic matter as mulch.
29. Bucket drip irrigation: should be used during the dry season and in areas of low rainfall: Imported bucket drip kits are US$15. A bucket drip line can be made locally from poly tubing [US$3, Nicaragua]. One will irrigate a row of crops 33 meters long using only 20 liters of water per day. A dripline can be moved to irrigate several rows per day. Water can be from a stream, pond or well. A drip kit returns $20 per month to the farmer [FAO study].
30. Seed [open-pollinated]
31. Crop rotation.
32. Intercropping
33. SRI – System of Rice Intensification] Doubles yields.
34. SRI practices: applied to sugar cane, finger millet, cotton
35. Goats [meat & milk] and Muscovies [eggs, meat and eat insects] should be on every farm.
36. Forage-fed livestock
37. Legume & grass forages
38. Permanent pastures
39. 12-months grazing.
40. Rotational grazing on pastures
41. Small livestock [use moveable pens over forage beds.]
42. Confined livestock [no tying in stalls. Use cut and carry.]
43. Forage & grain crops [annuals]
44. Holistic animal health care.
45. Marketing [people want to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic].
46. Bicycle with bicycle trailer [units for cargo, passengers, selling, etc. DIY]
47. Protect nature
48. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always win!

I teach workshops/training, worldwide, in English and Español. I volunteer my time. All expenses must be paid.

Ken Hargesheimer.

When Soil is Plowed or Dug
Dr. Elaine Ingham, describes an undisturbed grassland—where a wide diversity of plants grow, their roots mingling with a wide diversity of soil organisms—and how it changes when it is plowed.
A typical teaspoon of native grassland soil contains between 600 million and 800 million individual bacteria that are members of perhaps 10,000 species. Several miles of fungi are in that teaspoon of soil, as well as 10,000 individual protozoa. There are 20 to 30 beneficial nematodes from as many as 100 species. Root-feeding nematodes are quite scarce in truly healthy soils. They are present, but in numbers so low that it is rare to find them.
After only one plowing, a few species of bacteria and fungi disappear because the food they need is no longer put back in the system. But for the most part, all the suppressive organisms, all the nutrient cyclers, all the decomposers, all the soil organisms that rebuild good soil structure are still present and trying to do their jobs.
But tillage continues to deplete soil organic matter and kill fungi. The larger predators are crushed, their homes destroyed. The bacteria go through a bloom and blow off huge amounts of that savings-account organic matter. With continued tillage, the "police-men" (organisms) that compete with and inhibit disease are lost. The "architects" that build soil aggregates are lost. So are the "engineers"—the larger organisms [worms] that design and form the larger pores in soil. The predators that keep bacteria, fungi, and root-feeding organisms in check are lost. Disease suppression declines, soil structure erodes, and water infiltration decreases because mineral crusts form. Dr. Elaine Ingham, BioCycle, December 1998. (From ATTRA News, July 06)

Tue, Dec 30, 2008
Dear Ken,
Thank you for all the info. I am applying it in my own vegetable patch. It is working. Got half a pocket of potatoes off a square metre. So would imagine about 10 pounds per square yard. This off previously dead low, carbon soil. Sure next crop will be better. Got yams coming up on same spot already. Want to plant herbs and spices.

Your advise is so simple. People do not believe me when I tell them. I am so excited about growing things now. This coming from a commercial plum farmer. May you be blessed this holy season a thousand times more than you blessed me with you help. Jeremy Karsen, middagkrans@mwebbiz.co.za
Project room: Kyomya, Uganda
We have been working on improving farming techniques for almost a year. Unfortunately, the farmers are planting small plots of land that only feed their family. There is no other choice but to try new techniques to improve the output of their plot. Ken Hargesheimer suggested the "no till" farming techniques as well as the "drip system". Both have proven effective at increasing production by at least 5 fold. The time is now for Kyomya to become a model agricultural village. [nabuur.com]

I confirm Ken's advice. I've been using mulch and no-till since the late sixties. It works. It really works. I now manage a 5,000 ft² community garden in its fifth season. It started on hard clay with turf grass using cardboard and mulch. Leaves are added to the beds every fall and it has never been tilled. It's a beautiful, fruitful garden. I have friends who have sand and advised them to do the same. They've been very successful as well. It will work any-where. Judith Hainaut

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
Workshops: USA - TX, MS, FL, CA, AR, NM, WA; México, Rep. Dominicana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haití, England, Nicaragua, India, Uzbekistan, South Africa
minifarms@gmail.com

Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent-bed gardening, mini-farming, livestock mini-farming,
using drip or bucket drip irrigation, worldwide, in English & Español

Self-Supported Schools

Schools: They should be established everywhere and self-sustaining. Education is the solution to poverty. Gardening should be taught in grades 1-12. The benefits are proven. Train students in various skills.

teachamantofish.org.uk “Our organization helps kids from poor families across Africa, Asia and South America to get quality education. We work with schools to create new sources of income. Students get ‘hands-on’ involve-ment and learn practical skills and entrepreneurship”. teachamantofish.org.uk/school-box No tractor or farm machinery needed.

 The Learning Farm, Indonesia. thelearningfarm.com
 S. F. Agriculture School, fundacionparaguaya.org.py/index.php?id=lo-que-hacemos. [English]
 eldeber.com.bo/extra/2008-01-27/nota.php?id=080128000444 Colonia Pirai high school, Bolivia
 http://schoolatblairgrocery.blogspot.com [USA]
 auronepal.net [India]
 http://arapalgoatfarm.shutterfly.com [helps families, self-supporting students/evangelists]
 peas.org.uk/
 educationrevolution.org
 School Project - financially self-sustaining. Ron Stiff ron@montebelloacademy.org
 cd3wd.com [available on 5 DVDs. Free to developing countries] Do-it-yourself plans for doing just about anything are here.

Micro-credit - farmsinterenational.com/farms-sept11nl-what_is_wrong_with_microcredit.pdf

High Schools: They should be established and then self-sustaining. Students work but take longer to graduate.

Suggestions for profit-making:
1. mini-farming [organic, no-till, hand tools only]
2. new crops [spaghetti squash, endamame soybeans, baby maize]
3. farm value-added products
4. livestock mini-farming
5. bucket drip irrigation kits
6. tree nursery
7. vegetable starter nursery
8. seed production
9. hoop houses
10. farmer’s market
11. retail store/market stall [school, farm, arts/crafts products]
12. pedal/hand thresher
13. nut sheller
14. pedal/hand pump
15. DVD/book selling
16. burn/sell dvds
17. auto mechanics
18. welding shop
19. carpenter shop
20. electrician
21. village movie theater -computer
22. computer time rental
23. cell phone time rental
24. composting business
25. vermicomposting
26. composting toilets
27. sewing
28. clothes washer/hand
29. pot-in-pot food coolers
30. papyrus sanitary napkins
31. coffee roasting
32. maize nuts
33. soy nuts
34. ground nut butter
35. jerky [dried meat]
36. soap making
37. soil/cement brick
38. soil/cement roof tiles
39. fish production
40. arts and crafts
41. recycling business
42. darfurstoves.org
43. water bottle roof lights
44. LED solar lights
45. solar water heaters
46. solar food driers
47. solar cookers
48. solar heating
49. solar water purifier
50. solar lighting [schools, homes]
51. solar electric panels
52. sandals from old tires
53. pedal/hand grinder
54. maize tortilla making
55. bicycle mechanic
56. bicycle trailer making
57. bicycle electric generator
58. bicycle ambulance
59. bicycle delivery service
60. B rope water pump
61. B nut sheller
62. B mill/maize thresher
63. B drum thresher
64. B coffee depulper
65. B clothes washer
66. B sales trailer: food, drinks, farm products, etc.
67. pedicab service
68. trike cargo service
69. BT cargo service
70. BT mobile shop
71. BT delivery service
72. BT taxis [2- 4 adults; 3-6 kids]

These can be used by families to increase income.

Ken, thanks very much for your advice.