Africalink: Mozambique Community Aid Project
The first phase of the Mozambique Community Aid Project was successfully completed in July 2004. Fourteen Oundle School Sixth formers, who had spent the previous year fund-raising, went out to Mozambique for two weeks. There they helped to build a hydroponic market garden, which was then taken over by twenty disadvantaged families in the area. In the years to come, this will be a sustainable source of income for them.
Why Mozambique?
Mozambique is one of the world's poorest countries, emerging in 1994 from over twenty years of devastating civil war. More recently it has suffered from terrible floods and high AIDS infection rates. It is now a peaceful and stable democracy and the economic prospects are very good, particularly in agriculture and tourism.
The project was set up with the help and support of Dave Law, owner of Barra Lodge, a small tourist resort near Inhambane in Southern Mozambique. He and his staff came up with the idea for the project and were responsible for persuading a community to provide the land, buying materials and organising construction. Dave has a background in farming and had already established a successful pilot project to supply Barra Lodge with fresh produce. The tourist industry in the area is developing rapidly and has difficulty in finding reliable sources of good quality fresh vegetables. Soils in the area are poor (little more than beach sand), the rains can be unreliable and temperatures can be scorching in the summer. The hydroponic garden will provide abundant and reliable yields.
How does it work?
Water is pumped from a river into an overhead sprinkler irrigation system on a computerised timer. Coconut palm fronds on the overhead wiring provide adjustable shading. High quality hybrid seeds are used, and the plants are regularly watered and fed with balanced hydroponic fertilizers. The staff of Barra Lodge will continue to oversee the project, ensuring that fertilizers, seeds and other supplies are imported, although of course all profits will go to the families who work on the project. Dave Law is highly respected in the community, having worked on a number of projects and initiatives that have been of great benefit to people in the area. He worked closely with local community leaders to find a suitable site as well as people to take over the project. It will undoubtedly be a great success.
Barra Lodge
Away from the project, a very enjoyable time was had by all at Barra Lodge. It is a family-orientated resort with a range of activities for the adventurous as well as the more sedentary. The unspoiled coral reefs are a major attraction and scuba diving was a popular choice. Several members of the group completed their Open Water Diver qualification in the Lodge?s well-run and equipped Dive School. Some of the other activities included snorkelling, deep-sea fishing, kayaking, ocean safaris, catamaran sailing, quad bike tours and plenty of lazing around on the spectacular and largely deserted beaches.
What next?
We are planning to take another group of pupils out to Mozambique to work on a similar project in July 2006. We are hoping that the demonstrable success of what we achieved in 2004 and the very real way in which we have been able to help a local community will be a spur to even greater contributions for the next project, and that we can be more ambitious in our plans. We are hoping to improve the existing project with the addition of a ?fertigator?, which provides simultaneous irrigation and fertilizing. We would also like to set up another more technologically advanced garden on an adjacent piece of land.
Any contributions towards the project would be most gratefully received.
Please get in touch with:
Andrew Martens
36 South Road
Oundle, Peterborough
PE8 4BU
adm@oundle.northants.sch.uk
Tel:01832 272934