Building Momentum Sustainable Liberia took a major step forward in its ongoing Food Security Initiative when a mission group from Atlanta installed its first solar-powered irrigation system in its largest community garden: the Gbansue school garden.
The new irrigation allows for two growing seasons each year instead of just one. That means this one-acre garden will eventually produce up to five tons of vegetables each year.
While significant, this irrigated garden is just the beginning. It was a pilot project that has proven the viability of the concept. Now, we’re ready to expand into future community gardens along the 150-mile stretch of road from Paynesville to Gou Village.
If you were to sit in on an elementary school classroom teaching about the ecosystem of Liberia, you would probably hear the teacher explain, “There are two seasons in Liberia: the wet season and the dry season.”
If you were in that classroom today in early July, you would hear those words as rain pattered consistently upon the roof of your schoolhouse. This might be new information for those schoolchildren, but the members of the 100 Gardens for 100 Families initiative would have been thinking about the coming rains for over six months. Because today, as the clouds appear over West Africa and the rain falls, marks the deadline for all gardens in the country to be planted…
In 2010, Sustainable Liberia began its first food security initiative. With the help of partner churches, we began promoting family and community gardens within rural villages, providing the fertilizer, seeds, basic tools, and training required for those gardens to flourish.
Even 13 years ago, the warning signs were present. Before the civil war (1989-2003) and continuing to the present, corrupt politicians and warlords have sold access to Liberia’s vast natural resources for personal gain with little regard for the well-being of the country’s people. Consequently, Liberia, who was once a net exporter of many items, including palm oil and rice, has become a net importer of those (and other) staples. Now, for imported food to reach the mouths of rural Liberians, it must cross the ocean before being trucked 100 miles from the port in Monrovia to the rural villages.
The ongoing war in Ukraine only compounds the challenges as interruptions of the Ukrainian economy and sanctions on Russian exports have driven the prices of fertilizer and food even higher.
Today, the lowest income Liberians (both urban and rural) are struggling to find a reliable and affordable source of basic nutritional food…
The facts were clear. Russia and Ukraine are significant exporters of staple foods. They are both global leaders in fertilizer production and export. The war is disrupting the Ukrainian economy. Global embargoes are slowing Russian exports. These factors all point to increased prices of staple foods and fertilizer worldwide. There were other clear facts. In order to feed itself, Liberia must import rice from abroad. When fertilizer prices rise, farmers without the funds choose to farm without it, which dramatically reduces crop yields.
So, prices of imported staple foods are rising at the same time that domestic food production is shrinking…
What Is The Road To Sustainability? Liberia is a land without public transportation and mostly dirt pathways which can be washed away during the rainy season. Most people walk miles to get to a school, job training, a marketplace, or healthcare. Walking to places is a journey which takes several hours….
This year marks Sustainable Liberia’s 15th Anniversary (2006–2021) of doing God’s work in Liberia, West Africa. In the last five years, our team has engaged with and transformed communities in the name of Christ. We have done so by serving and developing communities in the five branches of our core mission: Evangelism and Discipleship, Christian Education and Job Training, Economic Empowerment, Infrastructure Restoration, and Leadership Development. The love of Christ being our primary motivation, we develop communities by creating access to resources and the Gospel. “We do it all for the sake of the Gospel…” 1 Corinthians 9:23
Building Momentum
Sustainable Liberia took a major step forward in its ongoing Food Security Initiative when a mission group from Atlanta installed its first solar-powered irrigation system in its largest community garden: the Gbansue school garden.
The new irrigation allows for two growing seasons each year instead of just one. That means this one-acre garden will eventually produce up to five tons of vegetables each year.
While significant, this irrigated garden is just the beginning. It was a pilot project that has proven the viability of the concept. Now, we’re ready to expand into future community gardens along the 150-mile stretch of road from Paynesville to Gou Village.
In the next few months…