Maasai Widows Farming God's Way Training

DAY 1

Clearing land for the plot without turning over the soil -
cutting the weeds in a way that takes less effort and is better
for their crops then using the cut weeds for God's Blanket,
which prevents soil erosion, rapid evaporation, and water runoff

Cutting foilage for God's Blanket to cover the field

Using the jembe hoe to cut the plants as well

Gathering manure from the corrals

Our manure-gathering crew

Our oldest widow is one of the fastest and hardest working in the bunch!

Learning that termites are a blessing from God, not a burden -
we can use termite mounds if there are no other means of fertilizer

Working together to transport the termite fertilizer

Building the rope so we can accurately measure 60cm between each hole for corn
(this was the first time for the women to use pliers - fingers got pinched only 2x)

Talking about what they learned at the end of the day

DAY 2

Our instructor, Joshua Moose, did a fantastic job of teaching the women the
Biblical, Technology, and Management aspects of Farming God's Way.
This meant lots of time in the classroom, but the women soaked in the knowledge!

The women were always worshipping and praying together - at every break,
instead of sitting around talking, these women were singing to the Lord
and praying powerfully for Him to break the yoke of poverty in this land
THEIR FAITH INSPIRES ME!

 DAY 3

Josh used awesome visuals to show the differences between ways of farming

This is the runoff from a field without God's blanket

Now the same amount of water rains on a field with God's Blanket

Now look at the difference in the amount of water and soil runoff

Neema chooses the FGW field that keeps the soil and moisture where it should be!

Now here he puts soil from a plowed field in the left water and we watched it disintegrate

This is soil in God's creation that has not been plowed - it held together and
had lots of bubbles showing great soil structure

Through these experiments, the women were so excited to see that FGW really works!

Ending the training on the third day, we gathered together to pray over the land,
each grabbing a handful of the soil, we prayed for His forgiveness and healing
on our plot of land, each woman's land, and the land of Tanzania

DAY 4

Last day of the training, we prepared our demo plot - 6 rows of corn 3 rows of beans
for a proper rotation - each woman had practice preparing the field to high standards

Row 1 is done!

Then we move the rope 75cm between each row

Hands working together!

The ground was hard - but taking turns and working together, we weren't discouraged

Everyone worked hard

And everyone worked together!

Our last row of corn!

Using the rope gives us straight rows and consistency
to plant in the same place every year so we don't waste
Precision Planting at its finest!

Maasai & FGW

Women dedicated to God and reaping all He has for them!

After all the holes are dug, we add 1TBS of woodash to help with acidity in the soil

Then we add the fertilizer (either livestock manure or termite mound soil)
1/2KG per corn hole or every 60cm for bean furrow - and we use what we have,
and every woman uses a cooking oil that comes in a 1/2KG container so we
used those to give them a proper visual - the only thing that the women
don't already have to do FGW is a rope and seed for the first year!

After the woodash and fertilizer are in the holes, we cover
with 5cm left for corn and 3cm left for beans...then we wait
for RAIN to plant the seeds!

We finish by putting God's blanket over every area
except over the holes until after we plant!

Our demo plot!

And our youngest attendee :)