Education Cameroon Project #17662

Grow hope for 150 Cameroon schoolkids

by Cameroon Association of Active Youths

Project Report | Dec 23, 2014
Capacity Building Workshop

By Patrick Chung | Project Leader

Bucket irrigation

CAMAAY participated in a two days capacity building workshop organized by WATER FOR CAMEROON in Ndop on how to use bucket kits for small gardens; composting; the importance of the moringa tree as an organic manure; and how to use bio-sand filters.

Bucket kits for gardening

The bucket kit is a simple drip irrigation system designed for vegetable gardens in periods where there is less rain. The bucket kit has all the parts to make an irrigation system using an ordinary bucket. The kit may be adapted for 2, 4 or 6 row garden. This irrigation system works by gravity. When a 20 litres (5 gallon) bucket of water is raised one meter (3.3 feet) above the ground (measured from the bucket) sufficient pressure is generated to force the water from the bucket through the irrigation tap on the ground. Tubes connect through the bottom of the bucket to the irrigation tap. Water drips rom the tap into the soil and provide enough moisture for a vegetable garden to feed a family of three or four.

Demonstrations on how to set up the kit were done by participants in a group of four. At the end of the training, we purchased 8 of these kits which we shall use in our gardens.

Composting

Composting is an essential element of organic, sustainable farming, so we were eager to learn more about it.

We learned that hot composting can:

improve water retention,
balance Ph,
improve soil structure,
kill most weed seeds,
building healthy populations of beneficial soil micro-organisms,
and provide timed release of nutrients.

Participants also received lessons on the different types of composting materials, building a compost pile, pile size, location of the pile, using compost and troubleshooting

Participants contructed a compost pile under the supervision of the facilitator.

Moringa oleifera, a multi-purpose tree

A brief presentation was made on moringa oleifera, a multi-purpose tree by one of the facilitators. Discussions focused on what is moringa oleifera, how it grows, and its many uses, including water purification, organic manure, animal fodder,and human nutrition. Grown plants and seeds were presented to participants that they were encouraged to grow for local useand for commercial purposes.

A free sample of moringa powder and a gift card explaining its benefits and uses is available for a $50 donation.

Bio-sand filters

The workshop ended with a presentation on the bio-sand filter (BSF) as an effective means of water purification.

The BSF works the same way as traditional slow sand filters, which have been used for centuries. The filter housing is simply a concrete container, with layers of sand and gravel inside. A bio layer at the top part of the filter iswhere the bad water poured into the filter is cleaned.

We left grateful to the workshop organizers for the great information received and eager to use it in our school gardens.

The BSF will remove more than 99.9% of parasites and over 97% of E.coli bacteria and nearly all suspended sediments, eliminating most disease-causing pathologens. One filter will treat enough water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene purposes for a typical family. The cost in NW Cameroon is approximately $30.

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Dec 23, 2014
The Moringa Miracle

By Jill Hinckley | US Representative

Greetings from sister school in Cameroon

I visited Trillium Charter School in Portland, OR last week to collect the letters the kids had written to their penpals in the Susana Bilingual Primary School near Bamenda in northwest Cameroon, as part of CAMAAY's sister school project. I gave a short PowerPoint presentation to teach them a little about Cameroon and their sister school, but wanted to do something more to punch it up a bit. I had read about moringa oleifera and been able to order some free seeds for our gardens from the EchoCommunity.net; moringa turns out to be near-perfect nutrition, packed with protein, nutrients, and anti-oxidents. Great for the kids to learn about and plant for their project in Cameroon, and great too, I figured, for the kids to learn about at Trillium. So I ordered some moringa powder and mixed it in with some fruit chunks and juice for a power smoothie that I brought along with me for the kids to taste.

When I showed a slide about moringa's nutritional benefits, one student keyed in on it having twice as much protein as yogurt and said, "so I could eat nothing but moringa and be healthy?" Yes indeed, I explained, though we can't get the fresh leaves here and the powder isn't palatable unless mixed with something else. When it came to the actual tasting, some of the kids were reluctant to try it, since even a little powder had turned the smoothie a vivid green. But one by one they took a sip, and one after the other exclaimed "This is really good!" Of course it was mostly the fruit they were tasting, but they were thrilled to be able to drink something that was so good for them that also tasted so good. One of the kids insisted I write down the recipe for his mom to make for him. You can see one of the kids in the youtube video that I've attached a link to who can't put his cup down and keeps drinking it the whole time.

So I'm hopeful the moringa the kids plant in their school gardens in Cameroon can have a pretty dramatic effect on their health. It's supposed to increase energy and focus too, so it should even help them with their studies.

If you want to try some yourself, or give some to a friend to try, through Dec. 31 we are offering 2 TBSP of moringa powder, together with a personalized gift card explaining its benefits, and use in the CAMAAY gardens, and the smoothie recipe, with every $50 donation. If giving as a gift, don't forget to select the "in honor of" tab for your donation.

Links:

Trillium Kids send greetings to their sister school

Attachments:

Gift card with $50 donation (PDF)

2 Attachments

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Dec 15, 2014
Off and running

By Patrick Chung | Project Leader

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