Linyangwa Test Farm
Developing resilience and sustainability for Medicom Foundation
When setting up Medicom Foundation we embedded the intention for it to become a self-supporting, in-country funded, operation. We strive towards that through internal investment and sponsorship. Developing a test farm on the strength of the Roots of Hope programme allows us to investigate how to effectively:
- Contribute to Medicom Foundation’s core costs
- Identify teaching resources
- Prepare for the hungry gap
Our objectives: to establish a development programme that enables Medicom Foundation to operate sustainably without reliance on external funding. In the first year of operation the farm has a target of deliverying 10% of Medicom’s core costs.
Our strategy: we’ve rented 5 acres of land and are farming it using the same methodology we encourage through Roots of Hope. Maize will be harvested and stored for sale or reserves. This will mainly be sold for income, with a portion set aside to respond to emergency requests during the hungry gap.
Delivery: working our own land gives us immediate feedback on the effectiveness of the programme and allows us to develop our teaching methodology as required. We’ve rented land in the first year as a test bed and it may prove effective to purchase a permanent site, subject to the cost plan. Once the full cycle has developed we’ll consider enlarging the plot, diversifying the crop, and using the site as a teaching resource to support Roots of Hope. The project is managed by Medicom’s in-house team using piece-work labour for preparation, planting, and harvesting; this is the mode of operation for any agriculture of this type and also provides paid work opportunities for those actvities.
Impact: a successful first year will deliver the anticipated returns to help Medicom step towards self-funding. In addition setting aside 10% of the crop will allow us to provide emergency food supplies during the hungry gap – that time of year when many families’ reserves of maize run dry, before the next harvest comes in.
Roots of Hope is proving succesful and engaging in its first two years and Linyangwa Farm builds on that to develop tools for wider impact, self-reliance, and reduction of food-poverty.