Days 1&2

Days 1&2

Day 1
Pretty anticlimactic...we were just getting a lay of the land. We followed a group of students visiting from Tufts and were able to get a brief overview about the health and agriculture curriculum taught at the trainings. We also brainstormed a lot for our media campaign.

Day 2
Off to a fun start! Ryan and I got to the farm early this morning and got to work with Jared, the Agriculture fellow, chopping wood for the biochar trial. Biochar (in very simple terms) is the product of burning wood in a way that turns the wood into fertilizer instead of ash. We will blog later with more details relating to the biochar, but the trial is just getting started. Check out instagram (@middglobemed) for a funny picture of Ryan chopping a branch with a machete! We will be reformatting and editing translations of Turi Kumwe reports. More on Turi Kumwe tomorrow :)

Biochar!!

Double barrel configuration used to burn the wood

Introduction

Introduction:

Tree seedlings at the GHI farm in Ndera.
Include mandarin, mango, and tree tomato.

Hello followers! To give you an idea about what will be on this blog, we (Caitlin and Ryan), will be working at Gardens for Health International. At GHI, we will be determining a fundraising need and creating a campaign based on the determined need to use back in the U.S. For those who are unfamiliar with GHI, it is a non-profit in Rwanda that provides sustainable solutions to food security and childhood malnutrition through agriculture and health trainings. Government health centers are widely used across the country, including in the 18 communities that GHI works in. Though GHI only works in 2/30 districts right now, they enroll approximately 2000 families. These families were referred by the government health centers when their children did not match the growth projections created by the UN (age for weight, height for weight, height for age). Once the families are enrolled, (typically) women of the household will attend 14 weeks of training that include sessions on health and agriculture. They learn about new agricultural techniques like raised beds and agroforestry and health methods like the importance of breastfeeding. Once they graduate from the trainings, they choose a variety of seeds or seedlings grown on the GHI farm in Ndera. All families receive orange sweet potatoes, dodo (amaranth), and avocado. Then depending on what the 'mama' decides is best for her plot of land, she will select an indigenous leafy green: spider plant, sukumawiki (kale), or nightshade; a protein: soy or kidney beans; a market vegetable: carrots, eggplant, onions, radish, or green peppers; and a fruit tree: tree tomato, papaya, or passionfruit. GHI has been incredibly successful in the districts they work in. 

For 2016B (the most recent survey collection this year) has revealed that in Musanze (a district in the Northwest region where GHI has only been working for one year):
-543 caregivers were trained with a 97% graduation rate
-514 home gardens were established
-58% of enrolled children are on a positive growth projection
-percentage of children considered malnourished decreased from 7% to 4%
In Gasabo (where GHI began):
-150 caregivers were trained, with a 94% graduation rate
-138 home gardens were established
-63% of enrolled children are on a positive growth trajectory
-percentage of children considered malnourished decreased from 10% to 5%

All data from Gardens for Health Graduation Report for 2016B