Changes in the Congo
Ed and Miriam Noyes, Congo
To you who share the joy of serving the Lord in Congo,
The land across the dirt track in front of our house has been a coffee plantation for as long as we have been in Congo.It was old when we arrived.A few years ago someone let a fire get out of hand and part of the plantation went up in smoke.With the price of coffee in the doldrums for over a decade, no one is much motivated to spend money on keeping the trees pruned and the weeds cut back.At times you might think it was simply another block of brush though other parts have been like small parks, dense green canopy of waxy leaves and bright red berries in season.
This last week that all changed.Young men came in and cut down two and a half acres of coffee to make way for the new dwarf oil palm plantation that ACDI Lusekele plans to plant in September.It's not an easy decision to make, even when the price of coffee has been so low.With the coffee gone, ACDI's gaze turns to the future -- five years from now when the palm plantation will produce its first fruit bunches.The first and second years they will plant peanuts and manioc in between the palms to generate income and ensure good weeding.Then, for two additional years they will establish a good green manure crop that protects and enriches the soil while providing forage for rabbits, chickens, goats and guinea pigs.The plantation will produce steady income for the agricultural center here, provide a teaching facility for recommended palm plantation practices, and create a pleasant view from the front porch of our house.On paper that sounds easy.On the ground it represents sacrifice and a lot of hard work for the Lusekele people.
Remember that ACDI has organized the dwarf palm project for 250 farm families.Farmers' groups planted the nurseries last September.I visited one nursery yesterday.The palms are nearly waist high and probably could be planted out now.But it is the middle of dry season and the palms will do better in a closely spaced nursery with regular watering until the rains start.Please pray for the people taking care of these nurseries because much of their success comes down to how well the palms do during these last three months.
The long-term prospects for the project are good, but we are still uncertain about Phase II of the project.Originally we had a promise of financing from USAID for an additional 40,000 pre-germinated seeds -- enough for 600 new participants.But USAID's project calendar changed and the earliest any new funding will be available is probably October, six weeks after the rains start -- the ideal time for planting -- and we would still have to wait until mid-November for the seeds to arrive after the order is place.We're still studying the possibilities of other sources of financing.
The Lusekele extension agents, Philip Kikobo and Philo Bidimbu, are out almost all the time working with farmers on the manioc multiplication project and palm nurseries.The multiplication fields planted by cooperating farmers' groups last year are exciting to visit.Yesterday I saw a field with 12 foot tall manioc plants -- about 6 meters of cuttings for every plant.We had been planning very conservatively for 2 meters per plant.One field like that can provide disease-free cuttings for 36 other fields -- incredible!In September we hope to add four new disease-resistant varieties to the multiplication program.Remember Philip and Philo; being constantly on the road is both physically and emotionally draining.It also puts an extra burden on their families here at Lusekele.
There are a number of projects in the making for September.The Milundu Teachers' College has started the first stages of developing their experimental / teaching farm.I am hoping that it can become a test bed for sustainable agricultural techniques -- particularly long-term soil management techniques.They have fifty acres, but much of the land is currently poor grassland.The school has almost no funds to develop this land, but the staff has a vision that drives them.These first few years the real investment will be the sweat of faculty, staff and students, transforming the land into a productive farm.
The College is considering a major organizational change as well.For years the current board of directors has not met to discuss the priorities and policies of the school.Responsibility for directing the school has fallen heavily on the shoulders of local staff.Now they are considering how to constitute a new, more active board of directors.There are a number of competent local people who would be very happy to be part of the board.Pray for this whole process.First that God would give a clear signal about whether the teachers' college should be a priority or not -- the need for good teachers' training is enormous, but are the necessary resources (human and financial) available right now?Second, if the teachers' college IS a priority for the local church, that God would bring to Milundu the qualified and dedicated believers that are necessary for school to really become a model.The school needs a director with a doctorate, but most people who have that level of qualification prefer to stay in Kinshasa where the money is.An adequate living is indispensable, but the drive for material gain doesn't motivate everybody.God can provide the person or persons.
Another small project at Milundu Teachers' College has the chance to get off the ground this fall.The agricultural and veterinary sciences section plans to launch a two-year study of land use in the watershed just to the south of Milundu.Students in second and third year would inventory fields, describe how land-use decisions are made by clans, identify consciously protected forest reserves, and attempt to classify land according to its land-use potential.This is a pretty tall order for rather unsophisticated students, but the hope is that grand challenges can push students to excel beyond their own expectations.We are hoping that the study will give local clans detailed information that will help them to decide how best to use the land and conserve its long-term productivity.Right now the faculty is trying to find three students who are capable of this level of work.
The heart of Christ-like mission is to touch people for God and point people to God.In some sense believers provide the concrete evidence for God's presence among us.Compassion, creativity, inspiration, healing acts, teaching and encouragement that contribute to people becoming all that God intends.But most of us are pretty blunt instruments -- the real power for change is in the hands of the Master.Pray with us that Jesus will become real to farmers, to students, to teachers, to pastors, to mothers, to government officials, to business people as believers point to Him.
May God bless you in your place of witness, making you both the signs of the Kingdom and the instruments of its proclamation.
Ed