Outdoor Learning Center Shelter

A training center certainly needs a training facility, so CEFA has almost finished its first teaching nook located on top of a small hill overlooking the 100 top tropical fruit garden. This learning shelter will be the starting point for discussions of ideas centered around topics in ag development. After the orientation session into that topic is finished, then follows either a tour of the experiments, such as what would happen on a scheduled field day open to the community or the participants would move on to a particular field and learn further by seeing and by doing. Once the participants have grasped a new concept in farming or have learned about new species of plant or animal, they will take this knowledge and practice it back in their own villages.

A VERY DRY SEASON

We have had 55 days of no rain - and with 5,000 trees to water, that can be a difficult task! However, most of the trees are not in need of water yet, witness to this single oil palm tree (upper picture), thanks to all the composting we did around the tree before the dry season began. Many people are preparing their fields for the coming planting season by cutting the grass, drying it, and then burning it. However, we at CEFA have not burned any gardens for a year now, and it is proving successful in maintaining the fruit trees even through a hard dry season. Some trees are more sensitive than others, so they are being watered by hand, depicted in the second photo. Pray for rain!