August Update

I apologize for the late post but here is August’s update:

As an overview those of you who are new to this blog and as a review for those who have been following along for a while, I’m going to outline some of the projects that the farm has. We hope through these projects and future projects to create sustainable farming and offer a more enriching life for the locals connected with A Videira Frutífera.

First of all we have crops growing on the farm. Currently there are fruit trees: cashews, mangoes, bananas, lemon, papaya, moringa and more that the workers take care of all year. Most are still too young to produce much except for the banana trees. The farm also has crops of sugar cane and tomatoes. In the rainy season, which starts in December, they plant their bigger crops like corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, sesame seed, etc.

The second project we have is a house building project. Rodrigues’ mom lost her house in Cyclone Chido, and we wanted to build her a better one that could also serve as a missionary guest house when people want to visit the farm. The house project has been in progress for a long time, but I would estimate that it’s about halfway complete. What is left to be finished are: the roof, the indoor plumbing, flooring, windows and then finishing touches. As far as I know it will be the first house in that village to have indoor plumbing.

The third project has been ongoing as needed. Pastor Jorge regularly employs the members of River Church Naminawe to help with anything that requires many hands. In the past they have made and sold charcoal to buy chairs for the church, cleared the borders of land to prevent fire from spreading, and helped with harvesting when there was an abundance. This has benefitted both the church workers and our farm.

Last, but not least we have been working on Rajamo’s house. He is the newest farm worker who is also heads up all the work on the farm. His house is nearly completed but we just need to put the cement on the outside of the walls to completely seal it. The sides and the back of the house are still just bare with rocks and bamboo as can be seen in some sections of the photo. This project is probably the one we need to finish the quickest because the sooner he and his family can move in, the easier it will be for him to work consistently on the farm (his current living space is too far away).

If you are interested in being a part of any of these projects or starting other ones, reach out to us or check out the donation page on our website.

The other news we have is sad. In August church members from Pastor Jorge’s church lost 3 goats. They think that they were stolen, which unfortunately is very common in Mozambique. Also, a few weeks ago a farm worker’s wife gave birth to a still-born child. Please be praying for comfort for them as they grieve the loss of their precious baby.

That’s all the news we have for now, check back at the end of September  for the next blog!