Horticultural success for Eritrean women's group A successful horticultural enterprise established by 20 young Eritrean mothers is earning each of them close to 20,000 Nakfa (€1,000) each a year.
The members of Mihyaw horticultural group have used the funds to rebuilt homes, educate children, buy oxen and other livestock, and have invested in furniture, clean water, farm buildings, and a wide range of other household improvements.
It has been a long and transformational journey for the 20 women members, all mothers of young families, who first linked up with Self Help Africa after receiving a diesel pump from an Early Childhood Development (ECD) international NGO.
Rather than utilize the pump as just a labour saving device to help them to draw water from a village well, the members spoke to Self Help Africa about the other potential benefits of their new utility, and the Mihyaw Horticultural Group was born.
The group members leased a five acres plot of land in the fertile valley basin from villagers for 2,000 Eritrean Nakfa (€100) a year, and set about ploughing and digging the land, and preparing it for cultivation.
They received support from Self Help Africa with the construction of two shallow wells and with training in horticultural production, and were assisted by local government with the construction of a narrow 2km access road from the valley to the nearest main road.
The group members have used their irrigated land to produce chilli, potatoes, cabbage, swiss chard, onions and garlic, all produce that they use for household consumption, and which is sold by members in the local village market, and is sold to traders to sell in the bigger market of Mendefera.
The women’s group was subsequently joined on a neighbouring plot by a men’s irrigation co-operative, who pay to use the Mihyaw Group’s pump to produce vegetables on an adjacent four acres plot of land.
----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]---- Received on Sun Nov 06 2011 - 11:59:18 EST
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