Women work a small farm in Kenya
Courtesy of Rachel Zedeck
Farm-In-A-Backpack Project Hopes to Feed Sub-Sahara Africa
Rachel Zedeck is the mastermind behind a new program that is working to give Kenyans all the tools they need for environmentally friendly, self-sufficient agriculture - and everything fits in one backpack.
Zedeck moved to Kenya with the intent to help Kenyans feed themselves through eco-friendly farming. Her solution - put everything you need into one backpack. Everything needed to get going on sustainable farming practices is included, and the program is proving to be successful - she and a group of farmers in the Mau Forest, successfully planted12 Hectares using a new distributed production model and supplies from the eco-friendly back pack farming kits.
The ways in which the Mau Forest is farmed is a big deal because of the delicate eco-systems, including Lake Victoria, located in the area. Zedek hopes that the pilot program will illustrate how the new model of farming can help keep the integrity of the area, and feed hungry mouths.
But will this pilot program prove whether or not sustainable farming can feed a country?
The Backpack Farm Program is a simple idea. Contained in one backpack is all the necessary materials to get started in farming, including seeds of drought resistant and local crop varieties, a drip Irrigation Kit, and optional 500 Liter collapsible water tank, Lachlan "Fusion Nutrition Program," plant nutrition in combination with eco-friendly chemistry, Parathyroid-based Malaria Pesticide, small farm tools, customized with the final crop production models, and a six liter chemical sprayer along with training manuals and a journal. A person is handed a backpack, and along with it, lessons on how to use the contents. The goal is that they'll be able to immediately start growing their own food.
There are a lot of variables here, though, that go beyond just contents in a backpack. For instance, how might a farmer get help if they come up on a challenge, or how might each farmer work with one another to ensure their entire community is fed? But Zedek is determined to address all the potential issues within the program, and is a Change Agent working to gather support for the project.
Becoming a Change Agent with the Backpack Farm Project
The idea is intriguing and Zedeck is working hard to raise the needed funding - much of which likely depends on the success of the pilot program.
Part of the work Zedeck is doing includes putting the project on Changents as a Change Agent, hoping to gather more interest in what she's trying to achieve. Changents is a site that connects people doing incredible things - like putting self-sufficient farming in backpacks - with backers who offer their support of the project. Together, they make change.
And if there is any farming project worthy of being backed, it's this one.
Zedeck writes, "y eliminating the need for traditional fertilizers (which damage soil and water tables), and distributing a cost effective drip irrigation system and training on green water management (rainwater collection) techniques, we think the Backpack farm model could actually shift the entire mindset of how to develop rural economies and make a positive impact Africa's food security by empowering rural farmers with access to markets. I know it doesn't seem like such a big deal but we developed an all-in-one package that should costs more than $5,000 and costs less than 1/5."
You can check out more about the project at Changents and the Backpack Farm Program website.