The Rural Voice, 1995-12, Page 23has brought large integrated broiler
operations into the region and it was
hard to get chicks for the farm, or to
make money on the operation.
Instead the facilities will be used to
house up to 1800 laying hens (an
1100 -hen flock was started in 1989
with all the eggs being used in the
orphanage kitchen). The farm also
has a small aquaculture operation
growing tropical fish being raised for
their own kitchen. This year a few
beef cattle are being added.
The farm is in a fertile valley and
can grow two crops a year, though
the fields must be irrigated during the
dry season. They have a water
allotment that allows irrigation of 40-
45 acres of crops. Another 10 -acre
plot near the fish ponds is irrigated
from that source to grow vegetables
for the orphanage (the regular
irrigation source, a lake, has water
that is too polluted to be used on food
crops).
Ewald is worried about the
damage of monoculture for fields
growing two crops of corn a year and
is experimenting with crop rotation
and a green -manure crop using a
local legume crop. It's hard to get
enough of the seed, however and the
first attempt was less than successful.
He regrets he wasn't there when the
crop ran into trouble so he could see
what caused the failure.
Reliability of farm management is
an on-going problem. In a country
with an easy climate people tend not
to hold the same kind of work ethic
Canadians have. Something not done
today can always be done tomorrow
so why worry about it. It can be a
frustrating attitude for a Canadian but
Ewald says you have to go to these
countries with an open mind. "After
all, they've been doing it (their way)
for hundreds of years and they're still
there."
The children help with farm
operations when needed and when
they've finished school they are
required to give back a year's work
to the orphanage. Many have gone on
to be doctors, teachers and other
professionals. Currently the
orphanage's dentist and his wife are
both former residents. Many
graduates, successful now in their
own careers, have stepped forward to
help finance orphanage operations.
Despite the presence of the farm,
however, few of the children turn to
farming when they grow up. Farming
is the lowest of professions, regarded
as being a peasant, Ewald says, and
few people choose this path,
preferring urban jobs.
Nuestros Pequerios Hemanos has
expanded over the years setting up
orphanages in Honduras about 10
years ago, in Haiti and most recently
in Nicaragua, started in 1994 to help
care for the many young people who
lost their parents during the terrible
civil war. There are 460 children at
the Honduras orphanage, 85 in
Nicaragua and 320 in Haiti. Each
orphanage has a farm but few are as
well developed as the Mexican farm
which makes the orphanage basically
self-sufficient for food. Honduras
doesn't have as much workable land
and seems to be, he thinks, too
diverse in its operation.
Agri -Skills continues to help.
Recently it sponsored a year-long trip
by another Ontario farmer to
Honduras to help with the farm there.
Currently the organization is looking
for someone to take over the top
management of the farm in Mexico,
the smaller farm in Honduras and the
120 -acre farm in Nicaragua. So far
they haven't been able to find the
right person. It's not a good idea for
someone with young children or
someone too old to take on such a
job, he says.
The orphanage's Canadian
support group, called The Friends of
the Orphans, Canada, is trying to
raise $1 million in a two year
campaign, to be used for education,
food and health needs of the orphans
in the various orphanages.
Since Agri -Skills Abroad does not
have any charitable organization
status for income tax purposes, an
arrangement has been worked out
with S.H.A.R.E. which will accept
money, issue a receipt and turn the
money over to Agri -Skills. Anyone
wishing to support the project can
mail a cheque to:
S.H.A.R.E. (Agri -Skills),
Agriculture Foundation,
1544 Countryside Drive,
R.R. 4,
Brampton, ON L6T 3S1
Through their donations, and the
skills of volunteers like Ewald
Lammerding, Canadian farmers
continue making a difference for
orphaned children in Third World
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BARFOOT'S
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517 Brown St., Marton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265-6224
DECEMBER 1995 19