I am walking with Eulalie and her husband Gervais through their lush fields and thriving farm in Kababrore, Burundi.
Just before we started our walk through, she had explained what life was like in her community before they started the partnership with FH Burundi. “There was a lot of hunger here,” she said softly.
Eulalie went on to explain that, the past, they struggled to grow corn—their staple food. Erosion on their farm damaged their crops.
“There was a lot of hunger here,” Eulalie remembers.
Like many families in Kabarore, they only ate one meal a day and she had to travel outside her community to buy food. Eulalie, herself, never had the opportunity to complete her schooling, and really wanted to end the cycle of poverty from spinning into the next generation. “Every mouth should have food, every pocket money,” Eulalie shared, and she worked tirelessly to pay the school fees to make her dreams for her children a reality.
One of the first things FH offered the community, when they started the partnership was agricultural training that would give farmers like Eulalie and Gervais practical techniques to overcome widespread hunger.
With agricultural training, Eulalie has learned to diversify her income! Her newly built rabbit cages will help her raise rabbits on her farm.
Eulalie jumped at the opportunity to learn how to increase her family's income. Through workshops that Canadian donors funded, Eulalie learned how to plant trees and practice intercropping to prevent erosion and improve soil fertility. She began practicing “hot composting” to make her own fertilizer, freeing her from the high cost of buying chemical fertilizers.
And it worked! When I caught up with her, Eulalie had a thriving farm with livestock, crop stores, and the biggest avocado plants I’ve ever seen!
Eulalie and Gervais give Musu, FH Canada President & CEO, a giant avocado from their thriving farm.
Through all the changes, her husband Gervais stayed by her side, supporting her new ideas and working hard to help implement the changes that revolutionized their lives. “My wife has become an agronomist. She is the one who teaches me what to do,” Gervais says, grinning.
“My wife has become an agronomist. She is the one who teaches me what to do,” Gervais says, grinning.
On Eulalie's farm, she grows beans, corn, avocados, and coffee trees. Her plants and livestock are flourishing!
Gervais isn’t the only person Eulalie teaches, either.
Through her training and success, Eulalie became a Lead Farmer in Kabarore and has taught and mentored two cohorts of fellow farmers. Imagine that! A woman who never had the opportunity to go to school now teaching others in her community, changing their lives for the better. Currently, she’s training her third group of farmers and has no intention of stopping after her community completes their partnership with FH Burundi.
A woman who never had the opportunity to go to school now teaching others in her community, changing their lives for the better.
Instead of having to buy expensive pesticides and fertilizers, Eulalie plants grasses and other plants that repel pests and makes fertilizer.
People used to leave Kabarore because of hunger. But now that’s changed. Eulalie says, “The whole district benefited.” This year, farmers in Kabarore didn’t have enough rain. But because they had planted better seeds (originally provided by FH) and applied their new farming techniques, they still cultivated a good bean crop! Community members came together to build a warehouse to store their crops and offer space to non-members who use it for a small fee. This is just one example of the resilience growing in Kabarore.
When FH Burundi first began working with the communities of Kabarore, people were suspicious. They’d had other development organizations come and go, but no one who would commit to staying long-term and work in every area of life. Eulalie remembers that when they started farming in a new way, they began to experience something remarkable, something tangible that they could see. “Now there is no hunger!” she says.
"Now there is no hunger!"
Instead of traveling to buy food, Eulalie now sells food in her community including corn and avocados. With the proceeds, Eulalie and Gervais pay their childrens’ school fees—yes, they stayed in school!—and have bought livestock, land, and solar power. Would you believe two of their seven children are almost finished university? Her dreams for her children are coming true!
“We’d like FH to reach other communities,” Eulalie says, smiling.