PPP at Ivoire Organics: preparations underway for the expansion of organic cultivation
Our colleague Marnie Kathem has been travelling around the Ivory Coast since last December. Here she visited Ivoire Organics, a cooperative of farmers and employees, to carry out diverse tasks for example various field tests, soil analyses and training courses.
The equipment which was shipped to the Ivory Coast last November was assembled by the Ivoire Organics team and tested on the fields under Marnie’s instruction. After a few failed attempts, the equipment and settings are now ideally suited to the local conditions.
These machines were immediately put to use: local legumes were sown on several test plots with the new combined sowing machine. In addition, an organic foliar fertiliser was also used by means of the plant sprayer. The results are still to be seen and everyone is eagerly awaiting these!
Marnie also took soil samples of the sites to determine the current nutrient level of the soil. Once this is known a fertiliser which will revitalise the soil can be optimally adjusted to suit the requirements of the field.
Several trials with various compost components are also currently underway. A great deal can go wrong in composting and Marnie Kathem, therefore, gave the employees of Ivoire Organics training so they could learn background information and practical tips concerning this.
Whilst in central Europe it is winter, the current temperature on the Ivory Coast is an average 33 degrees. This is not easy as things can quickly get very strenuous on the fields in such a constant heat. In addition there is also a hot wind with sand blowing in from the Sahara and, as a result, Marnie Kathem and the others return home at the end of the day tired and dusty. The workers on the field, therefore, stop working at around midday.
Despite everything, Marnie Kathem and her colleagues at Ivoire Organics are motivated in their work as something is changing at Ivoire Organics on the Ivory Coast. At the end of January Marnie will return to Germany and we will then report on everything she has experienced here.
Text: Visnja Malesic
Images: BioTropic GmbH
Version: January 2016
These machines were immediately put to use: local legumes were sown on several test plots with the new combined sowing machine. In addition, an organic foliar fertiliser was also used by means of the plant sprayer. The results are still to be seen and everyone is eagerly awaiting these!
Marnie also took soil samples of the sites to determine the current nutrient level of the soil. Once this is known a fertiliser which will revitalise the soil can be optimally adjusted to suit the requirements of the field.
Several trials with various compost components are also currently underway. A great deal can go wrong in composting and Marnie Kathem, therefore, gave the employees of Ivoire Organics training so they could learn background information and practical tips concerning this.
Whilst in central Europe it is winter, the current temperature on the Ivory Coast is an average 33 degrees. This is not easy as things can quickly get very strenuous on the fields in such a constant heat. In addition there is also a hot wind with sand blowing in from the Sahara and, as a result, Marnie Kathem and the others return home at the end of the day tired and dusty. The workers on the field, therefore, stop working at around midday.
Despite everything, Marnie Kathem and her colleagues at Ivoire Organics are motivated in their work as something is changing at Ivoire Organics on the Ivory Coast. At the end of January Marnie will return to Germany and we will then report on everything she has experienced here.
Text: Visnja Malesic
Images: BioTropic GmbH
Version: January 2016