Successes, failures and fences

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Shanty and John continue to work hard and report both successes and failures. Sadly, one savings group has decided to stop their weekly contributions because of trust issues and pressures from family members. We are hoping they can overcome these difficulties and have offered assistance. The other four groups continue to contribute and grow in their understanding of the savings and loan process.

Overall, the agriculture projects are doing quite well, with only a few snags here and there. Because the rains are beginning to slow at the end of the second growing season, increased irrigation is becoming necessary, and pests in some locations are becoming a problem. The biggest pests of all are the goats. The solution is building fences; unfortunately, farmers are not always willing to commit the time for their construction. At Just Hope’s model plots in Lunsar, we are preparing to plant living fences of Jatropha curcas as an example of a more sustainable solution to the goat problem.