All Saints' and St. George's support Donkeys with Plows program
The Episcopal Parish of All Saints’ Church and St. George’s Chapel announces its Lenten 2015 Program. The parish will collect funds to support the Episcopal Relief and Development program Donkeys with Plows.
This program is a financing solution and technical assistance package to help women smallholder farmers increase their productivity through ownership of donkeys with plows.
Episcopal Relief & Development, in collaboration with its Ghanaian partner, the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization, is implementing an innovative project so these women can save time and labor through donkey plows, instead of working the fields with hand tools. ADDRO trains the women in donkey care, use of the plow, and improved agriculture techniques, and provides credit so they can purchase a donkey, plow and cart.
Most women farmers in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to oxen for farming and are consigned to grueling and time-consuming labor using hoes to prepare fields for planting. Women’s access to oxen has been limited by cost and cultural taboos; in addition, oxen’s large size makes them difficult for women to manage.
An adapted plow was developed in the 1990s specifically for use by a single donkey, which is more affordable and practical for women, while saving 18 or more days of labor per hectare of land (2.5 acres) versus using a hand hoe alone. However, the donkey has not been widely popularized to date, and cost is a major obstacle.
This project provides women smallholder farmers the opportunity to acquire a donkey, plow and cart, as well as improved seeds and fertilizer, through affordable credit. Two credit options will be explored through a revolving loan fund designed to be financially sustainable. Participants also receive skills training in donkey care, farm business management and agricultural techniques.
The loan amount will cover the cost of a donkey, a plow and a cart, enabling the women owners to earn extra income to help repay their loans by renting the donkey set to others for farming and transporting goods.
For more information, contact the parish office or Joseph Cascio, outreach chair, at 302-227-7202. To support this program, make checks payable to All Saints’ Church Lenten Program 2015 and mail to 18 Olive Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.
