When we tell people that we are working on an ag project in Rwanda, we know we're talking to a true farmer when their first question is, "what kind of equipment are you using?" We've had a lot of questions about the equipment side of things so we thought we would devote a whole post to machinery: what we're using and how we got it there.
After 4 years of talking about farming in Rwanda, taking scouting trips to look at possible sites, meeting with local leaders and a gazillion different business plans and project proposals, we decided to take a giant leap of faith and just start buying and shipping equipment. Justin spent countless hours researching machinery and watching online auctions for good deals. Last July, one month after our twin boys were born, we pulled home our first piece of Africa-bound equipment, a 21 foot disc. It was a painful 10 hours from Streator to Alhambra with 3 children under the age of 2 and a crabby wife all in the same vehicle. Needless to say, this was the last time the kids and I were invited on equipment fetching trips.
By the end of July we had collected a 10 foot chisel plow, a 21 foot disc, 2 field cultivators, 1 cultimulcher, 2 John Deere 7000 planters (8-row narrow), a pull behind sprayer, a Suzuki Samauri and countless tools and accessories. Any part that we thought might break, we bought 2 of.
In order to make all of this equipment work for Africa, almost all of the pieces had to be altered which made for a very long and hot summer for two faithful helpers, Eli and Dalton. In order to accomodate narrow African roads and small field size, the disc was cut down to 14 foot, the cultivators to 12 foot, the planters cut from 8 to 4 rows. In addition, many off-road accessories, including off-road tires and suspension lift, were added to the Samauri which we would later be very very thankful for.
At the beginning of August, we started the adventure of packing a container. The above list doesn't seem like a lot of equipment, but attempting to pack it all into a 40 foot container is a real challenge. One that could not be accomplished without the help of some very wise (cough...old...cough) men, namely Berry, Bruce, Don, Donny, Jerry and Dwight. We still owe you guys a steak dinner.
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| Lunch break with Ada as the entertainment |
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| Just enough room for the Suzuki |
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| Clears with inches to spare |
If we thought packing a container was an adventure, we would later find out that unpacking and putting together the contents of a container after it has been out to sea for months, is an adventure in a different class all together.
One of our favorite and most gratifying moments came in the weeks when Justin was working with some local men who were hired to help put the machinery back together. He and the men had worked all day to put one of the two cultivators together and at the end of the day, Bernard asked if he and Stephen could try to put the second one together by themselves. Justin handed over the key to the toolbox and hoped for the best. When he arrived the next day at 11:00am, Bernard and Stephen already had the second machine put together. These two men have proven to be among our best workers. They are eager to learn new skills and so appreciative to be given the opportunity to work.
This is exactly the kind of impact we hope to make with the farm. In addition to simply adding to their commodity chain in order to drive down the price of food and seed, we hope to impact lives by teaching skills and investing in communities by starting businesses.
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| Two of our favorite Rwandans, Bernard and Stephen |
This is exactly the kind of impact we hope to make with the farm. In addition to simply adding to their commodity chain in order to drive down the price of food and seed, we hope to impact lives by teaching skills and investing in communities by starting businesses.
