Hi WWOOFers! My name is Clara, the initiator of the Minamba Research Farm.
At our farm where're looking for ways to combine forest conservation with increased benefits for local rainfed forest farmers. We do research, run experiments and tests, and we demonstrate regenerative and ecological techniques. Our goal is to increase yields, protect the soil and identify new forest products that can help generate a sustainable income throughout the year, so people are not forced to chop trees for charcoal or bricks, to get some short term cash at the expense of nature.
Besides using common permaculture techniques like digging swales, growing fruit and growing polycultures of organic vegetables, we also test how to propagate indigenous trees and set up activities around local knowledge. This includes sharing knowledge on the production of eco-friendly pesticides from local trees, making drinks from local fruits, drying mushrooms and many more. This may also include using branches to make tools or furniture, or using local materials to built an eco house.
We have a nearby house and some studios near the Kambisa! community centre (which also has a forest gardens where we work at times). Bread is in the freezer, eggs and other foods are in the house. You can either cook for yourself and get your groceries at the local market, or join us for lunch or dinner. If we cook, it is mostly traditional Zambian Nsima, with vegetables and a vegetarian protein source. We occasionally have chicken, fish or meat for those who like it, but please don't expect such on a daily basis.
The accommodation is off grid, using its own borehole and solar for drinkwater and electricity.
To relax a bit around the house we have games, books and DvD's, a garden with hammocks and a community centre where you can organise activities with our neighbours!
Read more
Learning opportunities
Forestry
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Renewable energy production
Food justice / sovereignty
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Biodynamic agriculture
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
50
Hectares
|
123.6
Acres
