Illness plunged Nigatu Shibiru and his wife Dukani Hotesa's family into dire straits. Growing potatoes has now turned their lives around.
The starting point:
Nigatu Shibiru and his wife Dukani Hotesa live with their sons in the village of Sike Bokosa. The family owns only a tiny piece of land, no bigger than a quarter of a football field. They never had enough. Then Nigatu contracted tuberculosis. "I was afraid he would die," says Dukani. The treatment was so expensive that they had to sell their most important possessions: two packhorses, an ox, and a dairy cow.
How we help:
Menschen für Menschen supports particularly poor small-scale farmers with advice, as well as seed potatoes and fertilizer on credit. "Things are looking up again," says Nigatu. "We are very grateful for that!"
This is how the help works:
Nigatu dug a ton of potatoes from his small plot of land. He set aside a fifth as seed for the new year, and the family ate another fifth. But the farmer sold the majority of the harvest at the market – and used the money to buy two sheep – the first step towards owning their own livestock. "I have experience with fattening," says Nigatu. "I hope to be able to buy an ox after the next harvest." Eventually, a better house will come. For now, the family lives in a hut with a grass roof. "But the most important thing is: we can now feed our children," says Dukani.
Precious tuber
Potatoes are particularly valuable in Hambela Wamena because they allow for high yields even on small plots of land. We support 218 families with seed potatoes and fertilizer on credit, as well as training in cultivation, storage, and marketing. The repayments go back to the village's farmers' cooperative, enabling other families to invest in their livelihoods with new microloans.
