The Farm: Food Sustainability (two seasons/year)

 A few years ago, donors generously helped fund the purchase of a 10-acre farm near the orphanage so they could grow their own staple food products (corn, beans, cassava, etc.) and reduce the cost of feeding the children and staff. Prior to the purchase of the farm, when funds ran out and food ran low, the children and staff were reduced to two small meals a day, often without appropriate supplemental foodstuffs like meat, eggs, milk, sugar, and tea. The farm has helped ensure the orphanage has enough staple foods to support the orphanage year-round via two growing seasons. Corn, beans, and cassava are grown on separate portions on the farm to allow crop rotation and regeneration of the land. Each crop costs approximately $4,362 to grow, harvest, and process.

Semi-Annual Crop Costs ($4,362/season)

    $450  Seeds

    $510 Organic manure

   $852 Field Prep

   $510 Planting

$1,800 Harvesting and Processing

   $240 Contingency