PIONEER FARMERS

Focus 2

Since 2019, farmers near the model farm have been supported in the organic cultivation of pineapples in the agroforestry system on their own fields. This resulted in the formalized agricultural cooperative "LOLONYO DE DONOMADE" in 2024. 31 farmers and the model farm of Donomadé are organizing themselves together to grow and sell pineapples and other products. We would like to continue to accompany and specifically support these pioneers so that they can survive in the market and at the same time manage their fields sustainably in times of climate change.

WeMakeIt campaign

We were only able to support the 60 pioneer farmers thanks to the support of the crowdfunding platform WeMakeIt . Many thanks to all donors.

What we have achieved so far.

Success is contagious

The three most successful among the pioneer farmers in the village were selected, who will now be given a permanent position for three years in order to assist the other women farmers in converting the fields.

Image: Team WeMakeIt. Employment contracts with Koffi Attikpoglo, Alobandé Mignanou and Komlan Maneokpo under the supervision of Attisso the agricultural expert and Happy the sociologist).

Agricultural offensive

600,000 pineapple seedlings, 2,400 tree seedlings and 4,000 passion fruit plants will be planted in fields by 60 different farmers on almost 20 hectares of land this year.

Image: Preparing pineapple seedlings.

Extensive fields

Image: Surrounded pineapple field with fruit trees

Training cooperation with GIZ

A cooperation with the German GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) could be initiated on site. This helps to initiate the necessary legal steps when setting up a cooperative. They also support us in training the farmers to be cooperative, in the processing and storage of pineapples and passion fruits, and they are at our side with the organic certification of the fields.

Image: Further training on the farm with GIZ

Resource-saving cooking

In 2022, a further CHF 15,000 will be spent on the procurement and introduction of the pyrolysis cookers and on building a studio for the production of bundles of wood. In this way, we enable more resource-saving and smoke-free cooking and produce valuable biochar, which we want to enrich with nutrients and bacteria and return to the soil.

Image: pyrolysis cooker in operation

Nutrients for the soil

Image: Ash from the pyrolysis cooker serves as a nutrient in the soil

The wemakeit campaign of December 2020

WeMakeIt2020

Our goal

We want to support 60 pioneer farmers (38 women and 22 men) in their transition from monoculture to permaculture. Over the course of three years, we will jointly improve around 20 hectares of land: We will diversify the fields with tropical trees suitable for the location and initiate intensive soil building in the soil. This will have a long-term impact on sustainable management of the fields, enable the farmers involved to earn a significantly higher income and promote biodiversity. We also expect a catalytic effect on other farmers who will also convert their fields to permaculture in the future.

We also support these farmers in switching to pyrolysis ovens. This reduces the pressure on the wood in the adjacent protective forest, wood is used much more efficiently and people are less exposed to harmful smoke when cooking. In addition, the biochar obtained through pyrolysis can be returned to the soil.

Thanks to small farmers in sustainable agriculture

Small farmers produce more than half of our food and have the potential to feed the world sustainably and in doing so strengthen natural resources such as soil, water and climate. Unfortunately, especially in West Africa, there is often a lack of prospects for rural regions, access to education, health services, investment capital, locally adapted seeds and secure land. Population pressure and cheap, low-quality products from China, such as pesticides and artificial fertilizers, are pushing farmers into more intensive, non-ecological agriculture and making them financially dependent. The soil is becoming impoverished and even more people are fleeing to overcrowded cities where no one is waiting for them. There needs to be a way out of this vicious circle and that is where we are starting, in Donomadé, a small village in Togo.

With the "Happy Togo" association, we guarantee that the project will continue to be supported after these three years. We have been supporting the research and model farm in the village of Donomadé in Togo for six years now. We are proud of the annual progress that we have made together with the experts from the Togolese association "Étoile Verte" and implemented together with the local farmers.

To the campaign

WE MADE IT