Gardens For Health International, Rwanda

A wide range of trees have been planted across the farm; those are fruit trees, agroforestry trees, medicinal plants and shrubs. All those are building soil organic matter and boost productivity, increase water retention, improve air quality and provide forage for livestock.

At the starting (2020), we planted 100 sugar canes, 100 fruit trees (citrus, orange, avocadoes, and so on), 280 agro forestry trees (alenus, acacia, sesbania, Caliandra, etc) and 75 medicinal plant (hibiscus, altemisia). At this time, we have planted more than 3000 trees. Some agroforestry trees have been harvested and serve as stalks for mango and banana plantations. All trees are planted along the berms except sugar canes and yams which are planted into the swales.

By September 2021, we were growing a wide range of crops each season which includes:

Cereals (maize, sorghum, wheat) Legumes (beans, soybean, peas, cowpeas), Vegetables (leafy greens, onions’ varieties, root vegetables, fruit vegetables, etc) conventional and indigenous ones. As GHI is promoting better nutrition through agriculture and health education, we have been able to boost food production as well as diversity to our farm. We introduced more than 10 new tree varieties and vegetables. As we run our community lunch program, we have been able to produce more than 70% of food commodities consumed on a daily basis.

Before starting permaculture, we used to have 4 goats only. Under the EARN Permaculture grant, we introduced pigs and turkeys at Gardens for Health international. The rapid multiplication of livestock resulted in intensive manure production. Additionally, the turkeys are laying down eggs, and this is a rare product to have in Rwanda. [As of] November 2024, we are able to produce 50% of manure used seasonally to fertilize the farm.