Creating Connections with the Community

They came in a large group of 6 this morning. Bounding through our black entrance gate, the eyes of these 5 women and 1 little girl were transfixed at every corner of our drip irrigation farm. They couldn't believe their eyes. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, and zucchini growing in the middle of the dry season. They ended up staying for an hour asking about how all this really works.

Most of us struggle mightily to stay connected to our neighbors. We pass them and extend greetings and talk about the weather. Yet, there's little to keep the conversation going because we are so busy. Maybe a discussion about our children may keep us talking a few minutes longer but we are really ready to get on to the next item on today's agenda. Still, there's something amazing about agriculture that really keeps the conversation going that we've discovered.

All of us have to eat. In Maiduguri, we can't just run out of the house to Publix, Kroger, or Aldi & pick up something to cook for supper. In Borno State, you have to plan your meals and be very selective of the open air market food that you buy. Most folks in northeastern Nigeria buy every commodity based on a relationship not simply on the value of the item to be purchased. This has made our drip irrigation farm all the more signficant: we are not only selling vegetables ... we are building relationships that will last!

The notoriety of the INTERCEP drip irrigation farm in Maiduguri has reached a level that there is a daily line of people at the INTERCEP office requesting to be on the list for our next workshop. Borno State agricultural development project men are begging to be invited to a women's workshop on food preservation! Culturally, men & women don't mix at occasions like this in northeastern Nigeria but these men know the value of the instruction that will be imparted. As goodwill continues to be fostered with our local community, people begin to ask questions about the force behind our efforts. This opens doors for conversations concerning the One who gives water, sunlight, and healthy soil to all.

We have a community in the western suburb of Pompomari in Maiduguri that is hungry for decent daily meals. We also have neighbors that are thirsty for drinking water during the long dry season from November to May. Our friends surrounding this small 2 1/2 acre piece of land are always inquiring about how they can be involved in sharing the good news of vegetables in the desert. The local people are beginning to see the value of teaching self-reliance through hard work, ingenuity, and diligent management of resources. All of this leaves us with an incredible network of people yearning to know more about the Bread & Water of Life!