Farm Friday

It's hard to believe that February is drawing to a close. Temperatures begin to drop a bit here as our families Stateside report temperatures rising and snow melting away! It's odd to be living below the equator and experiencing opposite seasons. This month our family reached the exciting milestone of living in Zambia for 6 months. Time marches on, and rains continue to fall as rainy season reaches its peak.

Strawberry tunneling was finally finished yesterday. The strawberries are happy, happy, happy now.  And we are thankful it is done.

Aerial view of the tunnels ready for plastic

Stretching the plastic into place

Plastic on! Hopefully the berries will appreciate the drier conditions.

Raspberries continue to produce in abundance. After consulting with PSI, we discovered the reason for the lack of sweetness is due to the heavy rains. Apparently the rains somehow decrease and dilute sugar content. Our kids have been thrilled to gobble up the berries that are not selling because of this. Raspberries hang on...you will be tunneled next!

Gooseberries are being harvested twice a week. These fruits are sold to a local grocery store in Kitwe. It is encouraging to finally have some income during the rainy season.

At the end of March we are hosting a food production specialist team who will be helping us set up our processing building to produce jam and bottle honey. We have over 6,000 pounds of strawberries in our freezer waiting to be made into jam (minus what the kids and I snitch on occasion). Getting the building up to food production specs is demanding our attention. The floor must be tiled, all the cracks in the processing room must be sealed. An air conditioning unit will be added to regulate the temperature of the room to keep our fruits stable. A water filtration system is also being added so we can process with clean water. We are looking forward to this new venture to provide more opportunities to employ workers; widows who will have a regular income to provide for their families. We pray that as the business grows, Lifesong Farms impact will be positive and long-lasting. 

Work at the new farm progresses. The pump house for the irrigation system is finished. As is the security fence surrounding the property. The sea container conversion to housing for our night guard is almost complete. Currently we are beginning construction for a cooler that will be used for our berry harvest in July. In the next few weeks, preparation of the strawberry beds must begin. We anticipate the arrival of 100,000 strawberry plants the first week in April. 

Maybe we should just move in here as we wait for our own house to be finished. hmmmm....

Pump house complete and ready for the irrigation system to be added!

Working in the mud to prepare a path for the security fence.

We are thankful to continue to see progress in spite of the challenges of working in the rainy season.  We are getting used to frequent delays due to rain, stuck equipment, and power failures.  It is certainly an exercise in patience and perseverance.  As we look back on the last few weeks, we can only thank God for His protection and blessings.  We are reminded of the scripture which talks about how we plant and water but God gives the increase.  We hope that our efforts and attitudes are pleasing to Him and trust that He will indeed give increase to Lifesong Farm.

Just another day.

A cobra measuring over 5' long killed a few feet from our future cooler on the new farm.

Our family and Lifesong Farm thanks all of you for your continued prayers and support.  We could not do it without you.  May our God richly bless you.