My colleague Faye and I were visiting the homes of people who had attended a World Renew-sponsored permaculture course earlier this year. It was a sunny day and I enjoyed seeing the hills in the distance as we drove to the village. “Great place to hike” said Faye, pointing at one of the hills. We started at one church and then made our way from house to house as each person proudly showed us what he or she had accomplished since the training event.

Permaculture — otherwise known as “permanent agriculture” — is essentially a system of agricultural design that seeks to design gardens or farms as nature would. The idea is that nature is already an efficient system and, by observing and modelling it, farmers can save energy and work and eliminate waste, making their efforts more sustainable and viable.

One woman showed us a perfect example. “I planted this banana tree right near the bathing area so it can get the run-off water,” she said proudly. She had taken advantage of the natural way water was already moving to design her garden. Even the prospect of local goats, known to ravage anything left unprotected, could not dampen her enthusiasm. While she waited for corn stalks to become available for building her own garden a protective fence, she spent her time convincing her neighbors to start gardens of their own.

Another trainee, a man named McDonald, was especially proud — and rightly so. Vegetables planted under laundry lines caught the drips from wet clothes. Intensively planted food crops of all types decorated every part of his compound wall. And talk about recycling — he had planted food in all kinds of “waste” containers, including an old pair of rubber boots! Near the house was a small table where he and his wife now sell tomatoes. “We used to have to spend money to buy vegetables at the market” explained his wife. “But now we are selling to others.” These are signs of change. 

By noon we had all gathered back at the church, a gathering of people from three different churches unified in celebration of purpose and success. There was the usual singing and a few short speeches, but the main purpose of the event was to hand out certificates to those who had participated in the course, honoring their achievement.

As we headed to the car to begin our journey back to the city, I couldn’t help but stand in awe at how God is working. People from different theological backgrounds all gathered in the same building, celebrating the changes taking place in their community. Tiny little gardens, some smaller than an SUV, may not seem like much to an outsider, but they are signs that seeds of change have been planted.  Those gardens are critical sources of food for hungry children. They are places to reuse so called waste, and re-purpose it into something beautiful and productive. And that’s kind of like what God does with us. 

Pray for the Sywulka Family

We praise that:

• our family is together again
• batteries and solar panels keep us working
• gardens are changing communities

We ask prayer for:

• which church to become involved in
• our language learning
• our internal peace in the midst of much work

Blessings,

Steve Sywulka

Team Leader
World Renew Southern Africa