What we've done so far

~ 11 Oaks ~

Of Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
and Maseru, Lesotho, Southern Africa
A 501 c 3, public charity

Here are brief descriptions of 11 Oaks projects to date:

March, 2010: replanting of gardens in Lesotho with winter vegetables such as cabbage....

November, 2009:

We introduced gravity fed drip irrigation and bucket kits to the following communities:

Qacha's Nek: Tebellong Hospital, Hermitage High School, and Makhaola High School received at total of 1200 feet of pipe and two demo bucket kits, and all the vegetable seed necessary for their new gardens.

Pitseng: The Help Lesotho Leadership Center received 800 feet of pipe, a demo bucket kit, and a 1000 Liter tank to catch water off of the roof. We also provided bean seedlings that we had grown at our Small Farm Resource Center in Sekamaneng and squash and spinach seeds too.

Mapoteng: The Maluti Adventist Hospital received 900 feet of pipe and a demo bucket kit. We uncovered a long ago discarded cache of about 10,000 feet of Netafim pipe and an old underground piping system at this site also. We got a roll of it out and hooked it up and both the abandoned system and pipe still worked! No one at the hospital knew that either of these treasures existed! We had to do some digging and patching of broken pipe that had been plowed over but by the time we left they were looking good! Since the Netafim pipe was of the style that had emitters inside the pipe we taught the gardeners that they could still use the old pipe by simply leaving the old hole plugged up and inserting one of our emitters next to it on the outside of the pipe. Viola! Does anyone else in the world realize this? This means that pipe with internal emitters- usually unacceptable for the water quality in developing regions- can be brought back to life by using cheap, non pressure compensating emitters next to the failed emitter. Don't tear it out, fix it!
In Mapoteng we also provided potato and bean seed to a support group that was using a quarter acre garden area donated by the chief. At nearby Popopo, we set up a support group with a 250 Liter tank and 600 feet of pipe, along with enough seed to get their garden growing.

In Thaba-Tseka: Paray Hospital received about 900 feet of drip irrigation to be run off of a nearby tap. Seeds were installed here so that when we leave these sites, they are ready to grow! Also in Thaba-Tseka we outfitted Paray High School with 300 feet of drip, also off a tap, and the gardener there, his name is Joseph, is eager to hook up the whole acre of garden on his own. We believe he will do it.

In Morija: Scott hospital received a bucket kit and hopefully the inspiration to run pressurized water (off a nearby tank) to their entire garden. If they decide to take this step, we will be there to support them.

In Khukune: a local farmer who feeds his neighbors received 1200' of pipe run off of a 55 gallon drum that must be filled by hand. We seeded his area also.

Qalo High School in Seboche received a bucket kit in the gardens they use for student agriculture projects.

November 2008---January 2009
***Established Small Farm Resource Centers in Lesotho at St. Charles School in Butha-Buthe and at the Center for Poor and Less Privileged Children in Maseru. These locations now have drip irrigation in place and are watering up to 6,000 vegetable plants that will produce at least 6 tons of food twice per year.

***In January, 2009 we introduced drip irrigation to 8 different villages including the mountain village of Semonkong and Mafeteng in the dry southern region.

***We have established working relationships with Sentebale, LIRAC (Lesotho Inter-Religious Aids Consortium), the Sisters of Charity, SkillShare International, and the Dept. of Agriculture and Food Security.

2008:

***Partnered with Canadian Rotaries to restore clean running water to the St. Charles High School in Seboche, Lesotho. This is where we will be drip irrigating this November-January!

*** Set up 11 Oaks 'home away from home' at the Bytown Orphanage in Maseru, Lesotho

***toured Soweto, South Africa, to study bucket irrigation in shanty towns. Give financial support to "Build the Future" which sponsors the projects.

***Redesigned the basic bucket irrigation kit as historically used. Ours is cheaper, lasts longer, is easier to clean, and the parts are universally available.

2007:

***Worked with Sustainable Harvest International in Belize for 5 weeks, see Journal for specifics or read La Cosecha article.

***Sent the first of 100 bucket kits to the Yoro District of Honduras

***Sent a gas powered generator to hurricane ravaged Jamaica.

*** Attended the HANA Conference on HIV and Nutrition at the ECHO Global Research Farm in Ft. Myers, Florida

2006:

~ Attended the ECHO Conference in Ft. Myers, Florida. Three days of intense meetings, lectures and demonstrations on sustainable agriculture. Got to meet and assist Mr. Richard Chapin of Chapin Living Waters Foundation and Chapin Watermatics at the conference.

~ Got to know the Camino Seguro organization in Guatemala City. Served on the leadership team of a Traverse City support group known as Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage. We held a FIESTA! Benefit and raised over 23,000 dollars for Camino Seguro in one afternoon!

~ Contributed landscape design and installation services at the Camino Seguro (Safe Passage) school at the dump in Guatemala City.

~ Demonstrated the use of Chapin Bucket Irrigation Kits to extentionists from several Latin American countries at the Sustainable Harvest International Demonstration Farm in Virrey, Honduras. Learned of the possibility for placement of this technology in Belize in 2007.

~ Facilitated the shipment of medical supplies to Paramedics for Children in Copan Ruinas, Honduras.....