RWA Zambia held a five-day feminist agro ecology school in Lusaka, Zambia from 11th to 15th August. RWA Zambia received over 30 participants from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Madagascar, Swaziland, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Eswatini and Zambia. The objective of the feminist agroecology school was to help rural women gain understanding of the relationship between women and nature and to continue nurturing the relationship by using Feminist Agroecology for building rural women resilience to climate change.
Feminist Agroecology is a system of sustainable agriculture which focuses on redressing unequal gender relations in farming. The significance of feminist agroecology is that it holds the potential to overcome many dichotomies. Agro ecology is very important,as Global systems are no longer safe for humanity and global at large. Further,it is a sustainable way to farming to produce healthy food whilst preserving natural resources.On the first day, participants were trained on the importance/objective of feminist agro ecology, agroecology,the importance of seeds and history of Kasisi training school.
On day 2, RWA members participating in the agro ecology feminist school were given an opportunity to visit one seed saver from Shibuyunji district and a RWA Shibuyunji seed bank called Medza land. On day 3, participants visited RWA Rufunsa, where sister Precious Shonga from RWA Rufunsa taught and demonstrated to the RWA sisters how to make cassava/cowpea cakes and fritters using a stove made of bricks made of ant hill soil and cow dung as a way to preserve energy. Further, the women were given an opportunity to taste the delicious cakes and fritters.
On day 4, the RWA sisters had an opportunity to learn how to process daily milk, oats , make yogurts and cheese at Kasisi training center. Our sisters were practical on how to plant vegetables in a kitchen garden or portable garden. On the last day, the RWA sisters visited an old orchard organic farm in Kafue district, where they planted bananas, maize, soya beans and pigeon peas.
