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Hello ,
Water is life
Zambia is a country where there is no rain for six months, making life difficult for many households. Moreover, Zambia is very sparsely populated (28 people per km²). This makes it difficult for some women to collect water for domestic use. Sometimes they have to walk more than half an hour to the nearest community pump. Growing vegetables around the house is simply not an option in such cases.
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In 2026, the Marie-Stella-Maris Foundation sponsors 50 boreholes with pumps for domestic use. These will be installed at families houses, who will each share the clean drinking water free of charge with approximately 40 people in the neighbourhood.
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Drilling a borehole manually
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Jacana considers clean drinking water very important, but we only select families who will also generate income from the water, which they will have available year-round thanks to the sponsored pump. Because when a family earns money from the water, it provides enormous motivation to properly maintain the pump. No water means no income.
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Most families are farmers who grow maize, soybeans, peanuts, sunflowers, cotton, or tobacco during the rainy season. These fields are usually far from home.
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For this project, we select families who have a piece of land around their home where a pump can be installed and where a vegetable garden can be started at a safe distance from the pump. The vegetables provide a varied diet for the family during the dry months, and the surplus is sold. This improves food security. And that is necessary because in Zambia, 48% of people in rural areas still do not get enough calories and 35% of children under 5 still have stunted growth.
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Example of a vegetable garden
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Many farmers know how to grow crops during the rainy season, but they lack the knowledge of the best vegetable cultivation methods. Therefore, Jacana provides a four-day training program. To keep costs as low as possible for the farmers, locally sourced materials are used as much as possible. To maintain soil health, Jacana provides training in organic farming techniques.
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Organic Compost Production Training
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The farmers learn how to make four different types of compost: Bokashi, Berkerley compost, compost tea, and Lab serum. All of these can be made using locally available materials.
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Organic pest and disease management
This training teaches farmers how to make their own pesticides using locally available materials and how to apply them.
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Organic pesticide production
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Nursery and Land Preparation Training
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Farmers learn how to create a proper seedling bed and prepare the land for transplanting the seedlings.
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Seedling bed and land preparation
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Transplanting Seedlings Training
Once the seedlings are ready, they need to be transplanted. Farmers learn about spacing, fertilization, disease prevention, and maintenance.
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After the training, each farmer receives individual guidance from Jacana staff and the farmers will visit each other and have the opportunity to observe and learn from each other.
Livestock can graze and roam freely in the countryside, so it's important that the 20x20m plot of land is fenced.
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Donation
In 2025, 44 farmers have already received training in creating a vegetable garden. These farmers and their neighbours are very grateful for having clean water for domestic use and a fenced vegetable garden at home.
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For 2026, Marie-Stella-Maris has already financed the drilling of another 50 boreholes and installation of pumps. Jacana would like to offer these 50 farmers agricultural training, but unfortunately, we do not yet have all the financial resources. Therefore, we are requesting a small contribution for this project.
To give you an idea, €4,000 will support 10 farmers.
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10 Years of Jacana
What is more rewarding than working with and for enthusiastic people who are fighting their way out of extremely difficult circumstances?
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We are incredibly grateful to everyone who makes this work possible for us.
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