Final Project Report - Malawi
Volunteer Name:Sarah Kazira
Project Title:SCHOOL GARDEN USING DRIP IRRIGATION
Project Location:Nsondole CDSS
Date Implemented: August 2016
Date Completed: January 2017
BriefDescription/Executive Summary:
This project was done so as to address the need of assisting the vulnerable students at the school who could not afford to pay school fees. The project was made possible by the donation of CorpsAfrica’s partner Opportunity Bank who gave us the drip irrigation tools which we used to set up the a garden. One of the most viable small scale businesses in my community was the sale of vegetables. In partnership with Nsondole CDSS we worked in establishing this vegetable garden which will be used throughout the year to grow different kinds of vegetables which will be sold to generate funds that will be used to sponsor students from less privileged families. In order to ensure protection of the plants in the garden we constructed a fence which surrounded garden.
Problems or Needs Addressed: many students were being forced out of school during to lack of school fees and the school had no way of paying school fees for them since the school did not have an Income Generating Activity.
Target Population/Beneficiaries/Stakeholders: The target was the school and the students at the school. The impact on those who participated in h project was that they learnt of how to use irrigation. The main stakeholders were the school administration, the students and teachers.
Partners: Opportunity international, they supplied the irrigation kit, the Headteacher and the teachers of Nsondole Community DaySecondary School. The students of Nsondole who are the ones who will be responsible in irrigating the vegetables at the school
Community Contribution: the community invested K84,500 in the project these were contributions made by the members of the Parents, Teachers Association and Nsondole CDSS.
Action Plan Accomplishment:
List the major milestones accomplished and by whom.
PLANNED(as stated in your proposal) / ACTUALACTIVITIES
What activities must be implemented to reach each outcome? / Which activities were completed and which were not?
Getting a drum / Completed
Making a fence around the garden / Completed
Preparing land and planting / Completed
Taking care of crops / This is continuous
Selling of crops / Incomplete
Goals: Planned and Actual Achievements:
PLANNED(as stated in your proposal) / ACTUALOUTCOMES
What immediate outcomes of the project would you like to achieve? / What outcomes of the project did you achieve?
That 50% of those students who were sent away because of lack of school fees are able to return to school having the proceeds of the garden pay for their fees / 0% of school fees was paid from proceeds
At least 8 gardens are established in the community / Three gardens were established
Obstacles Encountered and Solutions – Lessons Learned:
The obstacle encountered were first in sourcing money to get the drums and then secondly in getting people to participate in the going events.
Another obstacle was that the first committee which was running the project had a misunderstanding with school management so they quit and we had to hand over to the mothergroup to continue the work .even though the mothergroup took on the role, they became dormant when they were handed another garden to work on by another organization and also when farming season came. Another obstacle was that the garden did not do very well; it did not produce enough to sell so the little it produced was distributed among the teachers.
One thing I learned from this is how to be patient and also delegate things.
Evaluation:
What was the Objective/Goal? / # Impacted / What was the indicator of success or progress for each goal? / What exactly was measured? / What outcome was desired - what was the target for this indicator? (% or whole number) / What was the baseline? ? (% or whole number) / What was the final outcome? ? (% or whole number) / What was the variance between intention and result?1 / To teach people involved in the project vegetable production through irrigation / 125 / If 30% of people involved in the project could replicate to garden at their homes / The number of gardens in the community / At least 8 gardens are established in the community / 0 gardens / Three gardens where established which is 35% of desired outcome / 5 gardens fewer than intended
2 / To pay school fees for needy students using proceeds from the garden / 125 / 1a 50% of students who have been sent of out school return / Payment of school fees to the bursar / That 50% of those students who were sent away because of lack of school fees are able to return to school having the proceeds of the garden pay for their fees / 20% of those sent home because of fees return to school having found school fees / 20% of those sent home returned / 30% fewer than intended
Ongoing Evaluation:
All data was already collected and project completed therefore no need for ongoing evaluation unless it is for another phase.
Sustainability:
The school management and teachers who participated have gained the knowledge needed to start a new phase of the project.
Tools Used:
The tool used in this was community mapping where we had to look around the community and identify resources to use, for example where to get reeds, where to get manure and where to get water.
Budget:CorpsAfrica only provided the Irrigation kit which was sourced from Opportunity bank but we did not provide funding for this project.
Quantity / Units / Unit cost (MWK) / Total (MWK)Direct Inputs
Seeds (Tomatoes, Chinese cabbage and English rape) / 3 / packets / 1,000.00 / 3,000.00
Fertilizer (NPK) / 1 / 5,000.00 / 5,000.00
Plant medication / 2 / bottles / 3,000.00 / 6,000.00
Subtotal
14,000.00
System set up
Drum / 1 / 16,000.00 / 16,000.00
Reeds / 52 / 300.00 / 15,600.00
Strings / 5,000.00
Cement / 2 / bags / 6,500.00 / 13,000.00
Subtotal / 49,000.00
Labour
Fence construction / 5,000.00 / 5,000.00
Tilling / 7,000.00 / 7,000.00
Pillar construction / 5,000.00 / 5,000.00
Transport / 4,500.00 / 4,500.00
Subtotal / 21,500.00
TOTAL / 84,500.00
MONTHLY PROJECT TRACKER
Month / September / OctoberName of the project / School Garden Irrigation / School Garden Irrigation
Phase of the project / Implementing / Prototyping / Implementing / Prototyping
How many partner organizations are you working with? / None
Please list the names of your partner organizations: / N/A
How many people are working directly with you to conduct this project? / 3 to 5
How many people do you estimate are involved in your idea/plan/prototype/project? / 75 to 100
How many people do you estimate are benefiting from your idea/plan/prototype/project? / More than 100
Major obstacle / Time management, the project is not going according to the time frame / Getting water to put in the drum and water the plants
Obstacle resolved / No / No
If No, what are you doing / Trying to find better ways of planning / Getting grass to mulch the plants to avoid losing more water
What are major successes in this project / We have set up the garden / Setting up the garden and transplanting some plants
What are major lessons from this project / I have learnt to be patient because projects do not always go according to the planned time / That implementing a project takes time and dedication
What is the project risk status / High / Medium
Explain the risk status / The risk comes mainly because of security as the garden is right on the roadside / The heat is too much and access to water is not easy so the plants might end up wilting
Project Status / Delayed / Delayed
What activities did you plan to do this month / Finding place for the garden by school management and PTA / Transplanting plants from the nursery by students
What activities are in progress
What activities were completed in the month and by whom / Finding place for the garden by school management and PTA / Taking care of the already transplanted crops by the students
What are some unanticipated outcomes which you have experienced in this project / Delays, running out of time, people not cooperating, poor planning / People not doing what they said they would do and the weather drastically changing
What improvements can be made? / Sensitizing the people involved on the importance of team work / Getting a new committee to do the job