About The Placement
Assist local small scale farmers from the nearby towns and villages on their personal and community farmland plots. Learn to grow local produce and manage the land in the traditional hands on approach whilst helping them to provide for their families.
Why This Placement?
Farming is one of the main occupations in our area of Ghana, due to being based in a semi rural area these are small scale farmers often living under the poverty line who produce the crops to feed and sustain their families by selling any additional product to markets.
Nearly all of these farmers don't have modern equipment and use traditional methods to manage the land which is hard work and labour intensive - due to this, you have the opportunity to come and lend a hand to help our linked farmers to increase their farming capacity to be able to grow and increase their crop yield.
For longer term volunteers we aim to study and research organic farming practices and more profitable produce and methods such as tropical fruits; watermelons and pineapples which have a higher profit margin due to demand in cities and the export market.
Working with our other conservation placements we will also be creating plastic upcylcled greenhouses created from plastic waste to share amongst our linked farmers and community plots along with further education on how these can be used to enhance their produce outcome.
What Is Included In This Placement?
Support Staff - Accommodation - House Utility Bills - Pre Departure Support
We charge cost price for this project just so we can cover your
stay and employ local support staff to increase loyal employment. This
placement includes accommodation
in a modern style house for the semi rural area of which we are based
with great views and surroundings of the local towns and rainforest. All
house utilities are included for your time, you will have use of the
kitchen,
electricity throughout the house and running water which is a luxury
among the area of Kwahu. You will have a member of our local support
team living in house or close by depending on the volunteer numbers so
there is always someone on hand for any questions or support you may
need.
How Do I Get To The Placement?
Budget an additional 20 - 30 cedis per day for transport costs.
We
work with a number of project sites within the local community and
slightly
further out in rural communities. Volunteers will usually take taxis
back and forth to their placement site. It is very easy to take shared
taxis in town and
they are very reasonably priced. Most of our project sites will require
volunteers to pay transport between 15 cedis and 40 cedis a day, with
the average
being about 20 cedis.
The more remote project sites are usually located
down tracks and therefore cost a little bit more to reach. Our team
will be able to assist volunteers group together for transport and where
to find taxis etc.
Volunteers are usually able to head off into the town after school
easily to shop for food supplies, grab a cold drink or meet up with
friends before heading home and the ease of taxis offer a really
flexible experience for the volunteers.
What Will I Be Doing?
Depending on the time of year and our linked farmer that you will be working with, you will have a hands on approach and be involved with tasks such as weeding, maintaining the land, fetching water from nearby streams, laying seeds and harvesting.
For volunteers that have fundraised we also hope to establish community and school vegetable/fruit patches so that the children can learn the skills, whilst continuing their studies and benefitting from the free produce as some children with families living under the poverty line still struggle to be able to eat more than once a day.
Longer term volunteers can also be involved in researching organic farming methods and produce to be able to offer guidance and suggestions to our community farmers on how they can grow and develop their business as well as creating greenhouses to make use of the Ghanaian climate!
Who Will I Be Working With?
You will be working alongside one of our linked farmers from the community who will be a small scale farmer who uses their occupation to support their families.
A member of our volunteer support team will also visit you at your placement site periodically after the initial introduction to ensure you are getting on well and making an impact on site.
What Do We Expect From The Volunteers?
All we request is the passion and drive to make a difference with us, one step at a time. Being able to get involved and stuck in will help you much more with this project especially with the manual labour days which can be tiring in the heat and humidity. The greatest traits
of a volunteer are enthusiasm, empathetic and the ability to adjust
to alternative cultures. You will get the most of our your trip by
opening your mind to new experiences and beliefs whilst also bringing
your own to the table.
We expect volunteers to visit their
placements Monday - Friday, exceptions can be made for long weekends
of travel etc but we hope for the children and yourselves to get the
most of your placement this is kept to a minimum.
What Can You Expect From Us?
We
will be on hand any time of any day to support you in your placement
and trip as a whole. There will always be someone you can speak to or
get a hold of should you want to discuss anything or require any
guidance, from organising and altering your timetable to changing your
placement. Our team living in the volunteer house will also be able
to offer advice regarding travel plans and the local area so you will
soon feel at home.
What Should I Bring?
In terms of your placement make sure you bring at least one strong pair of shoes and full length trousers/tracksuit to use on the farmland if further out into the forests. Fundraising for seedlings is a great way you can ensure you can hit the ground running as soon as you arrive and make a lasting impact in our lovely communities which we know you will come to love upon arrival.
What Happens During School Holidays?
Other than for the community outreach and education part of this placement the school holidays will not affect this placement and you will still be able to continue as normal.
5
