Volunteering at Choshen Farms in Zambia

If you flew into Lusaka airport–the largest in Zambia–and drove 12 hours up the straight, two-lane highway, you’d see miles of bush and trees, dotted with small towns. Then you would pass through vast, flat Bangweulu Swamps, where Dr. David Livingstone died, until you arrived, at last, in the village of Fimpulu. Choshen Farm, which I run with my wife, local staff, and boards in Zambia and America, sits on about 80 acres near the village. We are a nonprofit Christian organization that exists to help our neighbors thrive through programs that support local agriculture, education, economic development, spiritual growth, and community health. We often host visitors, missions teams, and part-time volunteers who stay for weeks or months. Several years ago, a man from the inland Northwest, where I grew up, came to visit us for a few weeks. He saw how our neighbors farm: Their holdings are small, they depend on rainwater, and they do everything by hand. He strongly believed we needed to start a large commercial farm, with mechanization and thousands of acres, to bring greater efficiency and economic development to the area. But the idea didn’t sit right with me. After he left, I spent a time sitting with this question: Just how big should a farm be? There’s nothing wrong with a large farm, and they have certain advantages of scale. But for our community, they carry problems, too. The bigger a farm gets, the more money you need to manage the land, and that’s a resource that our neighbors don’t have. And ironically, when farms get a lot bigger, communities get smaller. While a single, largescale farm would need Anna and Benji, a married couple, have served in Fimpulu for up to six months. Now parents, they hope to return longterm one day as an agricultural developer and a nurse. some workers, it would also have machinery to do the work more efficiently. Some people would lose their livelihoods and move away in search of opportunities. In this way, consolidation of small farms can hollow out rural communities like ours, not unlike what has happened in parts of the United States. Without enough people to support them, businesses, churches, and other institutions wither, too. Small-scale farming, which Choshen Farm encourages, can be undertaken with little overhead. It keeps people invested in their own land–a form of security they can pass on to the next generation–instead of creating wealth for others. It also supports local businesses and jobs, providing opportunities for young people, who have a high rate of unemployment. The holistic thriving of our community, which is our ultimate goal, won’t come just from bringing material wealth or efficiency. It comes from connecting. When we connect with people relationally, we are showing them that they and their lives matter, not just to us, but to God. We believe that the physical, the spiritual, and the emotional are all tied together. If one member of our community is suffering, then we are all suffering, because we are connected. But if we help each member of our community to thrive, from the least to the greatest, then we all benefit. So, the right kind and size of farming for Fimpulu will be the one that best supports those holistic goals. As our visiting friend observed, small-scale farming has challenges of its own. So we’ve made it our mission to encourage and enable sustainable small-scale farming with activities like our new feed mill. The mill will buy from smallscale farmers at a competitive price, no matter how little their harvest, and we can sell them the resources they need more cheaply than they would be able to buy from a big supplier. Since our farmers largely don’t have bank accounts or savings, we make sure to offer cash on the spot for every sale, rather than a check or a promise of payment months in the future. And, we invest our profits back into the community, including making our school, recognized as one of the best in the district, less dependent on overseas donations. In this way, we help our neighbors surmount some of the obstacles to small-scale farming. Volunteers are a key part of our success model, too. In fact, we’re looking for people–fresh out of college, retired, or somewhere in between–who can come and stay with us for three months to two years. Our volunteers take on a variety of roles: teaching agriculture management techniques, developing the farm infrastructure, supporting our 500-student school, expanding community business ventures, building local capacity, and increasing long-term sustainability. (While it’s true that I started out in a tent in the bush, guests of Choshen Farm today have comfortable accommodations, including beds, hot showers, and electricity.) The rewards of volunteering are many, including the smiles and genuine joy of our Fimpulu neighbors, who are eager to make connections with visitors. If you’d like to learn more about our programs and volunteer opportunities, visit us online at choshenfarm.org/volunteer.