Translate page with Google

Story Publication logo October 9, 2014

The Last Hunger Season, Part 3 – Amua: Leonida Decides

Country:

Author:
Media file: thurow_100days.jpg
English

The story of 1,000 days–the vital period from the beginning of a woman's pregnancy to her child's...

SECTIONS
Media file: farming_leonida.gif

While struggling through the hunger season, Leonida noticed that some other farmers in western Kenya were doubling or tripling their maize harvest. Curious, she asked for their secret.

They had become members of One Acre Fund, she was told. One Acre was a new social enterprise organization determined to conquer the hunger season by ending the decades-long neglect of smallholder farmers. It hoped to unleash the potential of those farmers by providing access to the essential elements of farming: better quality seeds, soil nutrients, technical training, and the crucial financing to pay for it all.

One Acre Fund farmers come together in groups of eight to 12; friends and neighbors who help each other during the busy times of planting, weeding, harvesting. They give their groups inspirational names like Hope or Faith or Mercy or Grace or Happiness or Success. Leonida and several neighbors formed a One Acre group and called it Amua. In their local language, Amua means "decide."

What had they decided? Their inspiration came from the Bible, Exodus 3:17.

In this episode of The Last Hunger Season film series, Leonida explains their decision to embark on a modern-day exodus.

This blog post was originally posted on Outrage and Inspire Blog.

RELATED TOPICS

Three women grouped together: an elderly woman smiling, a transwoman with her arms folded, and a woman holding her headscarf with a baby strapped to her back.

Topic

Gender Equality

Gender Equality
navy halftone illustration of a halved avocado

Topic

Food Security

Food Security
navy halftone illustration of a female doctor with her arms crossed

Topic

Health Inequities

Health Inequities
teal halftone illustration of two children, one holding up a teddy bear

Topic

Children and Youth

Children and Youth

Support our work

Your support ensures great journalism and education on underreported and systemic global issues