Like many rural pastors in Burkina Faso, Pastor Emile’s church cannot fully support him financially. For years he has been trying various gardening practices to provide for his family. A year after ECHO trained members of his village, Emile shared the life-changing impact of this training — both for his family and many others.
After the training, he started a garden, produced
liquid fertilizer, and substantially improved his
practice of raising pigs… and the results are already
very impressive. Emile’s garden produces very well
with the use of liquid fertilizer — which only costs
him a few hours of work. As a result, his family’s
nutritional intake has improved, and they are able
to generate extra income from the sale of some
of the garden produce. He has found that one of
the challenges of raising pigs is parasitic diseases.
Thanks to the ECHO training, he learned that neem
oil is an excellent deworming agent for pigs.
Pastor Emile has also been actively blessing others
with his new knowledge.
- He has become a highly sought-after trainer for other groups. He informed ECHO that he has already trained more than 500 people, including a significant number of fellow pastors
- Currently about fifteen women from his church now manufacture liquid fertilizer to generate income for their families. They are also selling neem seeds. Others have made the production and sale of salt licks an income generating activity for their families.
- Thanks to the improvement of his family’s quality
of life and personal living conditions, Pastor
Emile and his wife have invested in the care of
15 children (mostly orphans and children from
impoverished families). Because of his increased
income from higher crop yields and pig raising,
he is able to help provide for the food and
educational needs of these children.
Pastor Emile is loving his neighbors in a very
tangible way, spreading the love of God in word
and seed.