Kibimba Hill - Giharo Commune
I fled to Tanzania in 1994 at the age of 16 due to the war. I got married there when I was 21, and have three children. When I returned to Burundi with my family 11 years' later, I had no house, my fields were ruined but luckily, our land was still there.
I am a member of the TWIJUKIRIBIKORWA Association which has 12 members. With 60 kg of good quality selected seeds which we received from Cord, we planted rice. We had had to be quick to plough the area with our hoes because we had to be ready by the time the rains would come. This was quite hard work! But the rains came early at the end of October. Cord's agronomist, Daphrose - a young woman who rides a big Chinese Lifan motorbike - gave us good advice and encouraged us all along. So, in December, we received saplings to plant on the borders of our field. These trees will give some shade, but will also fertilize the soil and their leaves can be used as fodder for our goats. In May, we harvested 330 kg, 90 kg of which was given back to the seed centre to be distributed at the next planting season, and to pay for the fertilisers. This was put into a contract between Cord and our association. In this way things are clear and transparent, and that's good.
However, the harvest was not good because, contrary to last year when there was too much drought, the crops were severely damaged because of too much heavy rain across the whole of Burundi. The 240 kg which we could keep for ourselves will be sold; half of the money will be used to open a business account and the other half will be shared between us. We are happy with the possibility we have been given to cultivate via the Giharo seed centre, which we helped to install. Before Cord came here, there was nothing in this abandoned marshland, over 1,000 Ha which extend to the nearby border of Tanzania. I also hope that the next seasons will be better with more harvest. We just heard that Cord will be able to irrigate these 30 Ha, which will really solve the problem of too much or too little water for our fields, and we should then be able to cultivate the whole year round, even in the dry season.
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