Academically trained as a development economist with a background in African development, Alex was aware of some of the inherent political, social, and economic problems with working in various regions in Africa. Historically, African development projects have resulted in unsustainable efforts leading to dependency on cheap oil, cheap labor, and corporate loans. On the international sphere, Africa continues to be the playing ground for the political and economic aspirations of various nation-states and multinational corporations. Both international and domestic greed caused long civil wars in countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda; these wars were fueled by the abundance of natural resources. Alex was well aware of these problems when he began his grassroots work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When traveling in Uganda in 2004 to look for a site to begin his non-profit organization Working Villages International (WVI), Alex met a Congolese man who took an interest in his work, and who suggested that Alex go to the Congo to implement and develop his project. Alex was open to the suggestion and went to the Congo to examine the region. A sizable country with vast amounts of resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) continues to be a combat zone. Millions have perished from war, disease, and famine, and millions are displaced. The Ruzizi Valley, located in the eastern part of the DRC, was known as the “rice bowl of Congo” before it was destroyed by 8 years of civil war. Alex decided to begin his experiment here and Working Villages International was founded in 2006.
The founding principles of Working Villages International are based on “Swadeshi” and Sustainable Agriculture. Swadeshi, or “localized economics,” is an economic concept developed by Mahatma Gandhi in response to India’s growing economic dependency on England. As Gandhi said, "My definition of Swadeshi is well-known: I must not serve my distant neighbor at the expense of the nearest." To combat this social degeneration, Gandhi focused on developing local and sustainable means of production. In 2006, Alex founded Working Villages International around this economic and philosophical principle.
The sustainable farming techniques that Working Villages uses are organic farming and rotational planting. Working Villages places an emphasis on not using chemical fertilizers that are made from petroleum. Petroleum causes ecological problems, and is not economically sustainable; relying on chemical fertilizer leads to dependency and debt to large agriculture businesses. Alex introduced new organic farming techniques not often used in the region like composting, mulching, raised beds, and flexible irrigation, as a means of becoming ecologically sustainable and economically self-sufficient.
In August 2009, the famers on the Ruzizi Project harvested over 220,000 pounds of corn, and large amounts of seasonal produce such as cabbage, beans, melon, squash, eggplant, cucumber, lemons, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. With now over 600 local employees, the Ruzizi project is expanding rapidly. Soon, the community will construct more houses, barns, a local school, medical clinics, and infrastructure. Most importantly in 2009, the Ruzizi farmers began to grow rice again. During the harvesting season, over 220,000 tons of rice was harvested, and in time the area will once again flourish to be the “rice bowl of the Congo.”
By combining localized economics and sustainable principles of farming, Alex has created a new paradigm for a local and dependency free model of development; by making farming as way of life, growing crops for peace, and caring for the land as an expression of social beliefs and philosophy, this new model village can be eventually replicated in many parts of the world. Alex hopes that one day, a Working Village will also be closer to home.
Posted on July 15, 2010
comments