Model Farmer
I joined the VSLA savings group and became a demonstration farmer for tree seedling nursery management, particularly tea seedling propagation. This was a new challenge for me because I had little prior knowledge or capital to begin with.
I am grateful to the UHDF for providing opportunities, knowledge, and support throughout the process, from sowing the seeds to caring for the seedlings. Today, I have successfully propagated approximately 10,000 tea seedlings in my nursery.
Success Stories and Transformative Change
In the future, I believe tea can generate additional income for my family, alongside the other crops we grow.
I would like to have my own tea plantation because my family has traditionally grown corn, which provides income only once a year. Corn farming also requires a high level of investment and can lead to soil degradation over time.
For this reason, I would like to start growing tea as an alternative livelihood. I have not achieved this goal yet because I am still at the beginning stage of propagating and growing tea seedlings. However, I hope to establish my own tea plantation in the future.
What I am most proud of from participating in the project and its activities is establishing a tree seedling nursery, particularly for tea seedlings. I had never learned about or done this before. But from preparing the nursery, sowing the tea seeds, and watching the seedlings begin to grow, I have felt a great sense of pride.
This is an important step in preparing for future planting. More than that, I am very hopeful and determined to plant these tea seedlings on my own land in the near future.
In the past, my family did not have many activities to do together beyond taking care of the garden and working on the farm. Since joining the project, we have had more opportunities to work together, especially in caring for the seedlings in the nursery where we grow tea seedlings. This has given us more time to talk and has strengthened our family relationships.
We have also come together with other VSLA members and people in the community to take part in various activities, such as tree planting, community meetings, saving activities, and Farmer Field School experiments. These activities have brought us closer together and created opportunities to learn and work as a community—something that we had rarely done together in the past.
We have also come together with other VSLA members and people in the community to take part in various activities, such as tree planting, community meetings, saving activities, and Farmer Field School experiments. These activities have brought us closer together and created opportunities to learn and work as a community—something that we had rarely done together in the past.
Previously, no one in the community had established a tree seedling nursery. After I joined the project with the Foundation, I was encouraged to set up a nursery and became a demonstration farmer for seedling propagation.
At first, I felt uncertain because I had no prior experience. But once I started, I became interested and began to see the benefits of seedling production, particularly in tea seedling propagation. Through hands-on practice and training from the Foundation’s staff, I developed my knowledge and skills in caring for tea seedlings.
As a result, other community members began to take interest and see my work as an example they could learn from and adapt to their own needs. This has become a starting point for change, bringing new knowledge about seedling production to the community and potentially creating new livelihood opportunities and sources of income for local people in the future.
