Written by Ty
Here's a dilemma for you. Let me know what you think:
I have tried and failed twice to start seedlings for
the moringa tree. The moringa tree is sometimes called “the miracle tree”
because its leaves contain the essential amino acids—a providential oddity in
the horticultural world. As you may know, legumes contain some amino acids (the
building blocks of protein, essential amino acids being the ones your liver
cannot make itself so you must eat them) while grains contain a different subset
of amino acids, but you must eat a combination of grains and legumes to get all
of the essential amino acids that you need. Not true for the moringa tree.
Eating the leaves provides a complete protein just like meat does. But growing
moringa trees is cheaper, easier, and more sustainable than growing animals for
food. All they need is sun and rain. We have plenty of both here. The moringa
leaves would a perfect addition to the diet of our children here at City of
Hope, as well as the children in the village.
In January I went to great lengths to obtain moringa
seeds from a Scandinavian agricultural project in the city 2.5 hrs away. I had
to visit them several times in order to procure the seeds. In February, just
before the rains, I planted 1000 seeds and left instructions with a friend to
water them if they needed it. He did so, but one day the cows got loose and
discovered our seedlings. They devoured the tender shoots in five minutes. In
August I tried again, this time building a fairly stout fence around them. The
rains were again immanent. My friend was away so I left instructions with the
children to water the seedlings. When I returned in December: no baby trees.
The kids had forgotten to water them. Now I am out of seeds.
Joi had a very good idea. I teach over and over again
that it is important to encourage the ideas and initiative of the local people.
When the idea is their own, they are much more likely to persevere and carry
the plan to fruition. Joi's idea is to gather a group of the boys who are
interested in farming and teach them about the moringa tree. Perhaps their
desire to grow and become stronger will incite them to take on a moringa
project of their own. And then they will be motivated to water them and protect
them from animals. I agree. Great idea. That's what I should have done in the
first place.
Recently a local nursery owner/farmer brought one of
his many sons to the clinic. He was very sick. After bringing him to the
hospital he improved dramatically. As a gift to the hospital, the man offered
to give us some seedlings—he grows them for profit. We drove to his farm
yesterday and discovered a pleasant nursery with thousands of trees of a dozen
varieties: coffee, tea, mango, avocado, guava, grevillia, and others—some of
them four feet tall. He gave us our choice of 30 trees. I observed all I could
and asked many questions. He offered us a price of 12 cents per seedling if we
wanted to buy more. I intend to take him up on that in the future in order to
do some landscaping. He did not know the moringa tree. I told him about it at
length, explaining it would help his many children. I asked him how much he
would charge me to raise 1000 moringas until they were 2 feet tall. His price
is $70—a steal really—especially given the frustration and failure I have
endured thus far. That's seven cents a tree.
So what do I do? Do I strive to somehow incite our
boys to start a moringa nursery, with admittedly a fairly high chance of
failure and high probability of having to start and restart several times, or
do I take the shortcut and get a jumpstart by spending a little money? Of
course it would be beneficial to teach the boys to grow seedlings for profit,
which they can do for themselves in the future. And even if I get the 2' tall
trees, which will probably take a year, I'll still need the boys to plant them,
guard them from animals, and nurture them through the transplantation process.
But if I rely on the boys' initiative, it may be three years before we finally
have 2' tall trees. It's been a year already and we have nothing. They need the
protein ASAP. Which will be more profitable: getting them the additional
protein as soon as possible by a shortcut which is a pretty sure bet, or
investing in their agricultural and business skills and more importantly in
their initiative and self esteem by helping them start a nursery—which has a
high likelihood of several rounds of failure IF it ever succeeds. I am
accepting votes and comments below...
I know, I can do both, but I only have so much time and
so much money. I may end up doing both, but want to hear what you think.
Why is a doctor spending time and energy on this?
Because a healthy diet, the benefits of a healthy career and income, and a
healthy relationship with the land will do more for the children and the
community than passing out pills in the clinic will ever do.
