Telbomai
Start date: April 2015
Within Voinjama city, Lofa county, Liberia.
Farm size: 10 acres (lowland)
45 women
Head woman: Gaydour Kamara
Main crops: Rice, Cassava, and Vegetables.
Stage of development: Telbomai is 100% self sufficient
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), Hut for mill, Mill & engine for milling rice and cassava, Hut and pig pen for pigs.
Women started growing vegetables on their own between times of rice and cassava plantings. This generates additional food and income for the women.
In June of 1026, the women of Telbomai community were gifted two pigs by someone in their broader community that saw the work of COWEA. Romeo and David funded building a pig pen and hut. (Unfortunately, you must lock up the pigs each night in the hut or they will be stolen.) The pigs grew and more pigs were born. Today, Telbomai has gifted pigs to each of the other COWEA communities for their own pig farm.
Needs: None. Telbomai COWEA community is self-sufficient.
Karsa
Start date: April 2016
This COWEA community is located 27 kilometers south of Voinjama, east of the road going down to Zorzor and near the Lofa river. Sometimes spelled Kaza.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kaza,+Liberia/@8.1645644,-9.8134962,14.36z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0xfa879cc6c97dc31:0xc81e986013615746!2sLofa,+Liberia!3b1!8m2!3d8.1911184!4d-9.7232673!3m4!1s0xfa8f0c7eca6e0b9:0xba6cb1f6107749ed!8m2!3d8.1666657!4d-9.7999978
Farm size: 13 acres
50 women
Head woman: Damawah Jaggbeh
Main crops: Rice, Cassava, and Vegetables.
Stage of development: Karsa is 100% self sufficient
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), Hut for mill, Mill & engine for milling rice and cassava, Hut and pig pen for pigs.
The women of Telbomai gifted the women of Karsa two pigs in 2017 to start raising their own pigs.
Needs: None. Karsa COWEA community is self-sufficient.
Vonamai
Start date: Spring 2017
Located in the northeast section of Lofa county, Liberia, approximately 12 kilometers north of Voinjama city, near the border with Guinea. The Vonamai community is the farthest northern village in Liberia and is near the Moa river. Sometimes spelled Vonema.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Vonema,+Liberia/@8.5324547,-9.7670768,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xfa9057c94e64a45:0xc7e12ea0a6d09a89!8m2!3d8.5324725!4d-9.7583055
Farm size: 10 acres
26 women
Head woman: Vargula Saybah
Main crops: Rice, Cassava, and Vegetables. This is both a lowland and highland area, which affects the time of planting and harvesting crops.
Stage of development: Vonamai is close to becoming self-sufficient. They share a processing mill with the Kugbemai community.
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), Hut for mill, processing mill & engine for milling rice and cassava, hut and dry floor pen for pigs.
The women of Telbomai gifted the women of Karsa two pigs in 2019 to start raising their own piggery.
Needs: As of September 2022, Vonamai needs repairs to their Processing Mill that is shared with Kugbemai. We estimate USD $150. Vonamai needs a dry floor (concrete floor for drying rice and cassava before processing).
Kugbemai
Start date: Spring 2017
Located 10 kilometers north of Voinjama city and just south of Vonamai is Kugbemai community in Lofa county, Liberia. Sometimes spelled as Kugbamai.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kugbamai,+Liberia/@8.5069387,-9.7785828,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0xfa905a70f19d97b:0x8e76d508782eb484!8m2!3d8.5069385!4d-9.7698283
Farm size: 10 acres (lowland swamp)
50 women
Head woman: Kebbeh Fobbay
Main crops: Rice, Cassava, and Vegetables.
The Kugbemai farm started as swamp land. We needed to drain the swamp before clearing the land and planting crops. The crop cycle for low land growing and harvesting is different from high land (dry) farming.
Stage of development: Kugbemai is close to becoming self-sufficient. They share a processing mill with Vonamai due to their close proximity to each other.
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), hut and dry floor pen for pigs.
The women of Telbomai gifted the women of Kugbemai two pigs in 2018 to start raising their own pigs.
Needs: As of September 2022, Kugbemai needs repairs to their Processing Mill that is shared with Vonamai. We estimate USD $150. They also need repairs to their dry floor (concrete floor for drying rice and cassava before processing) and on-going training for managing their crop cycles and mill.
Manamai
Start date: April 2019
In Lofa county, Liberia.
Farm size: 10 acres
50 women
Head woman: Korpo Jallah
Main crops: Rice and Cassava.
Stage of development: Manamai is slowing moving toward self-sufficiency. They need more training for crop management, a processing mill, and training to run and maintain the mill in order to become completely self-sufficient.
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), hut and dry floor pen for pigs.
The women of Telbomai gifted the women of Manamai two pigs in 2019 to start raising their own pigs.
Needs: Training to better manage their crops and a processing mill.
Lavalasu
Start date: April 2020
Lavalasu is located 10 kilometers east, northeast of Voinjama city in Lofa county, Liberia. Sometimes spelled as Lawalazu.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lawalazu,+Liberia/@8.444607,-9.8454474,14z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0xfa879cc6c97dc31:0xc81e986013615746!2sLofa,+Liberia!3b1!8m2!3d8.1911184!4d-9.7232673!3m4!1s0xfa901330113ac87:0x835df58bf5b42f86!8m2!3d8.4452901!4d-9.8429561
Farm size: 13 acres
25 women
Head woman: Gayduo Flomo
Main crops: Rice, Cassava, and Vegetables.
Stage of development: Early stage of development; in need of more training and support to learn organic, self-sustaining farming practices.
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), hut and dry floor pen for pigs.
The women of Telbomai gifted the women of Lavalasu two pigs in 2021 to start raising their own pigs. Unfortunately, all the pigs died from disease.
Needs: Training for organic farming, managing the farm, raising pigs. They need a processing mill for rice and cassava processing.
Massamai
Start date: April 2021
Massamai is located 20 kilometers due east of Voinjama city in Lofa county, Liberia, just south of the road to Foya city in the Kolahun district.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Masamai,+Liberia/@8.3571239,-9.9181352,14z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0xfa879cc6c97dc31:0xc81e986013615746!2sLofa,+Liberia!3b1!8m2!3d8.1911184!4d-9.7232673!3m4!1s0xfa85548ce2c0cd9:0xd20dc8a7ae06d398!8m2!3d8.350424!4d-9.9190879
Farm size: 13 acres
women
Head woman: Komossa Kollie
Main crops: Rice and Cassava.
Stage of development: Very early stage. The women as excited for the farm and work hard, but need a lot of training to learn organic, self-sustaining farming techniques.
Equipment: Hut for tools (hoes, rakes, shovels, cutlasses, etc.), hut and dry floor pen for pigs.
The Massamai community farm was gifted pigs by the Telbomai community in 2021 shortly after establishing the farm. However, the pigs did not survive.
We plan to establish the Palm Oil Plantation near the Massamai community farm.
Needs: Training for organic, self-sustaining farming and management of the farm.