FIRST SET OF SoC SENT BY KHALIL (SUDAN)!!!

Salaam Luis,
I am Khalid Al-Badrabi - Project Manager for Making Hibiscus Markets Work for the Poor, Practical Action Sudan. Kindly requested to go through the stories & do the necessar corrections - as you see up to now we are running software activities - the growing season started July to finish up by December.
Thanks Luis, your response is aprreciated
Khalid al-Badrabi

Stories of Change &
Most Significant Change

Collected by / Engineer Khalid Al-Badrabi
April 8, 2007
Khartoum - SUDAN

If you want to see the doc in Word (including some pics) go to http://www.4shared.com/file/13894264/902a58cc/Stories_of_Change_Sudan_Hibiscus.html . Wait for a moment and click on 'download file'

1. Fatima Story

o Fatima, is a Lead Female Farmer living in at-Tabldia village Umruwaba locality – North Kordofan State. She is one of the earliest adopters of the Hibiscus Project concept. Since she was a 15-years old Fatima is a Karkadeh grower
o When Karkadeh field interventions started by Practical Action through Eid en Neel the local Partner; Fatima was the first woman to attend the inception meeting, she has disseminated the concept and the objectives of the project to her community members. Gradually the community got to benefit from the training sessions on pre-& post-harvest tools
o Fatima collected her Karkadeh harvest that have been produced according to the new introduced best practices required by the markets – started from picking technique, drying, packing, storing & ending by selling the crop at a competitive price
o Fatima produced one quintal Karkadeh[1] [100 pound, hundredweight] – she sold the product at SD10, 000 for one quintal, while the current Farm Gate Price at that time was SD 7,000 for the quintal [so the best practices increase the Karkadeh selling price 30%]
o Fatima used the money to buy some assets for her family, definitely this initial value increment will make an improvement in Fatima's family livelihood
o The most important outcome is that – Fatima & her community have known how to make Karkadeh Markets work for their benefit by effecting the best cultural practices, networking, lobbying, negotiating, monitoring & evaluating their situation

2. Azeeza Story

Azeeza Muhammad Adam is living in Dar as Salaam el-Fashir locality, North Darfur State. Azeeza is one of Karkadeh local executive committees; she is 37 year old, married having a sun. By profession Azeeza is an elementary-level-teacher. Voluntary Azeeza used to extend to her students sessions concerning Karkadeh cultivation - discussing with them potentiality of this crop in its two dimensions as cash and as well as food crop too. Also Azeeza used to encourage students to erect living fences using Karkadeh during the fall season

School Farming is an integral constituent part of the government syllabus – but to lack of resources this course is omitted, Azeeza in her non-stopping good will & ambition used to train students & the interested persons doing Karkadeh agro-processing. Azeeza & the school team cultivated in total 4 Small Mukhamas[2] area the yield was 15-quintal [hundredweight], used as follows:

It is clear that the school community benefits out of the training sessions and the processed yield as well, in addition the beneficiaries appreciated the idea of maximizing returns through adding value to their crops

3. Sabiel Story

Sabiel Ali Sabiel is living in Dar as Salaam, el-Fashir locality, North Darfur State, Sabiel is a Karkadeh local committee member. He was in charge of distributing Karkadeh seeds [avail for them by Practical Action- Hibiscus project] to the farmers during the distribution he illustrated for the community the economical importance of Karkadeh and how they can get maximum benefit through their local committees & Hibiscus project interventions. However, he reported his neighbours the Karkadeh grower's number was increased from 1,000 to 1,100 at the same time their area is increased too.- that lead to 10% increment in the Karkadeh cultivated are this year 2006. Although during the last five years farmers used to grow large areas, but due to market deterioration and the decreasing of the Karkadeh price farmers grow just part of their land by it for their own use

4. Hawa Story

Hawa Shommo Muhammad [widow] is living in Dar as Salaam el-Fashir locality – North Darfur State. Hawa is a Karkadeh farmer, she said that two years ago she didn’t cultivate Karkadeh but this year after the project intervened "I have been encourage to cultivate Karkadeh" as Hawa quoted she continued " I received seeds from the Karkadeh Community-Based Organisation and I cultivated an area of about 36,750 square meter locally it is estimated to be seven Small Mukhamas [1-Small Mukhamas equivalent 5,250 square meter]. Also Hawa attended the harvest & post harvest training sessions conducted by Practical Action. She received the new harvesting tools [Injaz[3] & Gargara[4]] which help her to harvest much extra quantity of Karkadeh, [3.5 Quintal per 1 Small Mukhamas instead of only 3.0 quintals]. Hawa Shommo marketed her product in Umdurman at SD 245,000 gross returns (US$ 122,500). She said "I managed to buy a milking cow[5] to benefit my children, in addition to new TV set[6] and I paid US$ 75.0 as school fees for my children]

Clearly the beneficiary feels pleased and happy about her successful endeavours and accomplishments - we share with her the same feelings

Notes:
[1] The mean yield is 350 pound per 4,200 square meter area
[2] One Mukhamas is equivalent to 5,250 square meter
[3] Improved de-seeder tool
[4] Just iron pipe 5-inch diameter & 30-cm long for de-seeding the calyx
[5] At cost of SD 50,000 (US$ 250)
[6] At cost of US$ 250