We are Peter and Berthie Krijgsman from Dirksland, located on the island of Goeree Overflakkee. Together we have 3 children who are now adults and can stand on their own two feet, which has created room for other things in our lives.
From 2016 onwards, we started focusing on Africa part-time with agricultural and horticultural education based on the years of experience that I, Peter, have gained in the Netherlands as a consultant in this beautiful sector.
We also attended training courses at Farming Gods Way in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Foundations for Farming in Harare, Zimbabwe.
While our focus in the first years was on South Africa, we now support a project in Ghana and Uganda in which we promote the education of Foundations for Farming. This education is a wonderful combination of agricultural and horticultural technology, management and Biblical education.
Agricultural education is completely based on circular agricultural principles (conservation agriculture). We teach people to use what God has given them in their hands, with respect for creation.
Furthermore, this method, developed by Brian Oldreive, the founder of Foundations for Farming, prevents soil erosion and keeps the soil moisture much longer. This, together with other techniques, ensures that yields increase significantly.
Out of respect for creation, we also help people with reforestation and the creation of food forests. Now the forest is often destroyed by the widely applied slash & burn method to create new, more fertile fields. When these fields are abandoned after a few years due to increasingly declining yields, we often see that the aforementioned soil erosion causes major damage.
In addition, we teach people how to better dry and store grains and dry beans so that losses are minimal. Now an average of 60% is lost in Africa due to fungal attacks, insects and rodent feeding. That is a shocking amount, but other storage methods can greatly reduce this loss of precious food.
An old saying teaches us: "If you give a man a fish, he will not be hungry for a day. If you give a man a fishing rod and teach him to fish, he will never be hungry again." This is what the Foundation for Farming education has in mind.
This education in combination with coaching and encouragement to put it into practice not only helps people escape the cycle of poverty, but also regains their self-esteem. Where they often depended on food aid before, they learn to grow enough food for their own families and even save it so that they can sell it on the local market and thus contribute to greater food security in their community.
In addition, we bring the Gospel through this education. Jesus himself taught us: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." We not only want to help people grow their daily bread in a sustainable way, but also bring the saving Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and teach them to live by God's Word. We sometimes jokingly say that we preach the Gospel with boots on our feet.
The text from God's Word that has motivated us to pursue missionary education is Matthew 25 verse 35: "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger and you took Me in."
Know more:
If you have any questions about our work, you can always contact us by email. Our email address is
Church
Our home church is the EGF in Oude Tonge.
Support
You can support our work financially by transferring a monthly or one-off donation to:
IBAN: NL34 RABO 0326169024 in the name of iTeams NL stating: project code IA-FK
Your donations are tax deductible.