Feed a hungry child, and he may be hungry again tomorrow. Teach his family to grow a sustainable food supply, and he may never be hungry again.
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In this project, the local farmers are provided with the initial disease-resistant seed potatoes from a tissue lab organized by Charlie in northwestern Ethiopia. They are shown how to construct potato drying racks and storage facilities from readily acquired materials. This process becomes self-sustaining for the farmers as they arrange to trade part of their potato crop every three years for clean seed potatoes. Those potato payments are used to start additional potato projects and school nutrition programs.
Since 2007 Charlie has been raising money and working with up to five demonstration sites at a time to establish a sustainable, disease-free, potato crop. In conjunction with Ethiopian agricultural engineers and nutritionists, all of Charlie’s chosen rural village sites have been successful in attaining their construction of potato storage and drying apparatus, as well as exceeding their individual potato production goals.
The potato can be dried and preserved following harvest; the local grain cannot. Therefore, this potato project has the potential to resolve the cyclical famine disasters that will continue to ravage Ethiopia during periods of drought. Charlie’s knowledge of potatoes, his understanding of how to make things happen in a unique 3000-year-old culture, and his willingness to devote his energy to auditing the progress of the program by returning annually to Ethiopia at his own expense and time, make this a truly remarkable, worthwhile, and effective program worthy of our support.