SPATH

Aaron Kaah Yancho

Chuye Violet is an award winning farmer delivered on Heifer international Cameroon’s training and goat support project through her Binju farmer’s common initiative group in Nkambe of Donga Mantung Division of the North West region in 2005.

Violet and her husband Thomas have 5 children (4boys and a girl). They are subsistent farmers who had being glowing with the abilities to move mountains in their community. “I was farming food crops and vegetables with my family on large scale” she said. The out of the food crops were not good enough as her family wished even though Edna and her family fed enough and had won some prizes in Agro pastoral shows on maize and Irish potato production in her division. Their financial situation was pitiful despite their efforts. “There was never enough money to pay for the children school fee and take care of some basic needs” she said of her past. In the quest to keep her family in a better financial situation, Edna registered her membership with the Binju farmer’s common initiative group with 23 members in 2009. ‘I was fortunate to get to the group at a time Heifer international Cameroon had retained the group members for a goat support project” violet recalled. Violet and members of her group were initiated in to the support project with a series of trainings covering livestock management, pasture establishment, pen construction, integrated livestock management, manure making, gender equity, sanitation and hygiene and the Heifer international Cameroon 12 cornerstones of love and sharing.

To enhance the growth of the group some 13 farm families were given farm tools and inputs like maize seeds and 5 goats each.

Allowing her determination to bear witness with her new found skills, violet worked hard without “looking back”. “With my fresh motivation on composting, my farm fields were well prepared in a special way” she said. Inconceivably her herd improved to 15 and the yields in the vegetable gardens and farm fields tripled. “I harvested 80tins of maize unlike 20 in the past and sold 70tins at 180,000fcfa, 150kg of beans compared to 30kg in the past and marketed 100kg at 55,000fcfa, 10 buckets of yam as compared to 3 in the past and sold 8 at 20,000fcfa, 7 bags of Irish potato with regards to 2bags in the past and marketed 5bags at 46000fcfa” she said. Violet’s income from the marketing of garden crops went up to 500,000fcfa compared to 150,000fcfa in the past. Her family expanded in to pig and poultry farming and reaped 400,000fcfa for an annual income. Violet has contributed 10,000fcfa in the revolving fund of her common initiative group and her account at a micro financial institution stands at 80,000fcfa. Violet and her husband have an annual spending income of 2,500,000fcfa. This income has helped them to educate their children without stress and to have good income for emergency spending. “Our children are now ok and fine in schools” she said.

Violets spirited fight to succeed in her food crop farming has seen her wining prizes at all levels of agricultural organized trade fairs in Cameroon. “With the seeds Heifer International Cameroon gave me, I won my second prize for maize production at the regional level in Bamenda in 2010 and was qualified to participate and compete with my maize seeds at the national agro pastoral show in Ebolowa in February 2011l” She said. Wearing an unmistakable air of authority Violet believes her handshake with the president of the republic of Cameroon Paul Biya, memorialized with an official photo shot during the event and the wining of a second prize in maize seed production in Cameroon immortalized by a certificate and 250,000fcfa are memorable for her life, family, common initiative group and community as a whole. “The work to this level has been tedious but the reward is huge” she said.

The ministry of agriculture and rural development in Cameroon has offered Violet and her family the capital and farm inputs to propagate a variety of new maize and Irish potato seeds for farming across Cameroon. Violet gives her best in anything she does and has already bought a piece of land for this multiplication process. Courageously dealing with her new found fame and hope, Violet is determined to go places and to win more prizes in the future.

“I want to go international for another great award and recognition”. She confirmed. Violet and her husband Thomas have a good heart towards one another and share their time together on their farms. “Our children too are a joyful crowd surrounding us in every task” she affirmed.

Thoughtfully violet and her family radiate Heifer International Cameroon virtues of love with the needy. “We give food to anyone who comes our way, and have shared knowledge on composting and vegetable cultivation with many friends and community members” she said. Violet and her family are now ready to pass on the Gift when the appropriate time is scheduled according to Heifer international Cameroon prescriptions. With daring plans to send their children for studies over seas, Violet has prayed for the donors of Heifer International Cameroon to be blessed as an introduction to her fulfilled dreams.