Our Agricultural Micro-Business

Work is the third pillar of our motto, “God, Education, and Work,” and it is very important to our mission of breaking the cycle of poverty for the poorest of the poor in Liberia. In addition to creating a strong, spiritual foundation in our beneficiaries and providing them with the opportunity for a quality education, we also provides work opportunities that equip them with life skills they will be able to utilize throughout their lives. Past work projects that students have participated in include the construction of new school bathrooms, making new desks for St. Anthony students, working on our farm and in our piggery, and contributing to the construction of our new residential homes. Here we will focus on our burgeoning, newly re-invigorated agricultural micro-business, in which our students learn how to bring meat and produce from the farm to the consumer market, teaching them humane animal practices and valuable business lessons.

Sam is rebuilding a wall to the girls’ dorm that was damaged.

Kokulo, Ben, and Alfred build new desks for young students.

Paye is using the plumbing skills he learned at BWI on our new girls’ house.

St. Isidore Farm is a large plot of land on the back of our property that is home to over 175 pigs, 14 cows, and over 10 sheep and goats. In addition to caring for these livestock, our students also cultivate various crops, such as plantain, banana, pineapple, cassava, potato greens, bitter ball, and okra. They send a portion to the kitchen, which feeds the entire residential program, as well as many employees; then they sell the surplus to the surrounding local community.

Our students learn to be good stewards of God’s Creation by caring for the livestock, leading them to pasture, feeding them, and cleaning their stalls daily. When it comes time to bring them to market, they follow best humane practices and sell the meat to both the local community around the mission, as well as to the ex-pat community in Monrovia. By participating in both the manual labor and the business portion of the farm, our students learn what it takes to run a successful agricultural business—a skill they will undoubtedly be able to use to their advantage in the future!

Moses teaches Ruth how to plant the crops.

Most recently, we have been using a farm grant to revitalize our butcher shop at the front of the mission property. This renovation will allow us to have a proper facility in which to butcher our meat and which will serve as a point of sale for both our meat and produce. From painting the walls to installing the necessary plumbing and lighting fixtures, our students young and old have participated in some aspect of this work project.

One day, when the business is up-and-running and turning a profit, each student will have the opportunity to look back and say, “I had a hand in making that possible!” It is just such an experience that will give them the optimism to persevere through the many challenges that life in Liberia poses.

Our newly renovated butcher shop from the outside … still a work in progress!

Everybody gets excited when it’s time to deliver the pork.

Nupuwo and Elijah display our various cuts of meat.

Stanley, a Kenyan doctor for the Peace Corps, is one of our most loyal customers.

Riina says that our fresh pork always brings joy to her household.

Work is a major aspect of our Liberia Mission lifestyle; it is an instructional, life-affirming activity that fills us with a sense of accomplishment. We also compensate our students financially in order to teach them the value of work; there is dignity in being paid for a job well done. One day our beneficiaries will exit our program and begin applying for various jobs; it is our hope that the “Work” pillar of our motto will have instilled in them the life skills they will need to succeed in whatever they choose to do.