Driven by the urge to address local challenges in the community, EMAUA identifies the main recurring concerns being low food production and security, inadequate health care and degradation of the natural environment. Due to the high prevalence of low income earners in the community, solutions requiring high cash inputs are not fully viable. To that regard, an opportunity of inovative use of local resources, in the form of plant, soil, etc, is presented.
These inovations include low-tech, practically free, home-based production of fertilizers, insecticides and the practice of traditional medicine. This in turn can positively change the life of a family by enabling it to produce sufficient amounts of food for itself and avoid some costly hospital visits.
Ecological practices also enhance the fertility of soils, contribute positively to water management, etc. Economically, local resources provide a low-capital investment ground for small family-run businesses to pay the school fees and meet other needs.
EMAUA‘s methodology of addressing these challenges consists of gathering, developing or adapting potential solutions, followed by small-scale implementation and finally dissemination to the community.
HOW WE WORK.
#1 DEVELOPMENT AND ADAPTATION OF TECHNOLOGIES
Techniques based on the use of local resources (eg. T. diversifolia as a fertilizer) are gathered and adapted to the needs of the community. Secondly, development of new techniques (eg. organic no-till) is pursued through trials and continuous learning.
Technologies are implemented in two stages: initially, in an experimental capacity to observe yields and challenges followed by integration into an existing program such as the organic food self-sufficiency project and partnership projects with different facets of the community.
Realised knowledge is then shared to community members through forums, seminars and collaborated projects. To achieve sustainability, EMAUA has a focus on the youth and school children, who are highly adaptive and open-minded to novel solutions and ideas.