Resilient farming communities in Timor Leste

This week we transferred $5,000 to Union Aid Abroad APHEDA for the Resilient Farming Communities in Timor Leste project.  This is the second transfer for this $10,000 project which customer members voted to support in our 2023-24 participatory budget.

We caught up with Elisabeth Lino de Araujo the Timor Leste APHEDA country manager on her recent trip to Australia. Mana Elisabeth provided an update on the project and thanked CoPower members for their solidarity.

The last few years have been tough for farmers in Timor Leste. The pandemic made it difficult to buy and sell food at local markets, and it was hard to access imported products such as seeds and fertilisers. Climate change is making the situation worse, with the country suffering from unprecedented droughts and floods. This project partners with Instituto Edukasaun Popular, Kdadalak Sulimutuk Institute and Uniaun Agrikultor Ermera to support vibrant and inspiring movement that is striving to establish self-sufficient farmers’ local cooperatives and regional unions.  They are organising to defend their rights to access land, learning about sustainable farming practices and strengthening the economy of farming communities.

These partner organisations are helping farmers manage the effects of climate change by:  Establishing plant nurseries to grow a diverse range of crops.

• Building terraces to prevent soil erosion.
• Digging wells to conserve water and combat salination
• Training farmers on sustainable agricultural production.