As we approach mid-July, the tillage season in Burkina Faso is drawing to a close. The rainy season runs from mid-June through September, so crops that are planted after today will not have enough rain to reach maturity. The two exceptions to this rule are super early maturing varieties of corn Read more…
Today marks the 7th day since we started the tractor, and what a ride it has been! Last Tuesday when we began to plow the first field to the astonishment of 100 villagers, we had no idea just how much demand there would be. Word spread quickly, and every time Read more…
It took some work to get the tractor started given the measures taken to prepare the tractor for shipment, but with some excellent advice from my dad and Kent Shea, the tractor started right up! We tested the plow, cultivator and disk in front of 60+ villagers to the astoundment of Read more…
On June 26th, 2016 the container arrived at the final delivery point in Burkina Faso. It took 76 days to ship the container from Minnesota to deep into the interior or West Africa. This project took 19 months from conception to delivery. Its remarkable to think what we have accomplished, and Read more…
As our tractor makes its way across borders and through customs, Louis and I have arrived in Burkina Faso to assist in the unloading and setup of the tractor and equipment. Yesterday we ran some errands in the capital, Ouagadougou (pronounced as “Waw-gaw-doo-goo”, by far the world’s most fun-to-pronounce capital Read more…
Our tractor is about to arrive at the farmers’ doorstep in Burkina Faso, and so are we! Louis and I will be making our way there on June 19th. Louis will stay for one week, and I will stay for two months. Our goals while there will be four. Re-assemble Read more…
Today we had some publicity on the local NBC news. Below is the weblink to the news story. http://www.kare11.com/news/non-profit-local-man-ships-tractor-to-africa/128857200 There was a short video clip shown on the news, of the tractor being loaded in the container at Matter’s warehouse. It was great to have the publicity. Below are 2 Read more…
The fund raising party held at Louis and Corrine’s house in Wayzata on April 9th was a huge success. We had over 50 people in attendance and raised over $12,000 !! The Farmall 400 was the center piece, parked right outside the front door. Mark came out for the weekend Read more…
In the video Jim York (Marks dad) is delivering the tractor to Louis’s house for the fundraising party. We are very grateful for the support of Jim York, with him transporting the tractor and the other equipment from his farm in Southwest Minnesota. As you can see from this video, Read more…