What does ending hunger in West Timor, Indonesia look like?—the Timor Zero Hunger program. With your support, CWS has been working with the Oe Ekam community in West Timor since 2018, where there are now five farmers groups.  Dominggus is the leader of the Tosilo Toselo farmers group. “In the past, each family was only able to plant Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, and chili on about 100 square meters (2% of an acre) of land per family,” says Dominggus. After feeding their families, some community members were able to generate a small surplus and sell it in the local market, earning around $3.50-$7.00 each time they sold produce.  Before the Timor Zero Hunger program, the dry season made it difficult for the people of Oe Ekam to harvest crops year-round because they could only plant vegetables during the short rainy season from December to March. “The Timor Zero Hunger program has been a life changing experience for members,” says Dominggus. “We were able to expand our farmland to about 2.5 acres.  Over the past two years we have been able to harvest much more and eat vegetables every day. Once or twice in a week we sell our crops in the local market in the district capital. On average our members make $17.50–$52.50 for each harvest. Now we can harvest 3 to 4 times in a year,” he added. 

 

The Timor Zero Hunger program has trained farmer groups on how to make organic liquid fertilizer and how to ward off pests and disease. With CWS support, the Tosilo Toselo group also built a cistern and installed a pipe that is over half a mile long to bring more water from a spring directly to their land. The program also taught them about the benefits of drip irrigation, and they have built a drip 

irrigation system for themselves. All of this would not have been possible without your gifts through One Great Hour of Sharing, which support programs that address the root causes of food 

insecurity, bringing real and sustainable change to communities like Oe Ekam. 

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You can make your donation to OGHS on the FCCLG giving website or write “OGHS” in your check memo or on a cash envelope. 

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Go to our giving page and select One Great Hour in the drop down menu.