Blog & Resources
Short, plain-language guides on the things farmers ask us about most — livestock, turning waste into feed, mushrooms, fish farming and farming that stands up to a changing climate.
Black soldier fly larvae eat the organic waste your farm and market already produce, and turn it into a feed ingredient rich in protein. This guide walks through what the insects need, how the life cycle works, how to feed the larvae to poultry and pigs safely, and how to deal with the problems that put most beginners off.
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Each guide is written by our team from the work we do on farms, at training sessions and on site visits. Read the short version here, then open the full guide in the library below.
Organic waste you already have can become a feed ingredient you no longer have to buy. This guide explains the life cycle, the equipment you need and the mistakes that make a unit fail.
Most losses in a small poultry unit happen in the first weeks, and most of them are avoidable with planning rather than money. Here is what to settle before the chicks arrive, and the routine that keeps them alive.
Mushrooms need shade, moisture and cleanliness far more than they need expensive buildings. This guide covers preparing a room, handling substrate and keeping contamination out.
A pond is only as good as the site it sits on. This guide looks at water supply, soil, slope and drainage before a single bucket of soil is moved.
Mixing feed on the farm can cut costs and give you control over quality. This guide explains the principles of energy, protein, minerals and clean ingredients, without guesswork.
Farming that copes with unpredictable rain usually costs labour and planning rather than money. These five practices — soil cover, compost, water, trees and diversity — are the place to start.
Valley bottom land holds water when the uplands are dry, which makes it valuable for food security. This guide covers simple water control, drainage and how to keep the soil productive.
A notebook and a pencil are enough to show you where money is leaking. This guide explains the few records worth keeping and how to read them when you plan the next season.
Trees give shade for people and animals, hold soil on slopes and can produce fruit, fodder and fuel. This guide covers choosing species, planting position and protecting young trees from livestock.
Guide library
These are complete guides rather than summaries. Open one to read it here, or share the page with a group you work with.
Black soldier fly larvae are the young stage of a fly that occurs naturally in warm, humid places. What makes them valuable on a farm is their appetite. Give them organic waste — market leftovers, kitchen scraps, spoiled fruit and vegetable matter — and they turn it into their own bodies, which are rich in protein and fat. Waste that would otherwise sit in a drain or a rubbish heap becomes a feed ingredient you produce yourself, and money that would have gone on bought feed stays with you.
The adult fly is a slender, dark insect that does not bite or sting. Adults lay clusters of eggs near moist, decaying material, and the eggs hatch into small larvae. The larvae do the work: they eat almost continuously and grow quickly. When they are fully grown they are plump, pale and easy to see, and that is the stage you harvest.
Keep part of each harvest back and let it pupate — the resting stage. From the pupae, new adults emerge to lay the next batch of eggs, so one starter colony keeps producing as long as you look after it.
Have these in place before you build anything, because the larvae will need feeding every day.
Larvae are a supplement, and they should be introduced the way you would introduce any new feed.
Key takeaway: start small. One modest unit you feed and check daily will teach you more than a large one you cannot keep up with.
There is an environmental gain here too. Every bucket of organic waste that goes into a rearing unit is a bucket that does not end up in a gutter, a drain or a dump, where it would breed flies, smell and wash into waterways when it rains. Rearing black soldier fly is therefore both a farm business decision and a small act of environmental care. If you would like help planning a unit, or training for a group, our team is glad to advise.
A small poultry unit can be one of the quickest ways to bring regular income to a household, but the first thirty days decide a great deal. Most losses happen early, and most of them are avoidable through planning rather than money.
Ask yourself where the birds will live, where the water will come from, what they will eat, who will look after them every day and who will buy the eggs or the meat. If any of those answers is unclear, settle it first. Housing should be dry, well ventilated and safe from rats, snakes and theft. Water must be reachable daily, and feed should be arranged with a supplier you trust before the birds arrive. Decide now who will be allowed into the house, because biosecurity begins at the door.
Young chicks cannot control their own body temperature well, so warmth in the first weeks is critical. Prepare the brooder before the chicks arrive: clean it, dry it and check that the heat source works. Then watch the chicks rather than a thermometer. If they huddle tightly under the heat they are cold; if they spread to the edges and pant they are too hot. Comfortable chicks spread out evenly and move about freely. Keep the litter dry and free of mould.
Water and feed are where most trouble starts.
A notebook is enough to change your decisions. Write down the date you received the birds, how many there were, how much feed you use each week, any deaths, any treatments, and any eggs collected or birds sold. After a few weeks those notes show you your real costs and where money is leaking. Clean the house regularly, remove wet litter before it cakes, and limit who goes in. Handle the youngest birds first, and never bring new birds into the flock without keeping them separate for a period first.
Vaccination and the treatment of disease are not things to guess at. Work with a qualified veterinary officer or extension officer in your area, follow their advice on vaccination timing, and call them early when you see a problem rather than waiting to see whether it passes. Do not use drugs or doses on your own judgement. Decide your market before the birds are ready, and agree the price and the collection day in advance, because selling in a panic usually means selling cheaply.
Key takeaway: the first thirty days are mostly about routine — clean water, dry litter, the right warmth and feed on time. Get the routine right and the birds do the rest.
Our team supports poultry farm setup, from advice on house construction and equipment through to farm management training, and we are happy to look at your plan before you spend money. A short conversation at the planning stage is almost always cheaper than fixing a problem later.
Climate-smart farming is not a single technique. It is a way of farming that produces food while making the land better able to cope with unpredictable rain, longer dry spells and hotter days. For a smallholder, the encouraging part is that most of the practices involved cost little beyond planning and labour.
Bare soil dries out, heats up and washes away. Mulch — crop residues, cut grass, leaves, straw — spread over the surface keeps moisture in, moderates temperature and feeds the soil life underneath. Many farmers aim to have something growing on, or covering, the soil for as much of the year as possible.
Bought fertiliser is expensive and not always available exactly when you need it. Compost and well-rotted manure improve the structure of the soil and its ability to hold water, which matters more and more when rain is unpredictable. Build a heap from crop residues, kitchen waste and animal manure, turn it occasionally, and keep it covered so nutrients are not washed out. It does not have to replace bought fertiliser entirely; it reduces how much you depend on it.
Where rain falls heavily in a short season, catching some of it is worthwhile. Roof catchment into a tank, a barrel or a lined pit, and simple channels leading to a garden, can carry a crop through a dry spell. Water carefully at the roots rather than over the leaves: it saves water and reduces disease. In valley bottom land, controlling water is the whole point of the Integrated Valley Swamp approach.
Trees on a farm give shade for people, animals and crops, act as a windbreak, hold soil in place on slopes, and drop leaves that improve the soil. They can also produce fruit, fodder, fuel and timber. Plant them where they will not compete with your main crop for light and water, protect them from livestock while they are young, and be patient, because the benefits build over years rather than seasons.
Depending on a single crop or a single enterprise means one bad season can undo a whole year. Mixing crops, staggering planting dates, keeping a few different types of livestock and having more than one source of income spreads that risk. Diversity also makes better use of your labour and your land across the whole year, instead of concentrating everything into a few busy weeks.
Key takeaway: the thread running through all five practices is the soil, the water and the variety of what you grow. Protect those three and the farm becomes more resilient, season after season.
These practices are the foundation of the climate change and environment work we do, alongside tree planting, land rehabilitation and environmental restoration. If you would like advice on how to apply them on your own land, talk to our team and we will suggest where to begin.
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No automated system and no mailing list software — just a short, practical tip now and then, sent by a person.
If you would rather learn hands-on, our training programmes cover livestock, black soldier fly production, mushroom growing, fish farming and farm business management. Groups and institutions are welcome, and we can plan a programme around what your members actually need.
Tell us about your farm, your group or your project and we will point you in the right direction — no obligation, and no jargon.
