Alden Braul uses conservation farming methods to raise corn, money for Foodgrains Bank

They say you shouldn’t take your work home with you. But can you take it to your garden?

That’s what Alden Braul did. The Capacity Development and Food Security Coordinator at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank works to help farmers in the developing world grow more food using conservation agriculture—a way of farming that requires no tilling, minimizes inputs, and preserves moisture.

Through his work, Braul has seen how conservation agriculture has helped poor farmers in places like Honduras and Zimbabwe increase yields. But would it also work in Manitoba? He decided to find out.

Together with three other families from Winnipeg’s Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church, Braul and his wife, Aida Vidal Vega, started the Mulch and Hoe growing project in southeast Winnipeg.

Working on a tenth of an acre of rented land on a Manitoba Hydro right-of-way, they first killed the grass, then punched holes into the ground and dropped in corn seeds.  After covering the seeds with soil, they then put a protective layer of grass—mulch—over top of the field.

The result? Over 55 dozen ears of corn were grown and sold, providing $600 for the Mennonite Central Committee account in the Foodgrains Bank. Together with an additional $3,100 donated by others to project, a total of $3,700 was raised to help people who don’t have enough to eat in the developing world.

 “It was really quite successful,” says Braul, noting that not only was it a growing project, but it was also an educational tool.

“It showed that conservation agriculture is viable for garden plots in Canada—it’s a simple technique that works in the developing world, but also works here.”

And not only that, he adds, the small project showed that “you don’t need to be a big farmer to do a project for the Foodgrains Bank.”

Top image: Rudy Niebuhr and Alden Braul get cobs ready for delivery - most of which was done by bicycle.

Second image: Mulch and Hoe members pose in the corn field with the crop: Weston Gesell, Steve and Micah Detweiller, Tanner Gesell, Mo Klippenstein, Rudy and Nick Niebuhr, Alden Braul, Kate Niebuhr, Riana, Kezia and Randy Gesell.

Bottom image: Randy and Kezia Gesell prepare the field for planting.