To help resource Lent this year, we will use the Catholic Relief Services outreach to six countries to highlight a different key principle of Catholic Social Teaching. Today we will focus on the Catholic Social Teaching Principle: Care of God’s Creation. Today’s post will provide you with a CRS video about their work in Madagascar, two spotlights on how Operation Rice Bowl has helped people, a native recipe from Madagascar you can try with your family, and a lesson plan.
Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for God by our stewardship of creation. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions which cannot be ignored. CRS’ agriculture programs in Madagascar and around the world help farmers in the poorest communities improve their harvests using environmentally sensitive techniques that help preserve the land for future generations.
Meet Mr. Robin from Madagascar
My name is Mr. Robin and I’m a farmer in Madagascar. I live in a very dry region where we often have droughts. But thanks to CRS, the farms in our community are thriving. Before CRS came to our village, farmers spent many hours carrying water buckets to the crops. We were only able to grow a few types of lettuce. We had to walk three hours to the market to buy any other vegetables we needed. Most farmers had to work several extra jobs to make ends meet.
CRS gave the famers in our village a treadle pump, and now we can water three times as much land in half the time it took with a bucket. We also received drought resistant seeds and training on new planting techniques. Now I grow corn, lettuce, sorghum, cucumbers, pumpkins, and orange trees on my farm. CRS also taught us new ways to keep the soil fertile, like placing squash plants in between rows of corn. My farm is so successful that I had to hire two people to work for me. I sell my vegetables right here in the village for half the price that is charged at the market. I’m also the president of our local farmers’ association, and I let other farmers use part of my land to test new crops and growing methods. With the help of CRS, we have really improved the quality of life in our village.
Meet Suzy from Madagascar
My name is Suzy Razafindrafara and I am a farmer in Madagascar. A few years ago, CRS and its partner Caritas Antsirabe came to our village and told us about a new way to plant rice called the System for Rice Intensification. When I heard it, the idea sounded a little crazy. How could using less water and fewer seeds bring a larger harvest? My neighbors laughed at me for trying it. But when my fields yielded one and a half times more rice than theirs, no one laughed anymore. Instead, people in the village asked me to teach them the new method too.
This new way of planting requires more work. We used to flood our fields to get rid of the weeds, but we learned that this damages the roots of the rice plants. Now we weed by hand, a task that takes four people two whole days to complete. The extra work is worth it. Before CRS came to our village, my family was only able to grow enough rice to feed ourselves for about ten months. Now our rice crop lasts the whole year. We often have extra rice to sell, which helps us pay for our children’s school fees. Sometimes we even have enough money to buy little luxuries, like a battery powered television set. Now every farmer in my village is using this new planting method, and we are all enjoying better harvests.
Lenten Family Recipe of the Week from Madagascar
The Catholic Toolbox Lesson Plan on Creation
TheRichSoil 