My charity

Sister Spillie & Brother Nick are going to collect as much money for the small Banana Growers in the Philippines. If you want to donate an amount of money from 1 to 1.000 €, please fill in the form below or donate when you see them in person....

Thx for your Co-operation.

Spillie & Nick

Farmcoop: support to the Sibulan banana growers’ own plans.

The mountain farmers from Sibulan on the Philippine island, Mindanao, decided to resist the pressure from multinationals, who want to rent their land for the cultivation of export bananas. They decided to start their own banana cultivation, which they want to sell on their own via a circuit of fair trade to the Japanese market.

In order to get a stronger hold, the farmers united in a co-operative called "Sobagromco". Each family cultivates its own piece of land. Harvesting, packing and trading are taken care of by the co-operative.

These growers are producing organic crops with agricultural techniques ada

pted to this mountainous country. This is done by a mixed cultivation of banana trees, coconut palms, fruits and agricultural plants on one and the same piece of land.

A mixed cultivation prevents erosion, which happens when only one kind of plant is cultivated on a piece of land. The growers avoid the use of fertilizers and chemical pesticides. In this way, they protect their groundwater, which is the drinking-water of all inhabitants of Davao, the capital city of Mindanao, and they keep their soil fertile.For all of this, the Sibulan growers appeal to Broederlijk Delen partner Farmcoop (The Foundation for Agrarian Reform Cooperatives in Mindanao). This organisation is specialised in the support of farmers groups in the field of marketing, legal support, education and development.

Last year, the first sixty families started with banana cultivation. Another forty families are on the waiting list. Anyone who wants to join has to make a basic investment per hectare, i.e., for the purchase of fruits and trees. Therefore, the growers get a loan from Farmcoop, from a Broederlijk Delen fund. After two or three years, the loan is refunded, and other people receive the chance to join.

Broederlijk Delen:

-- Supports Farmcoop with a yearly amount of 25.000 Euro.
-- Most of this money goes to the fund in order to help the growers receive a loan for their basic investment. The loan is being paid off in two or three years. Afterwards, the refunded money is being used to give other growers a chance to start.
-- The education Farmcoop is giving to the Sibulan growers amounts to 3 Euro per person per day (material, specialists’ effort, etc…). Reforesting 10 square km of hills to combat erosion costs 9 Euro.

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