Deep Bed Farming - Ending Food Poverty in Malawi

Production has started and a Crowdfunding Campaign Launched to raise awareness and funds for distribution.

CORVALLIS, OR, UNITED STATES, October 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Malawi, October 2024 — Tiyeni, a nonprofit organization promoting climate-smart agriculture through their innovative Deep Bed Farming (DBF) method , has partnered with The Chophouse, a US-based video production company, to produce a mini-documentary and a series of training videos that aim to address food insecurity in Malawi. Filming for the documentary will begin in mid-October 2024, with Ashley Terry, producer and lead camera operator for The Chophouse, set to arrive in Malawi on October 9.

The project will highlight the success of DBF, a method proven to increase crop yields and restore degraded soil in Malawi, a country facing ongoing food shortages due to climate change. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise an additional $20,000 to cover remaining costs.

Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, Malawi’s health minister, recently published an article in The Guardian about the challenges Malawi faces:
"Millions of people in my country, Malawi, face unprecedented existential crises driven by climate breakdown. The frequency of extreme weather events and the massive impact they have on communities have left government officials like me with a huge dilemma of how to act fast enough to save lives. In the past three years, we have gone from facing the worst flooding in recent times to the most severe drought in a decade."

Deep Bed Farming’s Impact

Tiyeni’s DBF method has reached more than 30,000 farmers across Malawi, helping them boost food production and build climate resilience. In the first year of adoption, DBF more than doubles crop yields and increases the profitability of farmers’ land ninefold. DBF also restores degraded land, prevents soil erosion, promotes biodiversity, and recharges aquifers through rainwater harvesting. Many farmers in Malawi face poor soil conditions due to seasonal flooding and a compacted man-made soil layer, known as the hardpan, that is nutrient-deficient and unable to retain water. DBF directly addresses these challenges by improving soil health and crop productivity.
While Tiyeni has reached farmers through direct training, word-of-mouth knowledge sharing has also played a crucial role in spreading DBF practices. The planned training videos, designed for local farmers to share via their phones, will further extend Tiyeni's reach, allowing more farmers to access the techniques.

Documentary and Training Video Production

The Chophouse will lead the production of the mini-documentary and assist Tiyeni with the training videos. The documentary will raise awareness of Tiyeni’s work and highlight the impact of DBF on Malawi’s farmers, while the training videos will be a practical tool for farmers to implement DBF techniques. The videos will be shared across villages using mobile phones.

Colin Andrews, trustee and chair of the Tiyeni Fund, expressed the importance of the documentary in furthering Tiyeni’s mission:
"The upcoming documentary will not only shed light on the challenges that Malawi's farmers face but also showcase the remarkable results achieved through Deep Bed Farming. By raising awareness and increasing funding, we hope to scale up our efforts and end food poverty in Malawi and elsewhere.”

Ashley Terry, producer at The Chophouse, added:
"We’re excited to work with Tiyeni on this project and to capture the real stories of farmers transforming their land and lives through Deep Bed Farming.. These videos will empower more farmers to access the knowledge they need to improve their food security, and we look forward to contributing to such a crucial cause."

About Tiyeni

Tiyeni is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end food poverty and to improve water security through climate-smart agriculture. Their Deep Bed Farming method has been a game-changer for small farmers, helping them increase crop yields, restore soil health, and build resilience against the effects of climate change.

About The Chophouse

The Chophouse is a video production company based in the United States. Focused on documentary filmmaking, The Chophouse is passionate about telling stories that matter, particularly in the areas of environmental sustainability and social justice.

John Ellis
The Chophouse
john@chophousevideo.com
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Deep Bed Farming - Ending Food Poverty in Malawi

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