Country: Rwanda
Lead organisation: Rwanda Environment and Cultural Organisation (RECO)
Through vermicomposting, a process that uses earthworms to turn organic waste into compost, this project produces organic fertilisers for crop production. Vermicomposting recycles food waste and produces a sustainable organic fertiliser that enhances soil regeneration by increasing the soil’s organic matter and promotes long-term fertility for sustainable crop production. By adding a special species of red earthworms (Euseusnia foetida), no greenhouse gases are emitted from the food waste. The project was able to keep costs down because everything is locally sourced and produced. VERMIFARM’s fertiliser is cost-effective and 50% cheaper than chemical fertilisers. A winner of the inaugural round of the RAIN Challenge, VERMIFARM returns in RAIN 3 as we continue supporting their efforts to strengthen food systems, create dignified green jobs, and scale a nature-positive model for climate-smart agriculture in East Africa.
Key progress highlights:
- The project supported 788 people and created 14 jobs.
- 197 smallholder farmers, agro-dealers, and local leaders were engaged through two trainings on best fertilizer application and overall farm management along with monthly farm visits.
- Installed 5 traditional vermibeds and 10 verm-bins to develop a vermicompost production farm and hired 10 refugees and 4 staff members for daily operations.
- Two final year thesis students from University of Rwanda were supported on application and monitoring of crop growth in farms RECO works with.
- An e-commerce platform was developed and linked to the website to facilitate and monitor national and international orders.
