At the beginning of the year I started sowing a pack of Amaranthus seeds. I was so excited to finally be sowing my own plants – I wondered why I hadn’t done it sooner… after all, I’ve been in the garden with my mam and grandy practically since I could crawl. It didn’t take long for the seeds to germinate – within a few weeks I started to see my little seedlings appear…and they just didn’t stop. I didn’t notice how many seeds there were in a packet, and I had consequently sown hundreds of the things. 

At this point I had been volunteering with the Tanzania Development Trust and Mboni ya Vijana (MVG) for a while, and had come to know various communities and some of the difficulties that they face, including extreme poverty, hunger and a degrading land suffering the impact of climate change. So, when faced with what seemed like an endless number of the same plant, I realised I could actually do some good with them – planting trees that helped the environment and helped to feed communities.

Selling them got off to a bit of a rough start as I was rushed into hospital (twice) before having an emergency surgery – so, again, diolch to Mamma TJ for continue to sell them for me! 

After a number of weeks of selling, we raised £400! I donated this money through the Tanzania Development Trust, which, as it’s a volunteer-run non-profit, sends 100% of the donations directly to the projects they’re intended for – exactly what a non-profit should do, in my eyes. 

After looking at all the regions and projects they work on, it was decided this money would go to Mboni ya Vijana, helping to plant fruit trees in a school garden. The communities that they work with live in extreme poverty an hunger, some don’t have access to clean and safe water, and many farmers can struggle due to the degrading land and environment, thanks to climate change.