|
Dear Friends,
As I write we are being asked to pray for dry weather so that farmers in England can harvest
their crops. We all know that this summer has been wet, but spare a thought for our farmers,
struggling with crops that (a) may not have ripened, (b) are getting flattened, (c) are water-logged
(under the ground) or just too wet to harvest (i.e. they would go mouldy if they were brought
in now). Then spare a thought for those in some other countries who have had no harvest
worth mentioning for years…
When we come to celebrate Harvest - and we will, whatever the weather ! - we are focussing on
the work of just one organisation working with poor villagers in eastern Africa. It is
one that we have supported before, called 'Send a Cow'. There are some details of their
work elsewhere (page 13) in the Village News, but I thought you might also be interested in
another sidelight on the whole idea of giving villagers their own cows, namely greenhouse gases
!
Are cows worse for the environment than cars? According to media reports, the average cow in
the UK emits more greenhouse gases per day than the average Landrover.
However, Send a Cow's experience in Africa is that a properly managed cow in a small-scale organic
farming system is beneficial, not detrimental, to the environment. Recent research they
commissioned into their programme in Uganda backs up this view.
Simon Penney of Promise Consulting calculated the greenhouse gases emitted by cows, and by the
car and plane trips that staff take to run and monitor programmes. Then he calculated
the carbon that farmers are capturing: by improving the fertility of the soil, by growing more
crops on it, and by planting fodder trees for their animals (an average of 100 trees per cow).
In total, he calculated that for each family receiving one cow, over twice as much carbon is
captured as is emitted. Furthermore, the average farmer helped by Send a Cow has a carbon
footprint approximately one-twenty-third the size of an average person in the UK. They will
shortly be publishing results from this research, and their forthcoming report, the first in
what they call their Foundation Series, will also look at what Send a Cow is doing to 'climate
proof' the farmers they work with. If you would like a copy of the report when it is published,
please contact them direct [you can find them easily online or phone 01225 874 222]
So come and join us for our Harvest Service at St. James on Sunday 28th September
at 11 am, when we have visiting speakers from Send a Cow - Robin and Mary Crittenden - and then
join us in the Village Hall for lunch at 12.30 pm. Our Social Committee always provide
a wonderful spread, and tickets will be available from Sarah Goodship (702613) and Irene Tracy
(703021).
William Lang.
|
|
