The story of Tortilla Farm

How it all began

Since 2010 we – my wife Pricilla and me, Harald Holtz – life partly in Zimbabwe and Germany. Why Zimbabwe you could ask. My wife has been born and grown up there. The first trip was just to visit the family.

For me, it was a trip from one of the richest countries in the world to one of the poorest countries. I have to confess, I have been impressed and shocked. Although Zimbabwe has been once called the bread basket of southern Africa, it is now one of the poorest countries of the world. The unemployment rate is at 85% and the life expectancy is lower than 50 years. There is a permanent shortage of water and the economy is in a sorry state.

This would all be a good reason to leave the country at once and never come back again. But there were the people, e.g. Mama Dube my mother-in-law. All of her children and many nieces and nephews have died early in life. The HIV prevalence rate is officially at 15%, and 50 % felt. My wife is the only survivor. Mama Dube has taken care of all orphans. Here she was supported by my wife, who lived and worked in the Netherland at that time. But at January 2nd 2012 Mama Dube died as well.

We could see that the children and teenagers desperately needed help so we could not turn our back and return to Germany. We made some arrangements to improve the living standard of all family members so that they could at least live a decent if simple.

Meanwhile, I made a second home in Bulawayo, the second biggest town of Zimbabwe. We now live several months a year in a suburb and try to help the people there as much as we can. After several good experiences and a few disappointments along the way, we have learnt that for help to be effective, it must be sustainable and long term.

With this in mind we came up with the idea of developing a model farm that would provide both jobs and produce food. The dream of Tortilla-Farm was born.

The First Attempt

We started on our own one-hectare parcel of reclaimed land. The primary prerequisites for any agricultural activity is water supply but rainfall is rare in Zimbabwe and has declined in recent years due to climate change. The rainy season is from November to February but rain in September has been missing for several years, which has led to poor harvests and starvation.

According to a geological survey we drilled a 80 m deep well, but the amount of water that can be pumped was insufficient. The disappointment and financial loss was great. A shattered dream was left. Water has to be carried over long distances furthermore and the amount is still insufficient for producing food.

Plan B

After digesting the frustration we set to work on a plan B. If the water won’t come to us, we must go to the water. We spent much time to find a suitable area of land. It should meet our conditions and be affordable. After many trips to the savannah, many conversations and negotiations we found what we were looking for: a 6-hectare parcel including a river, a dam, fertile soil and the option on adjoining land. But there was a limit on the amount of money we could spend. We named the land in imitation of John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Tortilla Flat’.

We planned to build up some houses as homes for workers. According to local conventions they could live there rent free and herd animals. After installing an irrigation system the growing of grain and vegetables could start. This work will be paid as a day’s wage. The crop yields will be invested in more buildings, equipment or land acquisition, if necessary. A part of it will be used to pay school fees, school uniforms, medical treatment or for other needs of employees and their families. There won’t be a repayment to me.

I delayed my flight back to Germany to attend to the well drilling and the building of a house. The well was a complete success. Pumping 4000 litre per hour is possible. The 1st building couldn’t be finished till I had to leave. But it was a great pleasure to work with the locals. We were the only employers within a radius of several kilometres at that time, and the women and men elated me with their hard work and joy over work. It was sad that I had to leave. All of them would have liked to keep the jobs, because it was the only and rare possibility to earn some money. Work commitments and a back injury drew me back home.

To get a better sense of the expense situation, you will find in the following some examples of prices:

5 kg maize meal (basic food for one person per week) 7 USD
1 kg beef 5 USD
1 kg vegetables 4 USD
1 pair of shoes (pupils) 18 USD
1 school uniform 30 USD
School fee for 4 months 50 USD
1 HIV test 8 USD
1 loaf of bread 1 USD
1 glass of jam 4 USD
1 day‘s wage (worker) 5 USD
1 monthly wage (domestic worker, rent free including electricity and water) 100 USD
1 can of shaving foam 19 USD
1 bottle of whiskey 6 USD
5 cubic metre water per lorry 60 USD
1 bag of cement 11 USD
50 metre well drilling 6.30 USD
1 solar plump plant 8.70 USD

(1 EUR equals approx. 1,10 USD at the moment)

What happened next

For health reasons I had to operate from Germany in 2013. Nearly every day I telecommuted. I designed buildings, stables, water pipes and fences. My wife was in Zimbabwe and took care of approvals, materials and workers.

Every brick, beam, bag of cement and nail had to be carried away from Bulawayo either with our own transporter or a rented bigger lorry. Additionally, the workers had to be supplied with food. There were employed at peak times up to twenty workers. Inspectors of building authorities inspected each building five times. We provided a shuttle service from Esigodini which is at a distance of 40 km as well. Most of the buildings, water pipes and fences were completed by the end of the year. After a long hospitalisation and convalescence I returned in August 2014 to Zimbabwe. A flight is possible even on crutches.

Finally I was able to see it all by myself. I knew it only from my drawings, photos and Pricilla’s descriptions before. Thanks to Pricilla’s tireless efforts so much has been achieved during my absence. Still, there was plenty to do. But now we were able to take things by joining forces. Already the first workers moved in, more cows, sheep and poultry populated the farm and the first maize and vegetables were planted.

The farm is completed

Well, a farm will never properly completed, but the main buildings have been completed in May 2015. This was 2 years after we purchased the land.

The essential buildings are:

tortilla-plan

  1. Dwelling for workers
  2. Pump-bay
  3. Haupthaus
  4. Stables
  5. Cooking and washing building
  6. Reservoir
  7. Water tower
  8. Gazebo
  9. Open fire kitchen

We also have a well, water pipes, a dam in the river, sewage treatment plant, many fences and gates, an unproductive gold mine, pumps, generators and a solar plant for the lighting.

We used approximately 28,000 bricks, 500 bags of cement, 50 tons of sand and gravel.

The fences took up 12 km barbed wire, 1,500 m wire netting and plenty piles of steel and wood.

About 1,000 m water pipes for the domestic water supply and another 350 m for the irrigation system were placed.

Hundreds of tussocks and beams were used for the roofs.

We used machinery as little as possible. No excavator, concrete mixer or crane came into operation. Instead we ruined several wheelbarrows, shovels and pitching tools. Certainly more than 20,000 paid hours of work accrued. That fed lots of families during the building phase.

Right now our farm manager lives there with his wife and their 3 children. He maintains the farm during winter. Occasionally day labourers assist him.

He is taking care of 4 cows, 6 sheep, 18 goats, 17 turkeys, 2 dozens of chickens, 2 geese, 8 ducks, 2 pairs of peacocks, dog and cat… Unfortunately an avian flu killed nearly all our poultry last April. That was one of the saddest days in our short history. Into the bargain our cat was killed by straying dogs the next night.

Further we have a problem that has to be solved in the medium term. We have a good well for our water supply but the pumps run by a generator. A connection to the public electrical power supply network is not affordable. So we have to spend over 300 EUR per month for fuel, when we operate economically. That is why we farm only a part of our land.

Because of over 3,000 hours of sunshine at an altitude of 1,300 metres and an air humidity of less than 30 % a solar plant would be the best option. Solar panels and suitable batteries are available in Zimbabwe indeed, but converter and other components not. Importing a plant could solve the problem, but there isn’t the logistics. In the end all of this results in higher costs. I assess the financial requirement at 15,000 EUR.

… what’s next?

Pricilla and I have funded this project by our savings. Since we know that all we invest will reach the locals, we were not only passionate about this project and worked hard for, but we spent a lot of money on it. Besides some necessary plants we use low-tech solutions. At an unemployment rate of 90% rationalisation is not advisable. Cash benefits for e.g. school fees, medical emergencies or even food are the exception and only paid when the person concerned is too old or ill to work.

We want to provide as many new jobs as possible, even if someone has to collect stones or sweep a forest. It is important for the people that they don’t feel like a beggar but rather find out that their work supports and feeds them. That is the only way to find a way out of thirty years of agony.

There are 4 rules for those who work on the farm:

  1. Don’t lie
  2. (Sister of rule 1) Don’t steal
  3. Work proper
  4. Don’t cut a tree

These are reasonable rules, but proved to be difficult. Tortilla is a survival concept with success and failure. It is a long-term project with educational and political aspects.
Everyone who can earn a living at home will not flee from his country. Although we are able to help only a few people at the moment, we believe that we unburden the European countries. However we are denied the benefit to the public. But we work on it.

Nevertheless we will start accepting donations. Up to now we have received some donations from friends, which we put directly into additional help like school fees, school uniforms, beds for children, medical treatment and in individual cases food or clothes.

Is it possible to help?

Every contribution will help enormously. We will ensure that it is used to 100% where help is really needed.

We have set up a donation account.

Donation account Tortilla Farm

IBAN: DE83 2856 3749 0000 7951 05
BIC: GENODEF1MML
Bank: Raiffeisenbank eG Moormerland
Account No: 795105
Bank No: 285 637 49

Donations via PayPal:

 

Any suggestions are welcomed and should be addressed to us using email info@tortillafarm.org, or our contact form.