Forest Fruit & Forage for Farm Families

The vision of the SIM Forest Fruit and Forage for Farm Families Project is for A better life for farm families. This better life includes physical health, basic life necessities and spiritual health. The primary target is the resource-poor subsistence farm families of Awi Zone. Farm families receive training, seedlings and appropriate agriculture-related technologies that are first tested at the project's test site and in on-farm trials. This has served as a bridge and point of contact with the rural Awi population which in the past been antagonistic to any spiritual influence outside traditional Orthodox religion. The greatest opportunities are the result of success in the fruit component, especially in the introduction of apples and plums to the area.

Five years followng inception of this project, a local fruit cooperative had been formed and thousands of seedlings of threatened local trees species have been planted. Mutually respecting relationships between SIM missionaries and staff and the Awi farm families have been developed; some have believed.

Local economic pressure means that inceased funding is required to continue the successes of this project.