UPDATE:  At the beginning of August 2018 we decided to show up and see what Mr. Japhet was working on.  Much to our delight he welcomed us and was eager to show us his garden.  We didn't find Japhet in Mziza, but picked him up at a trading center where he guided us to his new 6 acre farm.  It turns out that Japhet moved to his wife's village where there was more land available and purchased a new much larger plot of land.

 Coming Soon a full Update on Japhet with pictures  of his new farm.

January 2014: He's no stranger on this blog: Mr. Japhet is our most outstanding farmer. Now he is an outstanding leader.

Japhet has been the Mziza Farming Club chairman for 3 years. This year, the original club has doubled in number, up to 24 members. As the number of members is growing, the club has split now into three smaller clubs. Japhet is the new club president, responsible for establishing new clubs, training and coaching new members in the area.

Last week he took us the Mkwende village where farmers are preparing to start irrigation farming. 17 farmers responded to the initial call for interest. Now they will begin the process of learning how to make compost and prepare their gardens for the irrigation season.