Monthly Archives: February 2026

Understanding Your Soil: How to Conduct a Jar Test

Understanding Your Soil: How to Conduct a Jar Test

Healthy soil is the foundation of productive farming. Yet many farmers struggle to know whether their soil is sandy, clayey, or loamy without expensive laboratory tests. The soil jar test is a simple, low‑cost method that allows farmers to see the proportions of sand, silt, and clay in their soil using nothing more than a clear jar, water, and patience. Preparing for the Test To begin, collect soil from your field. Dig about 10–15 centimeters below the surface to avoid organic matter like roots and leaves. Mix soil from different spots so the sample represents the whole field. Place this soil into a clean, transparent jar, a one‑liter jar works […]

The Library Must Not Burn: Reviving Africa’s Farming Wisdom One Booklet at a Time

The Library Must Not Burn: Reviving Africa’s Farming Wisdom One Booklet at a Time

In a world racing toward industrial agriculture, BARO (Bridge Africa Research Organisation) is taking a bold step in the opposite direction … back to the roots. Through its Farmwise Project Information Booklets, BARO is building a living archive of indigenous and agroecological farming knowledge, one crop and one animal at a time. These booklets aren’t just manuals … they’re guardians of wisdom, designed to guide anyone, from seasoned farmers to curious first-timers, through the entire value chain of specific crops and livestock. Whether you’ve never planted the crop or raised livestock, these booklets will walk you through it … step by step, soil to table. The first volumes, banana farming […]