KINWEDJI APPLICATION SITE

The Kinwedji site is located 12 km from Lokossa, the capital of Couffo-Mono, in the southeastern region of Benin, and covers an area of 19 ha.

CHARACTERISTICS

• An artesian well.
  
• Exceptional soil fertility.
  
• A humid, clay-based zone, prone to flooding when the Mono River, a few kilometers away, rises.
  
• Trains young Songhai farmers as well as those who are still awaiting installation.

What differentiates Kinwedji is that it receives students who are already in training on other sites, notably Porto-Novo. Instead of spending 18 months on the Porto-Novo site, a re-structuring of the program allows them to operate a system of micro projects and practical endeavors, offering them the opportunity of a hands-on training. This strategy affords the Porto Novo students experience in the rural area.
Kinwedji was originally a farm set up by Songhai for a village group. Efforts were made in 1999 to transform the farm into a place where the students could have direct experience in a rural situation.

The young people trained on the Porto-Novo site, a peri-urban environment, lack the opportunity to experience agriculture in a rural setting, even though 90% of them set up their farms in villages after completing their training. Since 2000, student farmers have been spending time in Kinwedji for a 3-month stay per set of 15 students. The center is managed by two facilitators and a manager, whose duty is to oversee the students' work in the various production units.

ACTIVITIES

The main agricultural activities on the center are:

• Rice farming
  
• Banana production
  
• Egg production
  
• Raising pigs
  
• Market gardening
  

New planting systems are currently being implemented to enable the center to effectively use the available water resources so that production can take place throughout the year.