No chemicals, just a cow

A cow in the family is the difference between life and death in some countries. This article in the Independent UK is one of a series that is documenting the changes brought by aid organizations to Rwanda in areas still trying to recover from genocide and civil war. Through the "Send a Cow" program, Rwandan citizens are given livestock, and taught how to use that cow or goat to help restore blighted and fallow fields and add milk and butter to meager diets.

This is the essence of sustainability. Manure and urine are recycled as fertilizer, or captured and processed to produce methane, then used for cooking fuel. This helps reduce the need to cut down local trees, preserving the environment. One woman talks of mixing urine with "chilies and ash to make an effective pesticide" for her other crops. Surplus milk can be sold, giving a family that once made pennies a day some income to buy clothes, send children to school.