Background/History

The United Methodist Church owns an estimated 133 acres of land at Pa Loko in rural Freetown. Pa Loko is a farming community, their crops were systematically looted, and structures completely destroyed when rebels of the Revolutionary United Front overran the community at the height of the civil conflict in Sierra Leone. What remained in most of the farming sites are oil palm plantations, overgrown due to abandonment. This has resulted in the decline of income generation for both the church and the community that used to benefit from United Methodist farming activities in the Pa Loko area.

With the resumption of peace and tranquility in the country, Conference has already resumed development activities such as low-scale farming, church planting, and animal husbandry in Pa Loko.

An Advance funded project will enable the conference to embark on a full-scale agricultural and community development project that will once again benefit the Pa Loko community and improve the financial base of the Sierra Leone Annual Conference.

Goals & Objectives

(a) Giving livelihood to the impoverished Pa Loko farming community.
(b) Generate income to support the various mission project activities of the Sierra Leone Annual Conference such as evangelism, church planting and salary support for pastors.
(c) Provide jobs for unemployed youth.

Activities Plan

1. Employ a project officer and other supporting staff.
2. Construct two water wells at site to provide drinking water for workers and farm animals.
3. Construct one poultry farm to raise five hundred chickens at a time.
4. Construct one pigpen to house 50 pigs at a time.
5. Develop a nursery/demonstration farm for tree crops such as oil palm, citrus, coconut, mango, and cashew.
6. Purchase agricultural equipment and tools.
7. Purchase fertilizers, animal feed, seedlings and pesticides.