V-Day Annual Report 2015 | Page 31

-WORLD FARM Today, what was once a swamp is a garden full of flowers. When I look at the transformation happening at City of Joy, I have hope. When they tried to bury alive these Congolese women they ignored that they were seeds and that the ground of the Congo is fertile. Today, 579 graduates makes 579 seeds of revolution spread throughout the Congo. –Christine Schuler Deschryver, V-Day Congo and City of Joy Director V-WORLD FARM The City of Joy’s sister project, V-World Farm, is a bustling sustainable farm 30 minutes from the City of Joy. It serves as a teaching opportunity for women participants—who learn about farming—and helps to feed the City of Joy. The project has grown by leaps and bounds since it was first conceived. Crops abound—honeybee hives, avocados, oranges, pineapples, guavas, maize, string beans, cabbage, celery, carrots, amaranth, beans, sweet potatoes, ground nuts, eggplants and tomatoes. The tilapia ponds are brimming with fish, which will help to feed the women at City of Joy. Twenty tons of rice were harvested and selling the rice harvest from the year before paid for the new rice machine. Twenty thousand new trees have been planted along the border of the property and more will be planted in the upcoming months. Construction of houses for women who will live and work at V-World is underway. Upon completion, we will be able to house 40 women. These women will begin to form the basis for the collective that we hope will run and own V-World Farm one day. 31