Maputsoe (Lesotho). Vulnerable young people in need of education are arriving at the Saint Mary Mazzarello Vocational Center in Maputsoe, Lesotho, part of the Our Lady of Peace Province (AFM). Among the initiatives and courses implemented to provide them with education and skills development, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, starting on 1 July 2025, have introduced the Natural Farming project to teach vulnerable girls and young people, including those from neighboring villages, how to grow natural products that are both in demand and useful for family support.
Every Friday is dedicated to agriculture. This project involves 74 girls and 86 farmers. The day is divided into three parts. The first is an informative presentation that may address a topic of international interest, such as human rights, communicable diseases, and others. The second part consists of an explanation and practical demonstration of the seeds to be planted that day. The third part is the actual sowing.
The students receive seeds to plant at school and seeds to take home to sow on their family plots, while farmers cultivate on their own land. The young women are divided into groups to care for the seeds. Village gardens are also set up where plants are planted for those who are most in need and/or may not have the energy to grow their own crops.
After the Christmas break, the Natural Agriculture project officially reopened on 16 January 2026. The second-year students were thrilled to see how their seeds produced a bountiful harvest: green peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables. The first-year students were introduced to the sustainable agriculture system so they too could be part of the large agricultural team aiming to eradicate poverty and hunger among many people living in the area.
This project thus creates a virtuous circle: the farmers, who come from different villages, think not only of themselves, but also of others, such as families with children, those who may be ill and unable to participate in agricultural activities and the care of the village gardens. The harvest was so abundant that they were able to help the needy and the poor, as well as sell some at the market to purchase more seeds.
The communities around Maputsoe are therefore grateful to the Salesian Sisters, the Benoni Development Office in South Africa, and Misean Cara, for making this Natural Agriculture project possible.
This is a “seed-bearing” project that can continue to spread over the years. It allows many people to concretely live the “Laudato Si'” message through natural agriculture, helping them to have something to put on the table and, in turn, to help others, especially the most fragile and vulnerable, as Pope Leo XIV reminded participants at the “Raising Hope” conference, on the tenth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si’, on 1 October 2025:
“Only through a return to the heart can a true ecological conversion occur. We must move from gathering data to caring; from environmentalist discourses to an ecological conversion that transforms our personal and communal lifestyles. For believers, this is a conversion no different from the one that directs us to the living God, because we cannot love the God we cannot see by despising His creatures, and we cannot call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ without sharing in His gaze on creation and His care for what is fragile and wounded.
