Cyclone Nargis  was a strong tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Burma. The cyclone made landfall in Burma on Friday, May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 138,000 fatalities. After the cyclone 3 years ago, 180,000 farmers and farm hands were killed by the tidal surge in  Hmawbi. Many farms lost all of their farm help and went out of business, others cut back on production. Ray Hackett realized farmers were spending hours hauling water out of hand dug wells to water their crops. Ray used drip irrigation on his farm in Buffalo, Missouri and he realized that his drop irrigation system would help the farmers in Burma. Ray decided to make his way to Southeast Asia to put drip irrigation demo plots at several of the rural centers he had visited in a previous visit after the Nargis. His work in centers that bring young villagers in for a 12 day course in sustainable agricultural practices, hygiene, and community building. The community centers plans for matching grants available to help fund anyone interested in using the technology. The pictures you see here are of the portable solar power unit Ray's team helped build to provide solar power to the shallow well pump. Eat Real Food is helping Ray raise funds to  upgrade these units to include an inverter for more powerful pumps. The beauty of this upgrade is that the unit can be carried to the church or house to provide electricity at night. One of the pictures is a test garden at one of the rural centers. This center grows a tree that has leaves that are very high in vitamins and when powdered and taken as a capsule is a great prenatal vitamin, and is showing promise in clinical studies as an all natural cocktail to boost the immune system in AIDS patients. Ray's family has been involved in Burma since 1913 and now Eat Real Food is helping fund his project as part of Eat Real Food's commitment to a sustainable future for farmers everywhere.

To volunteer and help Ray onsite, donate or become involved with this project, email us at info@eatrealfood.org.

Life is short. Help Ray!