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“Ntlafatsa motho pele, motho a ntlafatse naha” – “First develop man and man will develop the land”

OUR HISTORY

Drive out hunger

In the 1940s when Dr. JJ Machobane was already a well - known author of the first historical novels written in Sesotho, he returned to his home village in Leribe district to begin 13 years of agricultural

experimentation and research. His goal was to “drive out hunger” from his country.

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Among the many agricultural practices he developed during this time were the intercropping of traditional maize fields with potatoes and other vegetables, an intensive rotational system that produced food crops and field cover throughout the year, and the concentration of locally available manure and ash in planting beds rather than scattering them across the entire field.

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To help spread these innovations throughout the country, Dr. JJ Machobane required each of the village farmers he trained to in turn train twenty others. This educational approach evolved into the MantsÌŒa Tlala (Drive Out Hunger) College with a curriculum designed to improve all aspects of village life.

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Our Journey 

1959

DR. JJ MACHOBANE IS RECOGNISED

In 1959 Dr. JJ Machobane’s successes with this comprehensive approach to village education came to the attention of the Ford Foundation and resulted in his recognition as Volunteer of the Year 1961 for the Continent of Africa and a sponsored speaking tour in the United States.

1960s

MFS IS SEEN AS A THREAT

During the years leading to Lesotho’s independence in 1966, the international recognition of Dr. Machobane’s work began to be perceived as a threat to the country’s new political leadership- the college was closed, and he was forced to give up publicly promoting his ideas. For almost 25 years he lived “underground”, able to express himself only by authoring unpublished manuscripts on topics ranging from agriculture to history and poetry to football.

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Private Bag A139 | Maseru 100 | Lesotho 

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