Have you ever seen a visually impaired farmer thriving in their work? If not, let me introduce you to the remarkable group of visually impaired individuals in Karni, located in the Lambussie District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Despite their lack of sight, these farmers have mastered innovative farming techniques, cultivating crops such as onions, cabbage, okra, and garden eggs with impressive precision.
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Even more astonishing, these farmers have been successfully farming this way for over 30 years! They revealed that they underwent specialised training to develop their skills and adapt to their impairment. “We were trained to do this first. How to farm, how to navigate in our spaces—it was all through training. So we farm onions, cabbage, garden eggs, okra, green leaf, and many more. We’ve been doing this for about 34 years.”
Using navigation sticks, they are able to determine pathways and identify key farming areas. In a video, one farmer demonstrated how she could differentiate weeds from crops simply by sensing the texture of the plants. Their ability to innovate and adapt is truly inspirational.
Let this story remind us all that setbacks are not reasons to stop succeeding; they are opportunities to innovate and thrive. Wishing you a great week ahead, dear reader!
