Black Soldier Fly Larva have made it to school! I recently had an opportunity to teach our newest practical helps lesson at INFOP, the government agricultural school. It was very fun and very well received!
I had
35 students as well as some instructors!! The interest level was very high and our time together flew by!
We actually started by reading two Scriptures:
Psalm 139:7-16 and Jeremiah 29:11-13!
God knows us, God formed us, and God has good plans for us!
Before the class started I had
drafted three volunteers to take part in a skit.
The skit was of three graduates from INFOP meeting in the street and one of them shared his
plan to start a pig project. He was asked if he had enough money to feed the pigs because they eat a lot, and what he planned to do with all the poop the pigs would produce. Faced with these concerns he decided he needed to rethink his project.
We discussed the skit as a group and they concluded that those were good concerns and that the same concerns also apply to other animal project such as raising chickens or cows.
The skit was followed with three more volunteers who were asked to
close their eyes and identify what I put in their hands. To one I gave a bag of 100 black soldier fly larva, to the next a bag of 500 larva and the last received a plastic coffee can with several thousand larva and he had to stick his hand in it!
The larva were passed around so everyone could see them up close and asked them to guess how many larva were in each bag.
Pictured above is the bag of 100.
They were all very interested in the larva and both the bags and coffee container moved pretty slowly around the room as they were so into checking them out.
I had a presentation that went over all the physical aspects of the larva and included two videos I had taken of the larvas at our house. Throughout the lesson
I emphasized that God made the larva, and it is the design He gave them that we are utilizing for agriculture. They were amazed that the larva would "self harvest" into a container making them incredibly easy to feed to animals.
We went through the steps to make a barrel 'composter' in the classroom.
Then went outside to set up the completed composter! We went over the physical characteristics again and I was very impressed how they had retained everything! They were very interested!
I shared with them that just as God made the black soldier fly, He made each of us also.
Just as the black soldier fly was unique and had special characteristics we can use for our good,
He has made each of us unique and has good for each of us if we will follow His way!
I shared that just as the black soldier fly is like a treasure for us in nature that was put there by God,
the Bible has treasures for our life put there by God!
They were so attentive and it was a GREAT class!! Praise the LORD!!
Here the director of INFOP was closing the session together by going over the value utilizing black soldier fly larva in an agricultural. A very common problem people here can have is not having money for animal feed. Another common problem is just not taking care of all the poop their animals produce. With the black soldier fly larva they can
reduce the animal poop on their property, which
reduces harmful nitrogen contamination of ground water and
removes an attractant for other flies that carry diseases, produces a useful compost and a self harvesting larva that can be fed to chickens, pigs and fish!
Amazing!!
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:7-16
