In November 2009, Chris and Filipa Serfontein arrived at Chuala Farm. Situated 120km from Chimoio, Mozambique, the farm had no electricity, no running water, and no agriculture besides subsistence gardening – and for the first nine months, the couple lived very simply in tents, working alongside the local people to lay the foundations for Moz-Agri Lda.

With a limited budget, and a mountain of perseverance, boreholes were sunk for water, tracts of land were cleared for crop cultivation, homes were built, and electricity was eventually brought to the farm after one year. Progress was slow, and Chris and Filipa faced many difficulties, but they ensured that things were done properly, on good Christian principles and with a great deal of faith.

Today, the farm is a beacon of hope and prosperity. From its humble beginnings, it has been transformed into a place of progress, where the formerly poverty-stricken community has found employment, stability, access to health care and many other benefits.

Visit Moz-Agri any day of the week and you will find a happy, bustling hive of activity. Staff members attend to the fields and livestock, while families from nearby communities come to visit the health care center, barter, and trade, buy fresh bread and other goods at subsidised prices from the Moz-Agri shop, or just to meet and catch up.

They also come to mill their own maize, using the electrical mill sponsored by the farm several years ago. Although the money was sorely needed for implements at the time, the plight of the women struggling to feed their families was more pressing. Today, 120 women can mill their maize every week with the electrical mill, improving their productivity and saving them hours and days of back-breaking work.