INTERVIEW WITH SHIEKAR KUMBUR
Co-Founder and Visonary of Hope Eden
WHY DID YOU START THE HOPE EDEN PROJECT?
In the nineties, there was a philosophical view of life out of the situation in Nigeria. Nigeria has a lot
of human and material resources: – oil, land, solid minerals etc. but young people do not have hope for a
better future because the Military and Political leaders are still mismanaging these resources.
Coming from a Christian background (God wants the world to be a fair and just place for everybody to
live). So the idea of starting a place like the original Garden of Eden was conceived. Hebrew 11, 1: “Faith
means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see
it” was the inspiring Bible verse for us.
WHEN WAS IT STARTED?
After a careful feasibility study, Hope Eden was started in 1997 and is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with registration number RC319959. The logo of Hope Eden shows a house and a plant, which represents the three basic necessities of life e.g., food, shelter and clothing. The green is a sign of hope.
WHERE IS HOPE EDEN LOCATED?
Hope Eden is located in the surrounding of Abuja (approximately 50km) west of the city center and just 40 minutes drive fro the International Airport. The estate is part of Kuje Area council.
The vegetation of the farm falls within the Guinea Savannah, which is characterized by and is influenced by two main seasons the raining and dry season. The raining season start from ending of April to ending of October. During dry season, on the other hand, the temperature gradually rises up to a maximum in March-April, where room temperatures can reach 35°C and above. The relative humidity can be extremely low, especially durin Harmattan. This dry wind blowing from North Africa and carrying a lot of Sahara Desert dust in seen from Dec.- February and can reduce visibility to few hundred meters. Bush burning during the dry season is very rampant, and the Fulani migrate with their herds to the Southern State for greener pastures.
WHAT IS THE SCALE OF HOPE EDEN?
The real estate of Hope Eden is 18.9 ha with additional tolerance area of 2 ha. This tolerance area lie between the actual farming land and the stream that is bordering the land. The stream is dammed for irrigation in the dry season. This can be improved for domestic water purposes, watering livestock an even for fish production.