Mission ~ Vision ~ Values
Our Mission
To empower farmers in the Sankuru through research, training, and support in order to adopt regenerative agriculture practices that enhance soil health, improve yields, and strengthen communities.
Our Vision
A thriving Sankuru where its people lead prosperous, resilient lives empowered by regenerated soils and vibrant, interconnected communities.
Our Values
1. People have intrinsic value and dignity were they are.
2. Success is built on what is available locally.
3. Fail forward toward success by iterating small and rapidly.
4. Transfer of competency is the proof of understanding
About Us
Sankuru Regen is an agricultural project empowering farming communities in the Sankuru Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Led by Daniel Law and facilitated by US-based non-profit Appointment Congo and its DRC-based non-profit partner AMECO, it collaborates with Sankuru farmers using regenerative agriculture principles and practices.
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Our Context ​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Located in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sankuru region remains isolated from markets due to severely deteriorated infrastructure, including underdeveloped roads and energy systems. Health services are minimal, education is scarce, and residents rely heavily on subsistence agriculture—primarily slash-and-burn practices that clear rainforest, burn residue, and temporarily enrich soil.
Contrary to local belief, these methods degrade soil fertility, harm the environment, and cause widespread health problems. Rice, the staple crop, sees yields decline by 30% annually, forcing communities to abandon depleted land after a few years and repeat the cycle by clearing more forest. This has sparked growing conflicts over remaining forested areas.
Hunger and extreme malnutrition are rampant, with 15% of children not surviving to age five.
Despite this dire situation, the opportunity for transformative change is immense. Sankuru Regen has proven sustainable agricultural practices that eliminate slash-and-burn while significantly boosting yields—often demonstrable within a single growing season. The people of Sankuru are eager for these solutions.
Slash & Burn
This is a new garden. As you can see in the image the stand of rainforest in the background was chopped down and burned in the foreground. This is what farmers plant into. The first year is the best and then the soil deteriorates over the next couple of years and then it is abandoned.
Road Infrastructure
Roads and many bridges in the Sankuru have deteriorated due to rains and lack of maintenance. The solutions that work are motorbikes and bridges sufficient to facilitate a dry crossing. Notice the bridge that has been formed up in the left of the image is still waiting to be finished.
Our Research
In 2022, we launched our work in Sankuru, developing and field-testing regenerative farming methods designed specifically for the region's rainfed conditions—using only materials and seed stock available locally.
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We started by producing thermal compost from resources right in the communities. This compost was then integrated into a modified rice production system, drawing on key principles from the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) but adapted fully to rainfed environments, making it practical and immediately usable for local farmers.
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Our approach centered on five simple yet powerful practices: eliminating burning, keeping permanent ground cover, spacing planting hills 25 cm apart, rogueing to leave only one established seedling early (12–16 days after planting), and applying the homemade compost.
The results were striking. Yields rose substantially in that first 2022 season. In 2023, we rotated beans into the plots after the rice harvest—maintaining ground cover throughout—and when we planted rice again, yields actually increased further, bucking the usual pattern of steady decline. All this without a single burn and relying solely on local inputs.
By 2024, even with trials of mechanized planting on third-year land, we held those strong yields steady. As the 2025 growing season has come to close we have completed our 4th year of rice crop production and have diversified to two other cereal crops, corn and millet. This year we are also beginning our first tests of intercropping and relay cropping with legumes.
These outcomes have turned heads across the region, proving that regenerative practices can reverse soil degradation and deliver higher, more reliable harvests using what the land and communities already provide. Yet the biggest hurdle isn't the methods themselves—it's the deeply rooted traditions and beliefs tied to slash-and-burn agriculture. Through hands-on trainings in compost-making and planting across several communities, we've seen something inspiring: people are genuinely eager to learn, to experiment, and to change. Farmers light up when they see the results.
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Still, real, lasting transformation will demand patient, sustained effort from us—building skills, shifting mindsets, and walking alongside communities every step of the way. The hunger for a better way is already there; now it's about equipping people to make it their own.
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Looking Forward
Beginning in 2025 we launched an effort to walk farmer families through an entire year of practicing and adopting what we are terming "Kuke-Kete" or strengthen the ground in the local language. We intend to conduct site research and work with 10-20 farmer families to identify obstacles to adoption and inform future initiatives. This effort will be curated by local staff who will lead participants through the process of compost production, land preparation, planting, rouging, harvesting, and incorporating rotational crops and possibly some intercropping.
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