At Songhai Centre, OLA Sisters Discover a Living Model of Integral Development
Porto-Novo, Bénin — A visit to the Songhai Centre in Porto-Novo offered the OLA Sisters an opportunity to encounter a concrete and inspiring model of integral development—one in which agriculture, ecology, science, technology and human creativity converge in the service of people and the environment.
As part of their formation and reflection on Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), the Sisters spent the day exploring the Centre and discovering how sustainable use of natural resources can contribute to food security, employment, environmental protection and the empowerment of communities.
“Nothing is wasted; everything can be transformed”
The Sisters were personally welcomed by Fr. Godfrey Nzamujo, O.P., founder of the Songhai Centre, who shared the vision that has guided the Centre since its beginnings.
For Fr. Nzamujo, Songhai is much more than an agricultural project. It is a laboratory for development—a place where people can experiment, learn, and demonstrate that Africa’s natural and human resources can become a foundation for sustainable development.
His vision begins with a striking question: How can a continent endowed with abundant natural resources continue to experience widespread poverty? Songhai seeks to respond to this paradox not simply through theory, but through practical action.
The Centre demonstrates that agriculture can become a catalyst for broader social and economic transformation when knowledge, technology, human labour and the resources of the earth are brought together.
At the heart of this approach is a simple but powerful principle: nothing is wasted; everything can be transformed.
The Sisters saw this principle reflected throughout the Centre’s integrated production system. Crop cultivation, livestock farming, fish farming, composting, renewable energy and the processing of agricultural products are not treated as isolated activities. Rather, they are interconnected in a system where the output or waste from one activity becomes a resource for another.
From waste to resource
Walking through the Centre, the Sisters witnessed how this circular approach works in practice.
Organic materials that might ordinarily be considered waste are collected and transformed into useful resources. Composting provides natural fertilisation for agricultural production, while organic waste can also contribute to the production of biogas, generating energy within the system.
The model challenges the conventional understanding of waste. What appears to have no further value can become an input for another process. In this way, production becomes more sustainable while reducing unnecessary waste and dependence on external resources.
The Sisters also observed fish farming and other forms of agricultural production, gaining a practical understanding of how different components of the Songhai system support one another.
But the Centre’s vision extends beyond farming. Production is linked with processing, transport, services and commercialization, creating an ecosystem in which agricultural resources generate further opportunities and value.
This integrated approach places human development at the centre. It is not simply about producing more food; it is about equipping people with knowledge and skills, creating employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and enabling communities to make productive use of the resources available to them.
An experience that engaged all the senses
The visit was not limited to observation. It became an experience of encounter, learning and participation.
At midday, the Sisters celebrated the Eucharist together, bringing their reflections and discoveries before God in prayer. The celebration was followed by a shared meal prepared with products from the Centre—an experience that made the Songhai philosophy tangible in yet another way.
What the Sisters had seen growing in the fields and being produced within the Centre was now present on their table.
The day concluded with a visit to the nursery. There, the Sisters moved from being observers to becoming participants themselves as they planted Pepper.
The simple act of putting a plant into the soil became a fitting conclusion to the day’s experience. It was a gesture of hope, responsibility, and commitment to the future.
Caring for creation, transforming lives
The experience at Songhai offered more than lessons in agriculture. It invited a deeper reflection on the relationship between care for creation and the struggle against poverty.
The two realities are inseparable. When land, water, plants, animals and other natural resources are exploited without consideration for their long-term sustainability, communities ultimately bear the consequences. But when these resources are responsibly managed and combined with knowledge, innovation and human creativity, they can become sources of food, employment, dignity and hope.
For the Sisters, this message resonates deeply with the Church’s call to care for our common home and to stand alongside people who experience poverty and exclusion.
The Songhai experience showed that sustainable development does not necessarily begin with sophisticated solutions imposed from outside. It can begin by looking carefully at what already exists—the soil, water, organic matter, human skills, local knowledge and available technologies—and asking how these resources can be connected and transformed for the common good.
A seed of hope
The Sisters left Songhai with more than memories of a remarkable centre. They carried with them questions and possibilities for their own mission contexts.
The seed planted at the nursery was symbolic. It represented the possibility that small, concrete actions can contribute to something larger when they are rooted in a vision of life, dignity and sustainability.
Songhai’s example demonstrates that development can be approached differently: not by seeing people or the earth merely as resources to be exploited, but by recognizing the potential already present in both and creating conditions for that potential to flourish.
For the Sisters, the visit became a reminder that the mission of justice, peace and care for creation calls not only for concern, but also for creativity, responsible action and a willingness to learn from experiences that point towards a more sustainable future.
At Songhai, the message was clear: when the earth is cared for, when nothing is unnecessarily wasted, and when human knowledge and creativity are placed at the service of the common good, resources can become opportunities, waste can become possibility, and communities can be empowered to build their own future.