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Cateque is considered a flagship example of a successful food security and livelihoods initiative carried out by ForAfrika in partnership with the community. But the first encounter between Cateque and ForAfrika was far from encouraging.
Morgado Culembe, ForAfrika’s Project Coordinator, had been following up on a malnutrition case in neighbouring Chimdumbo when he was alarmed by the number of children from Cateque presenting recurrent malnutrition.
“Our community partners flagged the concerning pattern: children would receive fortified rice at the health centre but return shortly after with the same symptoms. We realised then that we needed to go deeper to understand the root causes of malnutrition and break the cycle,” he explains.
With more than 40 years of experience fighting malnutrition across Mozambique, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and Angola, the ForAfrika team knows that malnutrition cannot be solved by treatment alone. It requires a holistic approach that begins in the community, with prevention, while also ensuring urgent cases receive hospital care.
Cateque soon became the perfect example of how strengthened prevention can drastically reduce the pressure on local health centres struggling with high malnutrition caseloads.
In discussions with Soba Jordão Joaquim, the ForAfrika team identified a clear challenge. Although Cateque’s economy revolved around agriculture, families had limited access to seeds and sustainable agriculture techniques. As a result, the community grew mainly corn and potatoes, staples that did not provide the nutritional diversity needed for children to grow healthy and strong.
“I learned farming from my father, who learned from his father. All of us here are farmers,” says Soba Jordão. “But what we produced was mostly corn and potatoes. That was our daily meal.”
Recognising that poor dietary diversity was rooted in limited agricultural capacity, ForAfrika designed a project to strengthen local farming practices while providing the right inputs. Last year, 45 farmers received seed kits containing beetroot, kale, tomatoes, carrots, peanuts, onions and beans, all selected for their high nutritional value and their potential to enrich daily diets.
“The seeds were chosen to increase access to vitamins, minerals and protein, key nutrients for preventing malnutrition,” explains Morgado.
Two trained community agents then launched a hands-on programme in sustainable agriculture. They built on existing knowledge, introduced improved planting methods, and taught ways to reduce post-harvest waste.
“One big change was how we divide the soil for planting,” says Soba Jordão, drawing a line in the floor with his stick. “We were used to planting everything inside a 40cm square. The agent taught us to make rows one metre apart and plant each seed with 20cm of space. We were sceptical until the beans grew. Then we saw the real revolution.”
With new skills and inputs, the farmers formed the Cateque Association, aiming to pool labour and share their gains. The results of the first cycle exceeded every expectation. Per person the harvest provided an income of approximately 40 USD, where 1kg of seed of beans turned into 20kg of crop, 1kg of seeds of kale generated almost 15 of crop and tomatoes to almost 5kg.
For a community of 255 people, these improvements were transformative. As income and food diversity grew, the change in children’s health became clear.
“We don’t have malnutrition anymore,” says Soba Jordão proudly. “Look at our children. They eat different foods now, and when they get sick, we can afford medicine. But they rarely fall ill these days. My community is doing very well.”
This is what sets ForAfrika apart: a deep understanding that malnutrition is not merely a health issue but a systemic food and livelihoods challenge. By improving access to nutritious foods through sustainable agriculture, communities like Cateque build resilience from within, reducing malnutrition before it starts.
As ForAfrika continues supporting communities across Angola and the continent, the next step for Cateque community is clear: helping families take nutrition even further through community kitchens, improved food diversification, and strengthened local knowledge.
The success found in Cateque shows what is possible when prevention and community leadership work together: a strong community on the right path to ending malnutrition at its roots.
Read more +03 September 2026 By ForAfrika in South Sudan
Read more +11 August 2026 By ForAfrika in Central African Republic, Emergency Response
Read more +10 August 2026 By ForAfrika in Central African Republic, Economic Empowerment| Cookie | Duration | Description |
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