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With global warming causing imminent drought in many parts of Kenya, local markets are already facing food shortages. Despite this concern, Selina Auma remains unfazed because her kitchen garden thrives with lush, green leafy vegetables even during hot and dry conditions. Aged 29 and a mother of eight, Selina lost her parents early in life and lacked support, which led her to drop out of primary school and get married early, seeing it as her only option at the time.
She is one of ten women from Ikolomani Sub-County in Kakamega County supported by OLCAP and iMPACT direct in practicing a Zero Hunger Through Mixed Farming project. Each participant received two indigenous goats and five chickens for rearing, along with assistance in maintaining a kitchen garden to grow vegetables for both consumption and sale, thereby earning income to meet basic needs. Ikolomani, like some parts of Kenya, experiences seasonal droughts that lower agricultural productivity. The dry spells, which have negative consequences on agriculture, partially explains why the sub-county is regarded as the second poorest in Kenya. Here, poor harvests, decreased rainfall, malnutrition, and frequent human, plant and animal deaths are common issues. Also, there’s a lack of knowledge on how to use innovative farming methods to enhance the productivity of the soil to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Knowledge Is Power OLCAP organized a seminar to support the women to learn about sustainable mixed farming. During the training, the participants were taught innovative ways to grow, harvest and preserve vegetables for future use or when there’s scarcity.
Women were taught the multi-tiered crop system and how to set up vertical gardens, which are ideal during the dry season. The beneficiaries were also provided with seedlings for their kitchen gardens.
Selina shared, “During the training, I learnt a lot! We were taught how to use simple organic fertilization techniques to grow vegetables during dry seasons. I also mastered how to prepare my own nursery, grow seedlings, and create my own compost manure from kitchen waste,chicken and goat droppings. Finally, I discovered a storage technique that can help me to preserve my vegetables for up to six months after harvesting.”
When we visited Selina, she was just about to prune a variety of green vegetables from her garden — Amaranthus, cowpea leaves, spider plant, slender leaf, and pumpkin leaves. She uses some of the vegetables as food at home and sells the remaining in a nearby local market.
OLCAP works with the 10 mixed farmers to empower them with the necessary knowledge. However, education isn’t enough. The women require access to healthy foods and a source of income—and a savings plan too. The mixed farming program comes in to offer all that.
Selina’s vegetables are flourishing beyond her expectations. She joyfully recounts using the earnings from selling fresh produce to cover her children’s school fees and purchase essential school supplies such as books and pens. She proudly shares that this time, her children were not turned away from school for lack of essential items and tuition fees.
The women in the Zero Hunger Through Mixed Farming project are striving to improve their families’ diets, but also save on their vegetable budgets. Selina explains, “I used to spend at least Ksh. 200 daily on vegetables to feed my entire family, yet I struggled to earn this amount of
money in a week. This meant that when I had no money, we often went without a meal.”
Besides having adequate nutritious food (vegetables and eggs) for their families, the beneficiaries are also saving money through a Welfare Saving program that will allow them to borrow loans after six months of continuous saving to invest in upscaling their venture or use for emergency needs. The women express gratitude for this financial empowerment, fostering hope for a brighter future.
OLCAP is committed to ensuring that the women’s kitchen gardens thrive, ensuring they provide sufficient nutritious meals for their families and generate surplus income to improve their living standards.
Selina ended by expressing, “I don’t know where I would be without OLCAP and iMPACT direct’s support, and I am incredibly grateful to them for transforming my life.”