September 2021

SOME SUCCESS STORIES FROM THE FARMERS IN Kisa West

Since the 30 lead farmers completed the permEzone training at the end of May, they have been busy building their networks for farmer-to-farmer extension, and putting what they’ve learned into practice. No doubt it will take some time to implement the new farm designs that they created during their training, but they are already starting to see some quick wins which we’re happy to report on here.

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1) Ms. Maurine Adhiambo

Ms. Maurine Adhiambo at her farm with a casual worker watering her farm in readiness for mulching.

Ms. Maurine Adhiambo says that, thanks to the training she received, she has been able to grow a variety of vegetables. “The local varieties osuga, ododo and apoth are nutrient dense and helped my family with nutrition, I even sell the surplus that has been earning me income for my family needs.” She says that during the dry spell she has been using (recycling) grey water to water her crops.

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2) Mrs. Jane Atieno

Isaac, a member of the C-MRA team, is seen here providing technical support to Mrs. Jane Atieno on sack gardening.

Mrs. Jane says, “I am planning to grow a variety of vegetables and I am targeting the November and December market to sell the surplus during when the demand is normally very high.” She says that she is planning to establish another 3 sack gardens, and to practice poultry keeping in order to diversify her food sources and incomes.

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3) Mr. Isaac Oshaw

Isaac at his container garden (L) and at his vermi-compost structure (R) during a practical session.

Mr. Isaac Oshaw grows vegetables in a container garden that he uses to feed the family, selling the surplus for family income. He uses vermi-compost, and collects worm tea to make a foliar spray for the vegetables. He says, “I do not use any synthetic input in my farm. The foliar I get from my vermi- compost is enough for all my crops and I even share it with my neighbors”. He also keeps chickens, which provide manure, food and income.

Isaac’s vegetable farm and chickens.

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Monitoring & Evaluation

In addition to their extension work with the 30 farmers who completed the permEzone training at the end of May, the team at C-MRA are busy collecting the baseline data that allows us to evaluate the impact of the 2-year programme. Once this is completed data collection will be done regularly on a bi-monthly basis, with the participating farmers collecting their own data, using the indicators they helped to develop during the early stages of the project.

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Please help to make this incredible program available to many more communities of farmers, so that they too can re-shape the future of their families, their farms, and their local economies –

PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN TO SUPPORT OUR WORK TO BUILD ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PERMEZONE PILOT

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