Report from BHW Kenya Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

Key People: Jesse and Francis

We were able to spend most of the week with Jesse as he was our driver while we were in Nairobi. This was a good opportunity to get to know him better and to find out more about the partnership.

We then flew to Kisumu and drove to Rongo and met him and Francis at the land that they had purchased. As Jesse had already shown me plans an architect had done for the land, I was able to get a good picture of the overall vision.

We then helped to plants some fruit trees around the boundary which was a fun way to be involved.

Recent Events

Rongo

Since the purchase of the land, they have made some progress although it has been slow. There were many rocks on the land which have now been removed. Most of the trees have been sold and taken away opening the space out. The remaining trees will be used for firewood and the compost. They have had the land surveyed and fenced and have accessed the maps to see the exact subdivision. They have also had a plan and 3d model put together for the land by an architect, so they are now ready to begin their work once everything is approved. They have also started planting a few fruit trees along the river that runs along the back of the property.

Their next steps will be to construct a dwelling in which they can stay while they are there working. This will be a process in itself of design and consent etc. They can also begin to create plots and plant maize as it does not require someone to always be there to maintain it. 

Trainings 

Jesse and Francis are facilitating an average of two trainings a month mostly in the Kiisi area which is close to the land in Rongo. There is an average of 20 participants per training.

From what Jesse has said the trainings are going well and there is increasing demand. 

New Team Member

Jesse told us about Weiwei who came across Foundations for Farming (F4F) during a training. He has become very passionate about it and has become an integral part of the team following up on farmers after their training, offering support and reporting back to Jesse and Francis on their progress. One of the challenges for Jesse and Francis is being able to follow up enough with those that have been trained so this has been a big help to them.

We also spoke about having a model where they are appointing leaders in each area or within each training who can do the ground support and report back to Jesse and Francis. They have already started doing this.

Personal Stories

Jesse shared a couple of stories of success. One family he had trained were having very low yields at harvest time – only about 10kgs of maize. In one season of using the F4F method they were getting 180kgs of maize at harvest.

Another man they trained in Kiisi was not having much luck growing vegetables. He went and did the training and followed the method. His yields are now doing so well he has had to go out and purchase another piece of land to be able to grow more crops.

Jesse said often he gets calls from farmers who have trained wanting him to come and see the yields before they harvest so that he can see the changes.

Partnership's Influence within the Community

From what Jesse has reported they are having a lot of success with those farmers who are following the method. Their crop yields are improving and they are doing well. Now there is more demand for training than they can meet.

F4F is a really powerful evangelism tool as it is rich in the word of God. It is a good non-threatening way to tell people about Christ.

Ideas for the Future

Right now, the focus is on the land in Rongo and getting that sorted. They are making progress but would be good to get Francis established there.

The trainings are going well but they are struggling to keep up with the follow up support as there are so many trained over a large distance. We talked about getting a model going where they have leaders in each area to do the support work and report to them. They are working on a bit of a plan to streamline this.

Current Issues and Challenges

There are a number of challenges that Jesse and Francis face:

Rongo: Living far away from the land is challenging as they need to travel 8 hours to get there. Once there they need to pay for accommodation and food which is a cost. It can be hard to keep the momentum going when you are living so far.

Trainings: People who say they are keen to be a leader in their area expect to get things for free like tools, seeds etc. and when they realise they won’t, they stop being interested.

The overuse of harmful chemicals in Kenyan farming and poor-quality chemicals and fertilizers.

Global warming issues with unpredictable weather patterns.

Dealing with traditional beliefs like when someone in the village passes no one will work for 3 weeks. Or beliefs that neighbours have cursed land instead of poor practices.

Soil erosion and ground consistency can be a big challenge for farming here.

Prayer and Praise Points

Praise 

- The land plans and preparation are progressing
- Jesse and Francis are doing well
- The trainings are going well
- Weiwei is helping with follow up support

Prayer

- For the land at Rongo and for all the plans. The guys need a structure there so that Francis can base himself on the land. The momentum is slow due to the distance.
- For protection over the land too.