News from the Shamba
Temperatures have been rising to over 90°F since I arrived four weeks ago. It is February and the last rainy season was much too short. The river near the farm is slowly drying up—yet the shamba is still green! This is partly because farmer Boniface is hard at work watering the corn and vegetables. Another reason is that the trees planted on the farm provide shade, wind protection, and thus protection against evaporation. A great success that could only be achieved through the careful planning and care of recent years.
However, first impressions can be deceiving. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the crop rotation is extremely one-sided. When I arrived, about 60% of the area consisted of corn. At least a third of that will yield little to nothing.
The banana circles established six years ago are overgrown with weeds. The new area, where initially only banana trees were planted, is not even half-cultivated. The few tomato and bell pepper plants are at the mercy of the wind and sun. Preparing the harvested plots for sowing is very energy-intensive because the soil has become very hard due to intensive watering with a hose.
I spent the first few weeks looking for the causes of the current challenges. Today, a month later, there are concrete ideas and solutions.
- More trees, especially on the new section of the shamba → cooler microclimate
- Renewed focus on crop rotation and acquisition of high-quality cattle manure → yields increase
- Handling manual soil cultivation with animal traction → save energy
- Keeping the soil loose so less water evaporates → save water
A lot has happened recently to put these solutions into practice.
Visit to the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
On Jan 13, we visited the World Agroforestry Centre. An organization that, with its great expertise in various tree species, is a perfect partner for us. There, they presented a portfolio of fruit trees designed for Machakos County to ensure a year-round supply of vitamin-rich fruits. From this portfolio, we planted nearly a hundred trees at the MCC and the shamba.
Cattle manure for the shamba
Since my arrival, I have spoken repeatedly with Boniface, Joseph, and Michael about crop rotation and organic fertilizer. We planned the next crops to achieve higher diversity and have fewer problems with pests and diseases. We sourced the cattle manure from livestock farmers in the area near Mala, enough to fertilize the shamba area well for 1.5–2 years.
Building the ridger
Together with Amos and Joel, the local welders, we developed a tool designed to loosen the soil and form ridges. This will allow for better water storage and make crop maintenance easier. Initial trials with the cattle were promising.
Tree planting
A large portion of the purchased fruit trees were planted in mid-February together with the children. Some trees were also planted at the MCC along the soccer field to provide shade and (as a mirror to the farm) to signal the harvest season for the respective fruits.
The planting holes were filled with fertile red soil and cattle manure and equipped with clay pots for irrigation in the early stages. The cedar wood stakes were then fitted with wire mesh so that the young plants are not eaten by the goats.
Cooperation with Biovision
During my stay, the exchange with Biovision, an organization that promotes organic farming in Kenya, was finally able to start after long requests from the MCC team. The farm was visited twice, with some good advice from the consultant. A workshop for composting and the production of organic “pesticides” was organized for the village community. We also took a trip to other shambas managed by Biovision to promote knowledge exchange and learn from good examples.
Visit to Wilson’s shamba (near Kangundo, Machakos County) where we were able to buy a few vegetable seedlings and papaya trees. As an experiment to expand the range of food on the shamba, potatoes were grown on two small plots.