Nutrition through food forests & gardens in Kenya

Introduction

Dryland Natural Resources Centre Wish to send Christmas greetings to all of us. We are happy once more to write back and share our progress report on Nutrition through food forests and gardens in Kenya. As we continue to tirelessly work towards achieving our goals of environmental regeneration, community strengthening and economic sustainability through diverse tree planting, we are also keen on the right nutrition for the community. DNRC as the demonstration centre as well as the Community Resource Centre has been keen to set exemplary kitchen gardens as well as the food forests for both the community, schools, interns, visitors to learn from.

The food forests we have established with our first schools continue to flourish and the pupils together with the teachers continue to receive countless benefits ranging from fruits, firewood, tubers (sweetpatoes) etc. Farmers’ food forests are getting mature and they have started getting harvests of early maturity fruits like: paws paws, guavas and bananas etc. DNRC has continued to train farmers on kitchen gardens to increase diversity of the food supply from the food forests and slowly move the households towards food security as well as right nutrition. Farmers continue to benefit from the kitchen gardens they have established as well as selling the extra vegetables for income. “Kitchen garden has saved me the hassle of daily buying of vegetables and home grown vegetables are best for my heath since they have no chemical residues and also I sale some for income”. One farmer confessed. At DNRC both staff and visitors have continued to enjoy fruits from the food forest as well as vegetables from the gardens. We can only say thank you so much for your continued financial support. We look forward to continue this beneficial relationship.

During the reporting quarter, the following activities took place: preparing holes for the food forest expansion, planting food crops (Beans and cow peas) in the food forest, maintaining the old food forest and replanting the kitchen gardens at DNRC and in the farmers’ farms.

Below are detailed activities during the reporting quarter:

DNRC food forest

During the reporting quarter, DNRC personnel in charge of the food forest was busy working on the expansion of the food forest. He was involved with the following activities: Digging holes and treating and fertilising them with ash, dry matter and mature, planting of the new fruit trees as well as planting of the nitrogen fixer crops. He was also busy maintaining the old food forest. The activities included: pruning, mulching and manuring of trees. In terms of yield. During the reporting quarter we were able to harvest harvested 17.9 kgs of Bananas, 3kgs of pawpaw.

Kitchen gardens

During the reporting quarter, we were busy maintaining the existing gardens. Activities included: Constant spraying of organic concoctions to prevent pests and disease, weeding and top dressing the vegetables using earthworm juice. We were also engaged in installing new gardens.

Challenges

Water scarcity has always remains the biggest challenge for our activities in the DNRC due to lack of permanent water source. We depend on a seasonal river and use donkeys to fetch the water from the river.

Next quarter Focus

• Developing annual work plans for 2019
• Follow up farmers and school food forest and kitchen gardens
• Maintain DNRC food forest including cultivating and pruning of trees

INTRODUCTION

Drylands Natural resources Centre (DNRC) family wish to send sincere greetings to us all. We trust your all great and in good spirits. We are again happy to share with you our progress quarterly report on nutrition through food forests and gardens finds all of us well. Your kind support enable us to remain focused and continue to work with our over 600 smallholder subsistence farmers in the drylands of Kenya in environmental regeneration, economic empowerment and community regeneration. One of the ways to achieving these objectives is through Food forests and Kitchen gardens using permaculture and organic methods. We establish food forest and kitchen gardens in DNRC site for demonstration to the farmers and provide nutritious and organic food to the staff and the surrounding community. We also train and incrementally help the farmers to start food forests and kitchen gardens in their homes for food and nutrition security and income generation. Also through food forests established in DNRC, schools and by the farmers, we have started realizing benefits in terms fruits, fodder and fuel. DNRC the gardens are flourishing and both the staff, interns and visitors continue to get organic vegetables for meals and selling the extra vegetables for in come. It through your continued generous financial support that we were able to do all this. We once again say thank you so much.

During the reporting quarter, the following activities took place: Training farmers in establishing kitchen gardens and digging holes to expand their food forests, Propagating fruit trees to be given to farmers to expand their food forest, management of the existing food forests and the kitchen gardens both in DNRC and farmers farms. Below are detailed activities of during the reporting quarter.

DNRC FOOD FOREST

During the reporting quarter, the main activities in the food forest were tree pruning, weeding and mulching the production trees. Both bananas and pawpaw produce at this time and they are almost getting ready for harvest. (See attached picture)

DNRC GARDENS

During the reporting quarter, we planted and managed tomatoes and replanted and expanded the kitchen gardens. Since its dry season and with a lot of pest, we were busy controlling the pest through organic concoctions especially hot pepper, Sodom apple and neem. (See attached picture)

FARMERS GARDENS

During the reporting quarter, we were busy doing follow ups with the farmers farms as well as training them in Integrated Pest Management and kitchen garden management. Were also trained in hole preparation as they get ready for October – November rains. See attached pictures)

FOCUS ON THE NEXT QUARTER.

• Digging holes for gaping in the DNRC food forest.
• Establishing vegetable nursery for both DNRC gardens and the farmers.
• Harvesting continues yields from food forest and kitchen gardens.

Introduction

We trust you’re all doing great and in good health. Receive much greetings from Drylands Natural Resources Centre ( DNRC) family .We are happy once again to share with you our progress report on Nutrition through food forest and gardens in Kenya. Your generous financial support continue to enable us to work with our communities towards food and nutrition sustainability. Since we started food forests and gardens project, courtesy to your generous support, the community is experiencing positive results in terms of nutritious vegetables for home consumption and sale for income. DNRC continue also to move towards financial sustainability from the sale of the products from the food forests and gardens and providing nutritious food to the staff.

We continue to tend and develop kitchen gardens in DNRC premises with diverse vegetables ranging from black night shed, amaranths, cowpeas, kales, spinach, coriander , onions just to mention but few. This knowledge has been transferred to the households working with DNRC and now the families can produce their own vegetables thus reducing their expense and having a better diet and income at house hold level.

During the quarter, we were mainly worked in DNRC food forest by tending and harvesting ready products such as passion fruits, beans and bananas. We also continued to establish more kitchen gardens both at DNRC site and farmers individual farms. Below are specific activities during the quarter.

DNRC Food forest

During the quarter, we continued to manage DNRC food forest mainly in mulching and pruning. We harvested 9 kgs of bananas. 10 pcs of passion fruits and 1 kg of beans.

Kitchen Gardens

During thequarter, we were involved in establishing more kitchen gardens at DNRC site and managing the green houses.

Outreach and training

During the quarter, DNRC trained and helped the farmers to establish kitchen garden in their individual homes for vegetable production for both income and home consumption.

Focus for Next Quarter

• Continue managing DNRC food forest
• Continue managing DNRC gardens as well as training farmers to establish more on Kitchens.

INTRODUCTION

Receive warm greetings from all of us in DNRC. We hope that you’re health and in good spirits as you go about your daily business. During this quarter, the main activities were mainly planning for the year 2018, replanting vegetable gardens in DNRC, replanting DNRC food forest and propagating more seedlings after issuing the ready seedlings in October-December Rains. We issued to the 600 farmers over 80,000 seedlings during the rains. Some of the fruits for food forests included Guavas, citrus, mangoes, pawpaws, tamarindus indica, tree tomato, mulberry, avocados, zyzium and vitex payos .This quarter we got good rains so we did a lot of planting both in DNRC gardens and the demonstration food forest. Below are detailed activities accomplished during the reporting quarter?

Propagation and maintenance of food forest seedlings in the nursery.

During the quarter, we started propagating more seedlings for both food forest and also for woodlots after issuing over 80,000 seedlings to the farmers who planted during November –December 2017 rains. After issuing the seedlings few ones were left so during the quarter we also tended them. (See attached picture).

DNRC vegetable gardens

During this reporting quarter, we were busy replanting DNRC green houses with vegetables and also around the office. (See attached pictures).DNRC provides meals for the staff and so the vegetables are used for this purpose and extra is sold for income.

DNRC food forest

DNRC demo. food forest continue to mature and we continue to harvest some fruits such as passion, pawpaw and tubers such a cassava and sweet potatoes. During the quarter, we replanted the food forest with cover crops as well as tending it. (See attached picture).

Challenges

The main DNRC challenge still remain water. There is need for sustainable water source as s the nearby river dry’s shortly after the rains and we have to scoop the sand to fetch water for nursery.

Focus for the next quarter

• To continue seedling propagation to expand the food forests and woodlots
• To continue training farmers and follow ups to the farmers individual farms
• Expanding the vegetable gardens

INTRODUCTION

Receive Christmas greetings from DNRC family. We hope that you’re health and in good spirits during this festive season. As we come to the end of the year, we say thank you so much for your generous and continued financial support through global giving to this project. We must say we had a very successful year. Thanks for your support and our dedicated staff. As climate change continue to bite and the earth becomes warmer, dryland strategies of increasing production while at the same time adapting and mitigating to climate change are urgently needed. Food forest is one of these highly sought strategies as its food production and agro forestry system-based on woodland ecosystem incorporating fruits trees, nut trees, shrubs, vines vegetables, perennials.

We are happy to share this progress on nutrition through food forest and gardens. This quarter we were busy managing the food tree seedlings in the nursery, existing food forests and issuance of the seedlings during this October-December rains. Below are detailed activities accomplished during the reporting quarter.

Propagation and maintenance of food forest seedlings in the nursery.

During the quarter, a total of 10,400 tree seedlings were propagated in the DNRC main tree nursery specifically for food forests. These seedlings included but not limited to: Guavas, citrus, mangoes, pawpaws, tamarindus indica, tree tomato, mulberry, avocados, zyzium and vitex payos. Other key activities in the nursery during the quarter included fetching water and watering the seedling and general maintenance of the seedlings in the nursery. (See attached picture of trees in the nursery)

Issuance of seedlings

During this reporting quarter, we issued over 80,000 seedling which some were planted in food forests and woodlots. The rains came early and the farmers were advised to come and pick the seedlings once there was enough moisture for the seedlings to start. DNRC works with 13 groups so each group was allocated the day to pick the seedlings. (see attached farmers picking seedlings)

DNRC food forest

DNRC demo. Food forest continue to mature and we continue to harvest some fruits such as passion, pawpaw and tubers such a cassava and sweet potatoes.

Challenges

The main DNRC challenge which is yet to be resolved permanently is water. There is need for sustainable water source as s the nearby river dry’s shortly after the rains and we have to scoop the sand to fetch water for nursery.

Focus for the next quarter

• To continue expanding the food forest by planting more food trees.
• To continue training farmers and recruiting more to tree planting and food forest establishment project.