Nutrition through food forests & gardens in Kenya

INTRODUCTION

We are happy to share with us our progress report on nutrition through food forest and gardens in Kenya. We are grateful for your continued financial support which has enabled us to come this far. During this reporting period, we continued to maintain DNRC food forest together with DNRC kitchen gardens as well as our school food forests. With the current economic constrains in Kenya leading to high food prices, both DNRC Food forests and kitchen gardens have been a big nutritional boost to DNRC staff, visitors and volunteers. Although the previous rains March-April rains failed, we were able to harvest the following: Cow peas, Bananas, pawpaw, passion fruits and cassavas. Our kitchen gardens also continued to flourish and provide organic vegetables to feed our staff and over 70 visitors to DNRC in the last three months who came for DNRC trainings in agro ecology/ permaculture trainings and or exchange visits.

Below are detailed activities during the reporting quarter.

DNRC FOOD FOREST

During the reporting quarter, we managed to harvest the following:  5.5 kgs of beans, 2 pcs of pawpaw, 73 pcs of passion, 8.5kgs of Kunde and 6 kgs of sweet banana. We were also busy managing the food forest through chop and drop perving way for enough sunlight for the production trees.

DNRC KITCHEN GARDENS

During the reporting quarter, DNRC staff in charge of the kitchen gardens were busy maintaining the kitchen gardens to include: weeding, top dressing and integrated pest management. The staff in charge was also busy harvesting vegetables both to be consumed at DNRC cafeteria and extra to be sold for income.   

CHALLENGES

• Lack of borehole for permanent source of water for DNRC growing activities continue to be our main challenge.

FOCUS FOR NEXT QUARTER

• Continue maintaining the kitchen gardens as we harvest the vegetables and establish new gardens.
• Add more manure in the food forest especially the production trees.