Nutrition through food forests & gardens in Kenya

INTRODUCTION

We hope this report finds you well and in good spirits despite very hard economic times posed by Covid- 19 pandemic, climate change effects and general global high cost of living. Drylands Natural Resources Centre (DNRC) continue her activities of addressing both economic, social and environmental challenges in the drylands of Kenya. One innovation of sustainably addressing these challenges is through food forest and organic kitchen gardens for nutrition and income. We are happy therefore to share with you this quarterly report on Nutrition through food forests and gardens in Kenya project. In this reporting period, DNRC continued to manage her food forest and gardens for both food, nutrition and income. The DNRC food forests and the gardens provide food and nutrition to DNRC staff, interns, visitors and the customers who buy their vegetables from DNRC since they are organic and freshly harvested. DNRC mature food forest produce different fruits including but not limited to: Paw paws, passion, guavas, Mulberry, bananas among others. During this reporting quarter, we have been busy tending the DNRC food forest, maintaining the gardens, harvesting and selling extra produce to the larger community. Below are detailed activities during the reporting quarter.

DNRC FOOD FOREST

During this reporting quarter, we managed to harvest over 70 pieces of pawpaw from DNRC food forest as they were in season among other fruits. The food forest which is now mature have created micro- climate which has enabled the introduction of apples and pixes which could otherwise not be possible without the microclimate. By creating the microclimate is enabling us to increase diversity in the food forests at DNRC and also our farmers and schools farms. Other activities in the food forest involved chop and drop, weeding and manuring.

DNRC KITCHEN GARDENS

During this reporting quarter, main activities at the DNRC organic kitchen gardens were maintaining the gardens by watering them, mulching, pest and disease control through Integrated Pest Management (IPM), harvesting and selling of the vegetables mainly Kales, Spinach, black knight shade, spider weed and pigeon peas. More than 200 fed from our organic kitchen vegetables during this reporting period.

 CHALLENGES

• Water remains our major challenge since DNRC has no permanent source of water and but nearby seasonal river which dries up within   months after the rains.

FOCUS FOR THE NEXT QUARTER

• Continue maintaining and expanding both the food forest and the gardens at DNRC and across the farmers and schools
• Propagation of fruit trees at DNRC nursery for food forests