Nutrition through food forests & gardens in Kenya

• Introduction

Greetings from Drylands Natural Resources Centre (DNRC) family. We are more than grateful for your kind donations through global giving. We are able to continue to regenerate Maiuni community through income generation, environmental protection and social capital build up through planting of Moringa oleifera and other trees by 450 farmers and 6 schools. We focus more on moringa oleifera due to its high nutrition value and saleable product due to its increasing demand locally and internationally. During the quarter, we were able to sale both seeds and powder locally worthy approximately $1000.This amount was distributed to the 450 farmers thus improving local economy. Also the farmers continued to use the Moringa in their diets thus improving their nutrition and diversify their diets. We also continued to propagate more moringa seedlings in our tree nursery, issue ready moringa seedlings to the farmers to plant and also to follow up to the farmers fields to train them on tending the planted moringa seedlings in their farms. The following are more detailed activities which took place during the quarter.

• Propagating Moringa seedlings

During the quarter, we continued to propagate moringa seedlings to be issued to the farmers during the rainy season. The target for this year is to give each of the 450 farmers at least 10 saplings. 

• Follow ups of Moringa trees in the farmers’ farms.

DNRC training and outreach staff visited 20 individual farmers’ farms as a follow up and on farm training to make sure they are managing the planted moringa seedlings well. During these visits the farmers were also sensitised on the importance of moringa and need to continue caring and increasing the volumes for increasing market.

1. Processing Moringa powder.

During the quarter, farmers continue to harvest their moringa trees leaves and bringing them to the office for processing. Once they bring the leaves in the office, they are weighed, recorded and dried under shade to retain their nutritive value and then pounded into power and packaged for sale.

• Focus for next quarter.

• Continue propagating more moringa seedlings
• Farmers getting more training on moringa.
• Harvesting of moringa seeds from the mature trees for sale.
• Continue processing and packaging moringa powder for sale.