Nutrition through food forests & gardens in Kenya

Introduction

Greetings from Drylands Natural Resources Centre (DNRC) family. We hope your year kicked off very well and you’re achieving your set resolutions for the year 2016.Thank so much for your continued support through global giving. You’re continuous and generous donation is enabling us to serve 450 farmers to regenerate their environment, build their social capital and sustainably generate income by planting diverse trees in a food forest systems and woodlots. Food forests is a food production and agro forestry system-based on woodland ecosystem incorporating fruits trees, nut trees, shrubs, vines, vegetables and perennials. Its self-perpetuating ecosystem exhibiting 7 layers as seen in a natural forest. During the quarter, we continued to grow different tree species including perennials, fruit trees, timber trees, passion fruits, medicinal trees, and fodder and fuel trees etc. which are issued to the farmers during the rainy season to establish food forests.

What was done during the quarter?

1. Tree saplings propagation

During the quarter, DNRC staff concentrated on propagating different tree species to be given to the farmers during the rainy season. DNRC staff also continued to maintain the existing tree seedlings in the nursery. The target is to propagate about 60,000 seedlings this year which will be used to establish woodlots and food forests. During the quarter, 16,000 tree seedlings have been propagated in the DNRC nursery.

1. Maintaining food forest demo. at DNRC site

During the quarter, we continued to maintain the food forest at DNRC site for the farmers to visit and learn from. We mainly weeded and incorporated tubers and sweet potatoes for cover crop. We also got individual farmers visiting and being taken around the food forest as a field training and any questions answered.

1. Outreach and follow up trainings

During the quarter, farmers were visited in their individual farms and trained on how to tend their food forests and especially on the chop and drop method to nurse the production trees. The emphasis was also to try to maintain 7 layers in their food forests and plant plants which meet their need such as herbs, fruits, timber, fodder, firewood, medicinal, biodiversity etc.

Challenges faced during the quarter

Meeting the increasing demand for tree seedlings due to increased interest in the community. We have increased the DNRC tree nursery target from 55,000 to 60,000

Focus for next quarter

• Propagation of tree saplings
• Outreach trainings and field visits to the farmers’ established food forests
• Maintenance of the existing DNRC food forest demo.