By Theresa Aengenheyster | Project Leader
It hasn't rained in many regions of Kenya for months
and the soil has dried out. Very few plants can survive
under these conditions. But: The people in Kenya are
dependent on agriculture. More than half of the population
lives from what they grow in their fields.
98 percent of agriculture, in turn, depends on rain.
Every climate-related drought is an extreme burden for
families. In order to counteract this problem, our alliance
organization LandsAid, together with the local partner CIVS,
has launched an extensive project in which everything revolves
around a very special plant: cassava.
"Tropical Potato" on model farms
Manioc - also known as cassava or "tropical potato" - is a very
heat and drought-resistant plant that is also rich in vitamins
and nutrients and can withstand even extreme dry periods. The
helpers have therefore set up cassava model farms at five locations
and trained the farmers in sustainable cultivation methods.
First, the harvested cassava is washed and peeled in a "peeling plant".
Vigorous shaking loosens the shell there. The peeled tubers are finally
sliced and dried in a tent with a black floor foil, which heats up
considerably from the sun's rays.
Only then are the shreds processed into different types of flour in the
mill and filled into sacks. The sacks of flour are stored in a brick
storeroom until the flour can eventually be used to bake bread and cakes
or to cook a main dish in Kenya – ugali, a maize porridge.
So that it does not stop with agriculture, so-called resource centers were
set up at three locations in Kisumu County, in which the harvested cassava
is processed into flour. The farmers can then bake this flour into bread in
the main center in Ahero.
Food security for over 2,000 people
The centers that have been set up also serve as training centres: here the
helpers offer training in cassava baking and courses in marketing, finance and
computer use. The farmers are encouraged to set up their own small businesses
in order to improve their income permanently by selling cassava products.
The apprenticeship as a baker gives young people a professional perspective
outside of agriculture. More than 2,000 farmers in the province of Kisumu are
already benefiting from the help of LandsAid and the miracle plant cassava.
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