The beneficiaries of the project use part of their produce for domestic consumption and sell the rest to raise income. The project has 43 members, 30 of whom are women.
In the past six months, beneficiaries have particularly been growing maize, cowbeans, covo, tomatoes and onions. On average, they save about $250 that they deposit in their ‘‘village bank’’, while they share whatever other profit they get and at times hand out some of the produce to needy members of the community.
To generate further income, they also rear rabbits for sale and barter trade, and use their droppings as manure.
“The success of Kenkado Gardening project lies behind a strong, cohesive, receptive and committed group that is supported by an inspired leadership,” said Bernard Bepe, Tree Africa Field Officer, in an interview. The community boasts a dam with a holding capacity of 30,000 cubic metres located about 50 metres away from the garden. The water is drawn by both the bucket system and a treadle pump. Members share the pump and use it on a rotational basis.
“We were struggling to raise money for our children’s medical bills and school fees before we joined Kenkado gardening project,” said Elizabeth Mola, a widow and a mother of four children.
The programme targets poor households identified through a household economy assessment by Save the Children. Beneficiaries, typically, have low household income, poor human capital and hardly any livestock. They also have a high orphan burden, suffer from the negative impact of HIV/AIDS and often face constant food insecurity.
Post published in: Agriculture