After losing their land, fortune now smiles on former IDPs

• The women grow vegetables and fruit on a communal plot near Naivasha Town

The group has defied all odds and is basking in the glory of its new found status. When members were first uprooted from their farms in Enoosupukia at the height of ethnic clashes in 1992, the ground shifted under their feet.

But that is now water under the bridge as the more than 200 members are engaged in economic activities that are set to turn around their fortunes and assist them regain their financial footing.

Based in the largely remote Moi Ndabi in the outskirts of Naivasha Town, the group, known as Chemi Chemi la Tumaini Jangwani Community, has found a new calling in growing indigenous vegetables and water melons in their one and a half acre communal land.

According to the chairperson of the group, Ms Florence Muthoni, the project was initiated in 2007, laying emphasis in growing water melons and indigenous vegetables on individual basis.

Lack of water

“It proved a difficult undertaking owing to financial limitations and lack of water,” she says.

The women decided to join forces after realising the sale of water melons was a lucrative venture. “We could hardly satisfy the market individually,” she recalls.

The farmers have been using organic manure to grow fruits and vegetables, thus ensuring the fresh farm produce are chemical free.

For a start, 50 women joined hands and contributed a little money to buy one and half acre parcel of land at Sh80,000. They have to date paid 65,000.

But Ms Muthoni is optimistic they will clear the balance, once they start selling vegetables and water melons.

“We already secured a market for our produce,” she says confidently.

And the sky is looking up for the once desolate lot, with a leading supermarket showing willingness to buy the fresh farm produce from the group and the logistics pertaining to the deal sealed. Each member has her own individual plot on which she grows various crops.

Among the indigenous vegetables grown by the women’s group include, nightshade (managu), Amaratha (terere) and kunde.

Ms Muthoni says the vegetables are a favourite of many people because they are full of nutrients and chemical-free.

The group members started roof water harvesting and later used it to irrigate their small farms before they decided to approach several non-governmental organisations, among them WWF and World Vision.