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.

While WWF has provided financial support, market links and surface runoff water harvesting techniques, the World Vision supported the women’s group with technical support, including managerial skills and also donated water tanks to assist them in water harvesting.

A world Vision official said they would continue supporting the group and would, in due course, provide them with more water tanks.

The tanks will help spread water to the farm using gravity. WWF has assisted the group to build water pans at an estimated cost of Sh400,000 per pan, to harvest surface run off water during the short rains.

The NGO has already supported the building of five pans as a pilot project before embarking on up-scaling.

New technology

To ensure efficient use of the harvested water, WWF has supported the installation of an environment-friendly drip irrigation system on the farm owned by the women.

The group members have undergone training on how to use harvested water more efficiently through drip irrigation, small buckets and water pans, a method now used by individuals and the larger community.

A consultant hired by the WWF said the water pan is a new technology for the women’s group and community at large. The women have undergone training on the various methods of harvesting rain water including roof catchment, rock catchment and surface run-off harvesting.

“For a long time, farmers have been engaging in unsustainable farm production. It is high time farmers started growing ideal crops for their ecological zones,” said WWF Naivasha project boss Robert Ndetei.

Apart from using harvested water to grow water melons and indigenous vegetables, the group also grows maize, beans and potatoes on their individual farms to supplement their income.

To conserve the environment the group is growing trees in their communal land as well as in individual farms.

Ms Zainabu Malicha, the group’s secretary, says it draws its membership from all the tribes and they are fondly referred to as “Kabila la wanawake.’’

Long distances

She says that the problems that the girl child faces are similar, to those of women, having to travel long distances in search of water, discrimination as far as opportunities are concerned, and generally not being taken seriously in decision-making process.

But the women’s dream faces a setback from wildlife. Wildlife has proved a nightmare for the farmers, as the animals stray into their plots and destroy crops.

“We have to keep vigil at night to keep the animals away, quite a risky task,” says Ms Muthoni. They are now appealing to the Kenya Wildlife Service to assist them in keeping the beasts away from their farms.

The group holds annual cultural festivals where food, dress and dances of each respective community are exhibited. It is a sight to behold.