Long-Term Food Security for 4000 Samburus in Kenya

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Because of your continued support, Sadhana Forest Kenya, again, finished in the top place of GlobalGiving’s annual Climate Action Campaign. With 521 donations and $3000 in matching funds from GlobalGiving, we received a total of $15,909 for Long Term Food Security for Samburu! Gaining the top spot means that Sadhana Forest Kenya is now one of five Climate Action Leaders in the year-long Climate Action cohort. This will give SFK crucial visibility as well as additional funding over the course of the year. We could not have done this without every one of you! For more on the Climate Action Fund, check out: Climate Action Fund

Thankfully Samburu County is one of the seven Kenyan counties (out of 47 total) with no reported cases of Covid-19, but we cannot know for how long this will last as numbers of cases continue to rise elsewhere in Kenya. Although our travel for supplies is restricted and we are lacking volunteers we have thus far been able to keep up our work without too much interruption.

Over the last few months, we have implemented small food forest style kitchen gardens at a few community members’ homes. These small but mighty food forests are well fenced, with a variety of food-bearing tree species as well as crops such as beans, pumpkins, potatoes, sunflowers, tomatoes, and greens. So, not only do these gardens provide some immediate food, but they will also contribute nitrogen and eventually biomass to the soil. Additionally, each garden incorporates important water conservation structures: bunds, swales, and catchment ponds. The homes chosen for this project are families who have previously received SFK trees and took great care of them. This demonstrated investment, along with the strong setup of these gardens, inspired us to also include some particularly demanding tree species like banana, avocado, and papaya. We plan to continue mentoring these garden owners as well as helping with watering throughout the dry season to give the food forests the best start possible. If they are successful, we will expand the current gardens as well as choose additional homes to create new ones.

Due to Covid-19, we know that things might get much worse in Kenya and prevent us from working in the community. We will continue to work and live safely and take each day as it comes. In the event that we do need to put our community involvement on hold, the silver lining is that we have several exciting projects underway at the Community Agro-Forestry Learning Centre; one being a movable nursery shade structure. This structure will provide the same shade and protection as our other nurseries but will allow us to plant trees directly into the ground, removing the stress that transplanting puts on seedlings. Once the trees are established and strong enough to handle the elements, the movable structure will be easily picked up and moved to start a new plot of trees. This method will be efficient in covering a large area of the SFK campus with food-bearing trees while reserving space in the current nurseries to grow seedlings that will be planted in the community.

We are ever so grateful for the generosity of all our supporters. Please stay safe and healthy. If you are interested in providing us feedback concerning our project, finding out more about our activities or area of operation, or would like to volunteer with us, please email us at kenya@sadhanaforest.org. We also strongly encourage you to provide feedback at the end of this report.

Ashe Oleng! ("Thank you very much!" in Kisamburu)

In our December 2018 update, we let you know about how a volunteer group from Greece constructed a tree planting and water conservation project at a local school here in Samburu County.  In January of this year, as hoped, these volunteers returned!  Together we completely transformed a barren 2-acre plot at a local church into a beautifully implemented Permaculture design.  In addition to planting approximately 300 trees, nitrogen-fixing and soil-building plants, and a shaded garden, we have created a water conservation system including swales, catchment ponds, and underground water storage.  This design is being very well cared for by keen and committed people and we have already seen an explosion of growth within these grounds.  With time, this system will become self-sustaining.  We are so thrilled about this project and are eager to continue implementing similar designs around the community.

This newly designed area has been put to the test with a much out of season rain.  Though this very wet weather is delightful for the vegetation, it has also brought massive swarms of locusts; the worst locust plague Kenya has seen in over 70 years.  We have recently witnessed the first swarm to come to our area.  It passed by a couple kilometres from Sadhana Forest land, lasting hours and moving like a giant cloud of dusty, brown smoke.  The locusts surely damaged crops but had little effect on the food-bearing trees we have planted over the last 6 years.

Happily, we would like to add that with all the extra water and vegetative growth, we are seeing more and more very welcome wildlife.  On the campus of Sadhana Forest Kenya, over 70 species of birds have now been identified along with a number of families of the tiny antelope species dik-dik.  The endangered Grévy's zebra is now frequently being sighted in the area near the land in addition to the ever-present common zebra, hyenas, jackals, antelopes, and even two lions have been seen nearby (on the other side of our very secure fence!).

Keep a lookout for Sadhana Forest Kenya featured in an upcoming GlobalGiving article. A very heartfelt Thank You to our dedicated volunteers, our generous donors, and the ever-supportive GlobalGiving community.  If you are interested in providing us feedback concerning our project, finding out more about our activities or area of operation, or would like to volunteer with us, please contact us here or email us directly at Kenya@sadhanaforest.org.  We also strongly encourage you to provide feedback at the end of this report.

Ashe Oleng! ("Thank you very much" in Kisamburu)