Long-Term Food Security for 4000 Samburus in Kenya

Traditionally, Samburu people have relied on predictable weather patterns to decide the course of their livelihoods; mainly herding and to a lesser extent farming. This is ever more challenging as we have experienced significant shifts in weather patterns; extended drought during the anticipated rainy season and sporadic rainfall during expected dry times. This has prompted discussions in the community about climate change and what can be done to mitigate the adverse effects and preserve the Samburu lifestyle in an environmentally friendly way.

At Sadhana Forest Kenya’s Community Agro-Forestry Learning Centre, we are being approached everyday for trees and education. This is absolutely wonderful! We are seeing the community taking initiative to gather knowledge to independently plant trees at their homes and schoolyards. They are empowering themselves and encouraging each other and they know that we are here at Sadhana Forest to support them with advice, seedlings, and a helpful hand. In turn, we feel even stronger about the work we do. Being a very small field team, we are thrilled to have so many advocates and ambassadors in the community.

Rain has come on and off for the past few months and recipients’ trees are doing really well. Recently, there have been enormous harvests of Moringa stenopetala leaves. Most families who have these trees are harvesting so much that they are cooking with the leaves several times a week. This will surely improve their well-being given the nutritional value of Moringa and that currently 42% of children in Samburu are considered stunted (their growth and development are impaired) due to malnutrition. We’re looking forward to planting even more trees around schools as to also improve the nutrition and variety of school lunches.

Sincere thanks and gratitude to our volunteers and the Global Giving community. If you are interested in providing us further 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)

Thank you to all who helped us gain a spot in the Climate Action Fund!  This means that for one year we will have steady financial support from this campaign.  That makes a huge difference for us here at Sadhana Forest Kenya as we haven’t always known when the next donation might come in.  Find out more at: Climate Action Fund

These last few months have largely been focused on tree care.  It has been extremely dry here so we have been delivering water to families who have planted trees around their homes.  We found that, due to the drought conditions, some tree plots needed a complete overhaul.  March to May is typically a wet time, but the rains have only just begun this month so we’re eager to see how the trees come along.  We are very inspired by how many trees have survived such harsh conditions.  This is proof of the importance in planting native tree species that have adapted to and survive through drought.  Other species may grow more enticing fruit, but they just don’t survive long enough to ever produce in our harsh local climate.  The Moringa stenopetala trees are hugely successful!  We've perfected our methods of propagation and germination in the nursery, and once planted out in the community, the seedlings are growing very quickly.  Many people are harvesting the leaves of the Moringa, and the trees that are a few years old are already producing seed pods, so we are teaching people how to harvest and cook them.  This is very exciting!

At the end of last year, we reported on a tree planting and water harvesting project that we implemented at a local primary school.  Now, six very dry months later, it is doing very well!  We’re now looking for more opportunities at schools and in the community to do similar projects: very securely fenced areas of large-scale planting with water conservation structures.  There set-up of such projects is more labor and resource intensive, but it is an excellent model for the long-run.  Trees thrive and the landscape vastly improves.  Also, we love the opportunity to team up with schools and get the kids involved!  We will begin subsequent projects in the next few months.

A heartfelt thank you to our volunteers and the Global Giving community.  If you are interested in providing us further 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)