Kenya - Kisimbiri Singoro - 2009 Graduate
Kisimbiri Singoro
Faith Kenya
Graduate Impact Study site visit, April 2014
by Steven Cutting
“The spirit of farming… if we share to plant, share to eat, share problems, share happiness, then there is no way we can fail.”
https://gyazo.com/26a009067ba480dcaab713ab7afed13a https://gyazo.com/0d9a868844c98950e6079a2e4a45135a
Kisimbiri "Kisi" Francisco Singoro
Faith Kenya was established in 1996 by ARI graduate Wenslause Mukhwana because he wanted to work closer with the people at the grassroots level within his own community. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in 2009, while Kisi was still in Japan. Upon his return, Kisi took up the reigns, but was soon hit with another devastating blow when his wife, an active member of their farming group, also died. These events nearly caused the collapse of the organization, but over time they have been able to resurge.
https://gyazo.com/816cd6a61cfd3cf4aeb4c5be8a6609c4
Custum of handwashing before the community meal at Faith Kenya
Operating in the village of Kabuchai, Faith Kenya consists of a demonstration farm, a very small office, a board and staff, and 70 members representing 21 families. They hold weekly classes where they teach organic options for farm inputs, crop rotation, and other organic methods, emphasizing horticulture and animal husbandry. Members are provided free seeds and crop diversity is promoted rather than the traditional practice of planting only maize for the commercial market. This alleviates farmers from the perils of price fluctuations or a whole crop failure and ensures a variety of healthy foods are available in the home. Everyone participates in the farm work, shares their knowledge and experiments with new ideas.
https://gyazo.com/b58d1c4392421ab890fa10124843949b
Youth caring for their tree nursery
The organization is also active in reforestation, in which they take the approach of planting both local trees for environmental preservation, and faster growing “exotic” trees for much needed firewood. By pooling their money in a small micro-savings scheme, as well as carefully using locally available natural resources, the group works hard to be self-sustaining. One member, Anton, puts it this way, “We are trying to scratch from zero. Anyway, we are trying because we have the ability. We discovered we have the resources.”
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