Seeds of Ubuntu: Cultivating Change in Kenya

A Journey into Cultivating Sustainability and Community Empowerment

During their recent permaculture tour across Kenya to learn and document the progress being made by various groups and individuals in the Spirit of Ubuntu, Pato Banton and

Rootsdawtah

continued their journey with Roland Van Reenan, his wife Esther syntropic permaculture, Tehuti Wahinya (We Grow), and Jeff Loyd (Lloyd’s TV). After visiting the Igati Mission in Meru where they launched the 1 Million Beehive Project,

We met up with Anne Okelo of

Sustainable Innovations

, a lively, upbeat young woman, passionate about climate change and women’s empowerment. Her organization Sustainable Innovations is committed to empowering women and girls through simple, innovative solutions. The women she works with are mostly widows, teen mothers, and other vulnerable women in her local communities. During their journey, they visited the Tanyoka Community-Based Organization (CBO), which has empowered its members to become major producers of energy-efficient cookstoves. These women are earning an income and playing a significant role in protecting the environment. They also met the Kangongo Women’s Group, a collective of widows dedicated to farming practices and table banking, ensuring they can provide food for their families.

Anne accompanied us to Butere in Western Kenya, where we met with Pastor Moses Makachia and his wife Jenipher Nyangah. We were introduced to Teacher Bilha Nyaboke Meraba of Buchenya School first. It was absolutely remarkable to see how they set up the school and its program. Not only do they learn about syntropic agroforestry, permaculture, agriculture, and mushroom farming, but they also get to take the food home to their families and sell the excess to pay for their school fees. We are excited to see how Teacher Bilha creates a template to use for other schools across Kenya and possibly the world!

Our next stop was Homa Bay where we visited David Otieno at Kotengo Village Farm, Omito Abraham Owuor at K5 Village Farm, and Rose from Happy Organic Farm. Paul Odiwuor Ogola at Permo Africa Center showed us a variety of different growing techniques ranging from aquaponics, agroforestry, to permaculture.

The permaculture tour provided valuable insights into successful practices and areas requiring improvement. By addressing the identified challenges and implementing the recommendations, there is significant potential to enhance permaculture practices and their impact in the regions.

Roseline Polo with her new baby.

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