In Maragua, the focus has been on breaking new ground, symbolically and literally. As already mentioned, pulling out the coach grass, uprooting it and attempting to keep the seeds away from the soil is a task in itself. The volunteers are working the ground section by section. They have cleared an area for kunde which they planted last week on sunken beds. They are now working to prepare a section of the land to plant maize and beans. The maize and beans will be planted this coming week.

The land is wet and swampy which is great for irrigation. The water is just one or two feet under the surface of the ground and the volunteers have been digging canals to bring the water closer to where their crops are. The volunteers then dip buckets into the canals and carry the water to the crops. After communicating with farmers in the area and learning about crop growth, the volunteers have decided to plant pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelon, zucchini, sweet potatoes, yams, arrow roots and sugar cane.

A mama from the community, who regularly brings her cows to graze on the land, offered to share some beans with the crew, and also offered some manure for the farms use. Ras Muiruri subsequently went to her farm and uprooted a bunch of beans to share with the crew. In addition, a youth man from the community, who practices organic farming and repatriated from Nairobi, came to visit the farm. He is like-minded in his approach and also wishes to restore the land to its fullness by planting indigenous trees and practicing organic farming. He is the only community member that we have found, thus far, that is growing indigenous maize.

The commercial maize that is primarily grown here appears bigger in appearance, though this is superficial in nature, as it is the stock itself that is larger, not the actual food produced. The indigenous maize is more compact, and there are many benefits to growing indigenous maize opposed to the commercial maize. While you are not guaranteed a re-harvest with the commercial maize seeds, this is not the case with the indigenous maize.  Also, the indigenous maize grows much faster, you can harvest it one month earlier than the commercial maize, it requires less rainfall, and also taste much sweeter. This particular youth man also offered to share his seeds with the Shiriki volunteers which is greatly appreciated.

The volunteers are planning to meet the Town Council in relation to hosting a music show. They are planning the show for the 8^th of October. The music show will be held at the Penny Club. The next step involves approaching the police to get a permit for the venue. It will be an educational event where people can listen to reggae as the positive message about agriculture is disseminated to the community.