Starting out

The Maragua mission: four acres of vacant land was given to the Shiriki Organization volunteers to develop, plant seeds, grow organic crops, harvest indigenous fruits and vegetables, educate and make links to the surrounding community. It is hoped that partnerships can be formed with the local community where information is shared, and solutions for transporting and selling produce can be found.

The crew has changed somewhat since day one. Another volunteer joined the Shiriki group on Thursday, Ras Wandutu; however, Farmer Malonza left on Monday to go back to his family and farm in Kitui, so the number of volunteers at Maragua remains five.

The volunteers are armed solely with jembes, seeds, a few thousand kenyan shillings, and second hand corrugated tin. They have no machinery, no house, no well, and limited resources, yet hopes are high that they can set a positive example about organic crop growth, land development, environmental sustainability and agriculture in the surrounding community.

Shiriki Charity Organization was registered as an NGO in 2007. However, we have been working together for many years pre-registration. We share resources, skills, knowledge, expertise and spiritual upliftment with all individuals willing and interested in learning and sharing. We have come together to uplift the African people, primarily with agriculture. The biggest resources that Africa has is its people and its land; therefore, it is our responsibility to share knowledge about farming and food security so that Kenya is no longer plagued with food shortages. That is what we have set out to do in Maragua.

Upon arriving in Maragua, the volunteers received a very warm welcome from the surrounding community. The piece of land they arrived on is completely vacant, with not even a house or lean-to to sleep under. A neighbour offered the 5 volunteers a room to stay in until they had built up a structure where they could sleep secure from the elements. The volunteers were also introduced to neighbours who grow eucalyptus who kindly offered wood poles for the use of building a house. After three days, the structure, made up of tin sheets and wood poles, was firmly in place, and the volunteers had a place to sleep.

Introductions were made to the surrounding neighbours and the sub-chief, who is the local administrator of the area, Gikindu. The volunteers shared their mission and goals with the sub-chief who then referred them on to the chief. The chief also received the volunteers well, and referred them on to the District Officer, where they were sent on again to the District Commisioners (DC) Office. They left a document that contained their intentions and objectives in the community. The DC advised them that they would get a formal response. In addition, the DC forwarded this document to the relevant agricultural offices in the district so that everyone could work together to fulfill objectives.

Much manual labour has begun on the land, which began with digging the latrine. In Maragua there is much water close to the surface, so the latrine could only be dug about 5 feet, meaning that replacement latrines will be frequent.

The volunteers begin their day around 5:30 am. Physical fitness and exercise is a priority and many of the volunteers use the first hour before sunrise to go jogging. Around 6:30 the volunteers reason together, share knowledge and plan out the day.

After this, all the volunteers move onto the farm, save but one who is assigned to cooking duties to keep up the strength. Fortunately, there is already an abundance of cassava on the land which the volunteers have been nourishing on. The neighbours have also been extroardinarily generous, and have brought the volunteers sweet potatoes, bananas, and spinach to live off of while their crops are being planted and nurtured.

The farm work starts with clearing the land with pangas and breaking up the soil with jembes. This continues until lunch, and then proceeds into the evening. To say this work has been physically hard is a huge understatement. By the end of the day, everyone is exhausted, but a sense of accomplishment prevails as they know they are not working in vain, but to better the position of food security and Kenyan farmers.