Moral Progress

On Thursday 3^rd November, the Central Province Coordinator for the Organic Farmer Magazine, Mr. Peter Murage, gave us a visit at the farm. We have been subscribers with the magazine for at least five years now. As a coordinator, his duty is to share information on organic farming with farmers in his area of jurisdiction. This he does by initiating demonstration projects at selected farms where other farmers can learn from. During our highly appreciated reasoning, Mr. Murage gave us vital knowledge on the following:

1.       Natural Pest Control.

Intercropping: the organic farming expert gave us examples of crops/plants which ward off certain pests. They include hot chili, coriander, onion and radish. Mexican marigold, a strong-smelling weed, can be ploughed back on the same field and after decomposing the main crop can be planted.

At the stage of storage, layers of the mexican marigold can be spread on the walls and the floor of a granary, thus keeping at bay pests such as the weevil.

Ash: this natural substance can be mixed with the soil inside the hole before sowing. Also as the crops grow, e.g. maize, ash is applied on the top part to control pests.

Crop Rotation: this is where a farmer changes the type or family of crops grown in the previous season. The logic behind this is that different crops are attacked by different pests and therefore by consistently planting the same crops on a given piece of land leads to an increase in pests.

2.       Double Digging.

This is where a farmer digs up 1 foot of the top soil and places it aside which thus creates a depression. He further digs another foot deep but turning the soil only without moving it. The top soil is then mixed with organic manure or chopped-up Tithonia before being returned back to its former place.This creates an area at least 2 feet deep of soft soil which is very favourable for the development of the roots.

Ras Ng'ang'a (with an Ethiopian hat)
contributes in reasoning with
Organic Farmer's Mr. Murage (right) at our farm.

 3.       Land Utilization.

Land utilization means obtaining maximum yield with the least amount of land. An example is establishing your nurseries round the base of a banana colony. The routine watering of the nursery helps in maintaining the nutrition of the banana. Another example of land utilization is that of growing arrowroots [nduuma] along the line where untapped roof water falls around the homestead. To do this, dig a trench 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep then fill it with a mixture of soil and manure or Tithonia cuttings as you place your arrowroot seedlings into that ground.

4.       Proper Nutrition

Mr. Murage, who also has knowledge on the usage of indigenous vegetables and weeds as food for humans, mentioned among many amaranth or Terere, as highly nutritious. In the neighborhood, farms abound in amaranth but it’s most commonly used as forage for cattle.  Since the community learnt that we use it as food, they have willingly offered it to us rather that cut it for the animals.

On our side, having experience in the Rastafari life of Ital Livity, we shared a lot. Ital Livity, which is a natural livity, denounces any animal product as food, GMO’s or even chemically-grown food.

After the precious moment of sharing with Mr. Murage, we concluded to jointly initiate a community learning centre with the Organic Farmer at our farm to demonstrate environmental conservation, composting, and manure making among other lessons.