Positive Community Relations

Every Sunday we continue to attend the Maragua community market and sell our artwork as a way to generate income. Each week we see an increase in the number of community members who come and talk with us about our works. This has been a great medium for getting to know the farmers in the area, and we are greatly appreciative of the positive interactions. We have also seen an increase in the sales of our artwork, which has been a blessing for us as we still need to buy food to sustain ourselves until our crops are ready to harvest.

Local market: people have been promoting our products

We continue to interact with the community and are appreciative of all the visits we receive each week. We are receiving at least 20 visits from youth up to 12 years old, 10 visits from youth up to 20 years old, and not less than 10 visits from the adult farmers in the community. This has resulted in information sharing and seed exchange. We have received sweet potato seedlings from at least 10 farmers, indigenous banana seedlings from 2 different farmers, received tomato seeds from 3 farmers, sugarcane from 4 farmers, cassava from 3 farmers and arrowroot seedlings from over 4 farmers in the area. We continue to work with the farmers in the greater community.

We also want to reach out to the local schools. The schools will be closing very soon and we have built relationships with many of the youth in the primary and secondary schools in the area who have mentioned that they wish to spend their holidays with us.

Young youth who has come to our
farm to collect couch grass

We have not forgotten about one of our main objectives, which is decreasing the youth rural-urban migration. We constantly encourage urban youth to come to the farm and join us in our endeavours. Ras Fyah Ng'ang'a came to the farm from Thursday until Tuesday, and brought with him a youth from Nairobi's ghetto, Bobo Marcus.

Ras Ng'anga (L) holding a loom and Bobo Marcus,
a student and volunteer (R)

Ras Fyah Ng'ang'a is running the logistical office in Kibera, Nairobi, and frequently comes out to Maragua to help with the works. We are hoping that the youth who visit our farm, such as Bobo Marcus, will feel encouraged to take up the jembe and join us in, whether in Maragua or elsewhere in Kenya, in planting trees, growing food, and nurturing Mama Earth. In addition, we are hoping that the youth will be ambassadors to the rest of the youth living in urban areas, and can teach them about this very important food security solution.

Finally, we have also received a written response from the District Commissioner’s office in Maragua. The letter, very positively stated, an acknowledgement of our work in Maragua and the go ahead to continue to reach out to the community, hold workshops, meetings, forums and engage all interested community members in organic farming education, knowledge, training and sharing. Ras Tafari!