Mundika

farm improvement project update May 2013

PROJECT NUMBER I/D HEIFER 021-0348-01 GRACE AND COMPASSION

PROJECT HOLDER NAME

PROJECT IMPLIMANTATION DATE JULY 2007 (financed by OUD IN AFRIKA) REPORTING PERIOD This update covers the period November April 6 months SUCCESS The farm has supported a total of 42 families in the locality through passon heifers (17 families) and chicken (25 families) this is contributing towards improving their livelihoods. There are three pedigree cows on the farm, 2 calved down during this period and the other two are in-calf. Five gilts furrowed to 37 piglets, there are 12 growers, 4 fatteners and one boar. A total of 53 pigs. The sales during the period include 1 boar, 1 grower and 4 piglets. The centre serves as a source of pigs for farmers in the locality. There are a total of 800 broilers, 16 Layers, 24 local Hens, 8 Geese and 25 Ducks. One local supermarket has given the farm a tender to supply 100 dressed chickens weekly, this earned them Kshs. 38, 000 since they started supplying. They sold 6 Geese, 4 ducks and local chicken earning Ksh. 33,600. Last season they planted maize on 4 Acres of land using largely manure from the cows and pigs, and harvested 100 bags. The maize is worth ksh. 337, 500 at the current rate. The farm also harvested 10 bags of groundnuts, 6 bags of beans, 5bags of soya beans and indigenous vegetables some are still in store. This long rain season they have planted Maize, Finger millet and Vegetables. The Banana plantation is doing well they now have 400 stems growing. They have also planted sweet Potato for the vines to be used to feed the pigs, and cows while the root tubers for their own consumption. About three Hundred Eucalyptus trees have been planted on the farm for future use and soil conservation. NOVEMBER 2012 APRIL 2013

Last year 2012 the sisters opened a Primary school and this year they enrolled pupils in class one. This school was built using the ksh.99, 250 which was the golden talent award from Heifer International to Sister Beatrice Odinyu as a startup capital. One of the groups that received passon of heifers, Kolping group networked and got a total of 12 dairy Goats and one breeding buck from KAPAP programme. The involvement in serious Agriculture has improved the relationship with the Community around and has also given then a different look on Farming as a business. The farm has created employment to the community both skilled and unskilled.

CHALLENGES INCOME (Since November 2012) Item Sale of Bulls Sale of milk Sale of fruits and vegetables Sale of chicken Sale of cereals Others Total Income 6 months (Ksh.) 48,000 227,775 50,097 495,980 157,820 105,750 1,085,422 There was too much rain at the start of the current rainy season at the end of March. The water destroyed some crops on the farm. Inflation- High increase of Farm inputs and other related materials. Political instability in the country has also affected, sometimes it is difficult to access farm inputs i.e. Animal feeds, Medicine and other services crucial to the farm.

SUCESS STORY OF THE FARM

BY SR. EUSEBIA A. NALUGALA . Grace and compassion farm has been in place since the year 1995, when the Sisters thought it good to produce their own food on the Farm. But due to poor farming methods and lack of skills the sisters never got good yields from the Farm. This forced them to continue Buying food material from the market and to incur unnecessary expenses as they had to pay the workers on the Farm. This went on for 10 good years of loss and frustration. In the year 2005 the sister in-charge of the Farm sought the advice of the of the Agricultural officers at the divisional and District level who willingly gave the sister the necessary help she needed and first was for her to dispose off the 10 cows that were on the farm and get a good breed and also on how to use the Manure for soil development and good yields. The 10 cows gave a maximum of 7 liters per day and they had undergone inbreeding which meant nothing good could come out of them. With the skillful advice and knowledge of farming as a Business the Sister was now looking forward to great step she was about to make. We were in touch with Stichting Oud in Afrika in The Netherlands through Henk Van Stokkom who had visited the farm and saw the plight and he so wanted to help us come out of that poor ways of Farming methods in order that we could improve our livelihood have Food security , better Nutrition and income to enable us give better services to the old persons that we take care of, give the old people the basic needs, a dignified life and at the sunset of their lives receive a decent burial. With Financial support in place the sisters now needed the knowledge and skills on farming as a business. So Henk introduced us to Heifer International Kenya and Send A Cow organization. The Heifer representative visited the farm and started the necessary preparations for a dairy unit construction, Farm manure preparation, Kitchen gardening, Dairy keeping, Pig rearing, Poultry keeping and all sorts of training that we could get as beginners. When the traing period was over we had 5 Acres of Napier grass already established on our land and the Kictchen garden was also in place. Before the cows arrived we were given 6 hens and a cock to start poultry keeping and to pass it on also to other farmers. After 6 months we managed to pass-on 12 hens and two cocks to the Kolping families who since have managed to pass-on to 26 families and have also carried out a pass back to the sisters. At this stage of preparation one sister was taken to the Baraka Agricultural college for general Agriculture and has since been on the farm to make sure that the sisters vision of having sustainable food security, better nutrition, improve our environment and many others is achieved.

In the year 2007 July we received our 5 pedigree freshian heifers all in calf in different stages of pregnancy. In the same year December the first heifer calved down to a heifer calf and the others followed shortly after and that meant plenty of Milk was available. We had enough for the sisters, the old people and the surplus was sold to the Hotels around and the neighbors. From the cows we received the cow dung which we used in making farm yard manure which helped to transform our farm from poor yielding fields to more productive land ever since. Our land was rocky and in few months we had a tremendous change, where by the soil had grown and was more softer than before. We now planted all our vegetables and other crops organically for better nutrition and healthy feeding. We started receiving people from far and near to come and learn about what we were doing. The Heifer International officers also organized for us learning tours to other farmers and other farmers also visited our farm and they still do up to date. They leave the farm more edified and happy to go home and start one or two project of their own. In the year 2008 we were blessed with the gift of 8 pigs, 2 Boars and 6 Gilts which were already in-pig. The project flourished within months we had many pigs for sale and so Heifer knowing their work well they introduced us to the Farmers choice an institution that buys fatteners and baconers from farmers and make sausages, bacon and ham for international market. So we managed to sell our pigs without so many struggles and improve our income up to this moment. After the sale of the pigs we thought it was better if we invested in other projects and so we bought 300 stems of bananas and established a banana plantation which did very well then and even to day, we also constructed a biogas plant which has helped the sisters to cut down on the cost of fuel, we started a tailoring project where we make different items for the church and schools and our own dresses. We created jobs for more than 20 local people and trained them also in the same so as to help them practice in their own farms too. In the year 2010 we managed to pass on Five heifers to a group of 5 families Known as Kolping family Kenya who since then have made a big difference in their families and have already had 5 pass-ons which means all the ten families have already got each a cow and they have adopted some poor people they support. In the year 2011 we managed to have a second pass-on and that was 8 heifers given to 8 families including the OUD Volunteers who belonged to the good shepherd group and the cow was given to Mr. T. Kennedy Langiri as the first family to own it in the group of seven members. Other groups that benefited were Nyota and Nanaka. THANK YOU AND BE BLESSED