KILIFI Needs NUTRITION

Hi, my name is Rob, now affectionately known as "Nicholas of Karisa" to the locals.

I am "Fundraising for Kilifi County - Kenya." The GOAL to raise €7,000 in order to  educate the local indigenous Mijikenda. (9 Tribes)
about Soil fertilization,Integrating soil fertility management, WATER SUPPLY and Bio Farming. The prime aim to   make the purchased land cultivatable, water containment/usage and the growth and planting of high nutritional foods - ranging from Super-foods, e.g., Blueberries to Sweet Potatoes, Beetroot, Kale and Chia.

 

Kilifi town/County is one of the most underrated historical towns on the Kenyan Coast. It sits on the Estuary of River Goshi and has about 122,000 people in population. The town lies on the creek between Mombasa and Malindi and has been the capital of Kilifi County since 2010

 

A bit about me, 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-nicholas-b918a97/

What led me to this. I began voluntary work at first with Lambeth Council as a Y.O.T mentor (Youth Offending Team), working with 13- 18yr old young men and then as a member for Southwark Council & Metropolitan Police Appropriate Adult Service, which meant being on call 24/7 over any given weekend. Both were challenging roles;  the experience of these were priceless, while helping particular underprivileged and unemployed young persons.

 

I then began to refocus on my IT Recruitment, as the time spent in volunteering (4.5yrs) was starting to cause an impact on daily commitments. I took some time out to travel whilst still in recruitment, visiting mainly locations in and around Europe e.g. Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Austria - this is where I developed my eye for furniture pieces, and interior styling until eventually going to the Dominican Republique as an Outreach Worker in Santa Domingo - for seven weeks.
Here was my first experience of extreme poverty, families living on less than $2.00 per day, lack of clean water, clothing, lack of access to good schooling, lack of access to medicines and lack of food/nutrition.

 

 I made it a mental mission to one day return and find a location/community-based project where I could go and aid in making a difference.

Fast forward 20+years, I had remained predominantly within IT Recruitment, bought and developed a small plot of land within La Charaunt Bordeaux, South France, assisted during holidays working on a 250-acre arable and pastoral farm plot in Norfolk, started up-cycling and recycling old furniture for selling to individual clients and small business's, then relocated to Germany - Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. It was whilst here that I was  invited to Mombasa, Kenya.

 

While visiting, one can not help but notice the surroundings, the vegetation, the culture, the land, the water and waste management and how some families could not accommodate themselves with even the bare essentials. One scale is picturesque beauty and the other - sheer poverty and degradation.

It is a known fact that many families, especially within the rural areas, survive on less than USD 1.50 per day; this becomes evident when you see how daily existence occurs here. Food and water is very key.

 

Typically, the West of Kenya from Rift Valley, Kitale, Eldoret, Nyanza and Kisii are renowned farming territories, with good soil content and bountiful water supply - Lake Victoria. However, the further south you travel to Mombasa / Kilifi, the land terrain and access to fresh, clean available water and good soil content for arable or productive farming begins to change. To date, we have experimented on a small patch to observe a vertical garden, and the results are very promising. Herbs; Mint, Basil and Parsley,

Vegetables; Spinach, Cabbage, Green peppers and Sukuma wiki (an indigenous Vegetable eaten in

Kenya) see picture

 

Recently Kwale, which is next door and falls under Kilifi County, suffered severe drought; this had a huge impact on both the wildlife and the local communities.

2020 The Kenya Red Cross Society   https://www.redcross.or.ke/
Began implementing an emergency response to help increase the capacity of local communities to deal with the effects; of the aftermath of drought.
Over 26,000 drought-hit families have received relief food from the government due to this. In addition, a distribution exercise has been launched recently to cushion the most vulnerable families.

Since this event, I have been back home to Germany/UK and have now returned for a second stint to assist in driving something very positive, challenging and worthwhile for the community here. As a result, we found invested and bought a 1-acre plot of land in Tezzo/Kilifi, costing 810,000 KSH. We have the land now, tho unfortunately, depending on where you are in Kenya, the deeds can come separate to your plot.

What occurred in Kwale can and could quite easily replicate itself the Kilifi coastline, and with current world developments, I see this as an incentive to create something positive here before the worst scenario happens.  recently, Bloomberg reported that Russia's attack on Ukraine is having a far-reaching effect on the global food system, threatening farmers, agricultural markets and everyday consumers, that's the world in general. Imagine the repercussions on village communities such as here, grain, pulse, fertilizers and wheat are crucial, so we aim to install something of value that people can then go on and replicate for themselves.  We are also looking to incorporate some external Farming wisdom  - with the assist of   SoulFireFarm  -   who endorse the idea.

https://youtu.be/O0BrrR0BG4Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAUc-Q9SOm0&list=PLR9X2SVBYFDJnPQXceKROkAuh-xXt2_um

One of the problems commonly faced here is lack of access to fertilizer -  My goal is to increase the use of natural food wastage  - recycle.
In  Kenya most poor farmers farm on the same pieces of land over and over again leading to degradation because agricultural lands have become so expensive in Africa. As a result of this degradation leads to fertile lands loosing most of their nutrients and become unproductive or barren. 
Farmers tend to depend  on artificial fertilizers to enable them to cultivate crops on the same piece of land time and time again. Artificial fertilizers are rather expensive in Africa, and are completely unavailable in rural areas.

The plan we have is to convert this exiting plot 1 acre(as seen in pictures) into fertile, productive farmland, growing and educating the locals about land management, Waste managment and recycling, composting,  "Farm hacks," effectively growing their own home produce. Vegetation such as Super-foods, e.g., Blueberries, Beetroot, Chia seed, Kale, Jack Fruit, eventually.

Having provided soil samples, we now have a reliable supplier of berries - Blueberries, Goji Berries, Gooseberries, Blackberries and Cranberries based in South Africa,    
http://berriesforafrica.co.za/alternative-berry-crops/

It is essential that  we  install a borehole for freshwater.

Borehole drilling in the Mombasa district has no permanent rivers. Still, due to the favorable geology of some parts of the land, the water table is high, and the sinking of boreholes and wells has led to the increased supply of water to supplement.

The current site/land plot has no accessible freshwater borehole within a 1/2 mile square radius, which means the average family has to fetch with a kettle or jerrycan the required water  and carry it back home.

We intend to supply fresh water. To do this, we will need to drill a borehole and have essential water treatment, so a reliable borehole specialist is needed for drilling, which involves geophysics survey and water piping installation.
A rig for deep boreholes beyond 100m, both mud-drilling and air-drilling.
€7,000 - Would enable us to cover these development and tool's cost's

Budget Starting 500,000ksh or for what is known as a PAT DRILL rig for medium boreholes, up to 80m. Budget starting from 250,000k.

 

Required  - 10,000litre water tank for storage (see picture)

https://restorewatertanks.com/KENTANK-10000-LITRES-SHORT - 74.000KSH
This would enable to water the land and supply water to the local community. Win - win.

 

Fencing - security and gate x 1 Acre approx 290,000K - 310,000Ksh
Plant irrigation system - In a drip irrigation system, water is applied under the pressure, dripping one drop at a time through the small emitters - The cost of drip irrigation per acre in Kenya ranges between Ksh. 110,000 to 130,000 for two driplines per bed and
Ksh. 145,000 to 155,000 for 3 driplines - 

Land Clearance qte - 38,000Ksh

Staff - 1 - 2 workers rotational ( we will develop overtime)

We  have to clear the land/site of rubble due to the leftover work from previous owners. All in all, this is a challenge tho, it is one we look forward to with positivity and optimism;

We are seeking a nominal amount in the commercial eyes of the West, €7,000  tho here in Kenya/Kilifi, this amount would go an incredibly long way in assisting a worthwhile project blossom.

I come from London/UK

and count my blessing's daily. Here Kilifi/Kenya, I witness people who could only ever dream of the luxury of having a nice shower let alone accessible, clean drinking water and in many cases  food;
 Agricultural innovation and Food security is  more than vital and anything we can do to put a foundation in place and pass on, would be a small yet credible, life saving contribution. Creating a Bio - Farm in these parts and using reclaimed materials  would be the 1st of its kind and it is an attainable goal

I / We Thank YOU ALL In Advance and welcome you to our journey, "any support" would be so appreciated, old tools - wheel barrows etc and we would like to keep those involved or contributing up to date with progress be it video or picture, we can make this work.

" If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry tomorrow. If you teach a man to fish, he will be richer forever".

Asante'
(Thank You)