“The knowledge and skills I have gotten from this training have really helped me and will help me for a long time, as opposed to someone bringing me fish and I will forget about it.”
Farmer, Kanyaloo Village
It all comes down to the amazing strength and power of the farmers.
I cannot begin to describe the gratification I felt when I heard this farmer — and others — talk about the impact SANGO-Kenya has had on their lives.
SANGO-Kenya is all about sustainability — we provide knowledge and training to the women smallholder farmers in our program because, as this farmer so eloquently stated, the gift of knowledge lasts a very long time.
Thanks to your generosity, we have provided knowledge and training to 70 farmers so far. We have expanded our programs from one season to two. We have added a new crop this year, orange flesh sweet potatoes.
And despite the drought, the farmers remain committed, optimistic.
“Before SANGO-Kenya, members of my family had to miss meals because we did not have enough food. Thanks to SANGO-Kenya, I now have enough to feed my family and even make enough to sell some at market and make money.”
Farmer, Kadera Village
Constance and I founded SANGO-Kenya in 2020 because of the high levels of food insecurity Constance found among women of reproductive age in her 2017 research. During the past few weeks here in the villages, I have taken as many opportunities as possible to ask the women if their families had experienced food insecurity prior to SANGO-Kenya. All have said yes: members of their families had had to miss meals because there was not enough food.
Their participation in SANGO-Kenya has meant that their family members had enough to eat during the harvests from the long rains.
In addition to SANGO-Kenya providing valuable knowledge about better farming methods, the women told me they have also learned more about nutrition, how to prepare vegetables so they preserve more nutrition, how a diverse diet adds to overall nutrition.
Additionally, during the long rains, their harvests were so bountiful, they had enough to sell at the market, providing much needed income for such things as school fees, uniforms, other foods, and household items.
“Now, when I do not have enough to feed my family, I can go to my neighbor in SANGO-Kenya, and she will share.”
Farmer, Kanyaloo
Unfortunately, due to the current drought, some of the farmers, especially those with smaller farms, are beginning to experience food insecurity again. We are working with our agriculture trainer Dominic, others in the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as experts from outside the Ministry, to add programs to help mitigate the effects of the drought and add more crops so the farmers will be able to harvest foods to feed their families for a greater part of the year.
In the meantime, we continue to be so inspired by the SANGO-Kenya farmers of all ages, seeing how they are strengthening their communities, helping each other in so many ways — and finding the joy in life.
Perhaps a lesson for us all.
Erokamano!
Kit
Your generosity has made all of SANGO-Kenya’s programs possible. Your tax-deductible donation today will help SANGO-Kenya continue to recruit, train, and support more farmers so they can improve their nutrition, food, and economic security for themselves and their families. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you.
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