Agriculture

It's a torrentially rainy season for the families we support and the United Kenya Rising (UKR) staff who work with them. It’s also the same time of year as ‘mud season’ for many of us in the US, making water a fitting theme for this update.

In this update we celebrate the humble leafy vegetable and its surprisingly central role in the lives of those we serve. From giant spinach to indigenous spider plant, leaves cooked in oil and onions are referred to broadly as mboga. And most Kenyans eat these greens every single day.

In one average day, UKR sends five families a total of about $320 through mobile money transfers. This update shows how that typically looks and the impact it unlocks.

In the short time since joining Family Care sixteen months ago, Josephine has accomplished a whole lot and built the momentum to do much more. Just watch and you'll see!

The long growing season is officially over in Kenya, and neatly stored sacks of maize and beans now sit in the corners and closets of UKR families' homes.

Armed with new skills and quality inputs, over 130 UKR family farms have turned into lush promises of a good harvest.

Through novel strategies that reduce water use and promote water retention, many families have learned that it’s indeed practical to manually irrigate a dry season garden. The keys are cultivation in raised beds or sack gardens that use less water, ensuring soil is rich in water-retaining organic matter, and mulching heavily to keep away heat from a scorching sun.

In mid-February, families from the new Shikoti zone went to our Gisambai zone for a benchmarking and learning visit. They returned home with great excitement and confidence that they too will make big changes happen within a very short time.