A solution for every problem

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Mary Wanjiry Kibui lives in the little town Rwathia, in central Kenya. She learned a lot from the trainings provided by the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers for small scale farmers. She now wants to share her knowledge and experiences with other women, but the long distances to other towns make this hardly impossible.

Mary is 35 years old, married and mother of  two children, she has a girl (11 years) and a boy (7 years). Since 2004 Mary is a member of the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (Kenfap).  The reason for becoming member was that she was not employed and she was  interested in farming and didn't know where to start. 

Since she joined the Kenfap her situation has changed. Thanks to several trainings by Kenfap, she learned skills for how to use her small land efficiently, how to produce and yield crops so she could provide her family with fresh food from their land. The small land is from her father in law, he allowed her to use this land. But it is not and will never become her possession. The land is about half an acre.

She further learned that farming is a business and improved her entrepreneurial skills. She started with growing tea- and coffee bushes that turned out really fruitful and profitable. The trainings for small scale farmers changed her life. Her income improved, her children go to school and have more opportunities. A part of the income she uses for her family, the other part for investments in the farming business.

She has also a small computer shop. In this shop  people can use the  internet, the fax, the printer etc. for a little fee. She tells that she could start this business because of the money she earned with the farm: she was able to get a loan and so she could start her little business. The profit out of the shop is comparable to what she earns out of the farming business.

Mary is a very enterprising woman: besides the farm and the computer shop she runs the  the Kenfap shop (where local products of the farmers are sold) and she is secretary of the women's group 'Maguna Andu'.  This group has 150 members. A lot of women from this group benefited from the trainings from Kenfap. Mary stimulates other women to join the trainings.

Mary's dreams for the coming 10 years: I want to be  an entrepreneur woman and like to have my own land. This land is about 3 acres. I have poultry and dairy goats and like to make cheese from goat milk. The problem is that there is no electricity in the area she lives, but she has her own methods to handle this: a fridge that doesn't need energy and she can cook without fire.

Mary thinks that the biggest problem for  the women group is to  reach other women, because the distance is very big, they have to walk and walk for miles.  She likes to share the things she learned with other women so that they can also benefit from this, but the huge distance makes this hardly impossible.