Kenya, October – November 2023

When I left Kenya in May, I had promised to come back and help with the tree project in Tala and also the rainwater harvesting at Matuu Estate School. I arrived in Nairobi with my folding bike and stayed for almost a week in Kilimani area where I was living when I worked for Ministry of Transport 2014 – 2015. I met friends from my time as advisor in Ministry of Transport 2014 – 15. Noel, a young economist had successfully started a fashion web shop and had become Chief accountant with a property company. I also met former colleagues from our project. I got my bike refreshed and serviced at the best bicycle repair shop in the world at Yaya centre.

Dreams doesn’t always become true. I got some strange unpleasant messages from the tree planting guy I had sponsored when I was questioning the results from my previous funding. I cannot go into detail here, but I went by car and bike to Tala and eventually I worked directly with the school I had promised to help. We installed gutters on the school buildings and installed 3 tanks with a volume of 10000 litres each for rainwater harvesting. I offered a lunch with rice and beans for all the 350 pupils at a cost of dinner for two at a Stockholm restaurant. I also got the opportunity to have a lecture in social science for a class. They were curious of why small densely populated countries like Holland could be so successful in agricultural production. We had very interesting discussions about the value of education, rule of law, corruption, democracy and equal opportunity for all. It was a lot of smiles and giggles when I asked if there is any corruption in Kenya. Lesson learned is that if you want to help, you should sponsor registered NGOs and be careful with talkative promising individuals. I now have a good connection with another volunteer in Tala, Victoria. She has an organisation that are strengthening women by providing gardening techniques like mountain gardening. She has a registered organisation and has got a medal from the president of Kenya for her work to stop violence against women.

After having completed my mission in Tala, I went back to Nairobi. I started to cycle from Nairobi towards the Great Rift Valley. I used my MapsMe app to find the most bicycle friendly route out of Nairobi. It was much upphill and I called it a day when I reached Limuru and found a very nice resort among tea plantations at a very low price. Next morning I cycled the road down towards the escarpment and stopped at the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley. I then continued to Naivasha, the centre of flower production for export to Europe. West of Naivasha there is a production site for

geothermal energy and last time I was here I cycled through the nearby Devils Gate National Park where there are many peaceful animals, but no predators. The daytrip was 63 km, but it was too much traffic along this road, so I decided that if I cannot find low traffic roads, then better go in a matatu. I therefore took a matatu the next 90 km to Nakuru. From there I found well kept secondary roads very good for cycling all the way to Eldoret in 2 days. I took a matatu to Kitale since it was raining the next morning. The reason I went to Kitale was that it is the location of VI Agriforestry training centre. It is a Swedish organisation that has been active in Kenya for 40 years. I had got contact
with their local manager, Lordvicus when I intended to sponsor training for the guy in Tala. That could not happen now, so I went there myself.

Great Rift Valley View point

It was an inspiring day with VI-Agroforestry Project Manager Lordvicus in Kitale, Kenya. The project that is funded from Sweden has planted about 10 million trees in East Africa since its beginning 1983. They planted trees in areas with heavy erosion due to
deforestation and thereby rehabilitating land. They engage the local communities in agroforestry practise where trees are planted in combination with vegetable production and animal feed crops that ensures biodiversity. They have a great experience in how to grow trees from seedlings and ensure that they survive. This project shows that so much can be done with constructive ideas, knowledge and engagements.

From Kitale i cycled southwards 63 km towards Kisumu where i stayed overnight in Webyue. I had asked Lordvicus if I could see real implementation of their agriforest program. Next morning i got the phone number to a farmer in Bungoma area, so I cycled this sunny sunday the 30 km westwards to Bungoma. I met Prisca Meyende on a bodaboda (motorcycle taxi) Monday morning and followed her the 11 km to her farm on my bike. Prisca has 9 children and started to work with VI Agriforest some 20 years ago. She told me that Ministry of Agriculture sent advisors to educate farmers, but they only informed about machinery, seeds and pesticides and then left. If the farmers had little money, it was not of much value. In addition, the Ministry people were probably bribed by seeds companies, pesticides companies and machinery companies to promote their products.

The VI Agriforest is different. They promote sustainable forestry and agriculture. Very little investment is required since the farmers are being taught how to produce seedlings themselves and can also buy seedlings from VI Agriforestry at a self cost price. The farmers create community groups who are inspiring and helping each other.
According to Prisca, the entire area was almost without trees 30 years ago and erosion was a huge problem. I travelled in this area 1976 and as far as I remember I saw grassland and not so many trees at that time. We walked around Priscas farm. Trees of various species are planted in rows and double rows some 30 m apart. In between she grows everything from bananas and potatoes to maize, but also fodder plants for cows. In one area she also have coffee plants which gives her some extra income. This is a fantastic biodiversity and there are also a lot of colourful birds which have come with the trees.

With Lordvicus in VI Agriforestry

Vegetable farming between planted trees.

Prisca wanted to introduce me to another farmer. We walked to the farm of Ignatius and Sofia. They had ducks, chickens and goats strolling freely around their farmhouse. Ignatius is chairman in the local farmers community and tries to promote the agroforestry concept. They have many fruit trees, bananas and papaya plants, but they also practice mountain gardening and produces new soil from their compost, just like Prisca does.

With Prisca, Ignatius and Sofia.

This experience in with VI Agriforestry projects gave me valuable new insights, hope and reflections. It shows that so much can be done with constructive ideas and positive visions. But the world news are always focusing on the catastrophe perspective and reducing hope. What is scaring me is the population growth in the worlds poorest countries. Kenya will double its population from 50 to 100 million before 2040 according to UN. That means that it will be half as much farm land per person. This will certainly lead to conflicts. We know that the way to reduce population growth is to secure reasonable living standard for all. But that will be impossible for Africa when the population grows so fast. Population control has come into a disgrace within the international aid community after many failed attempts like the sterilisation campaign in India during the 1970ties. Prisca says what I have heard from many other Kenyans that political leaders promote higher population growth within their power base area, which happen to be their tribal area. More children means more votes, says Prisca. But is she aware that when each generation have as many as 9 children, then it will not be enough land for all? I asked her about the problem that the farms are split up into smaller and smaller units. I have solved it by buying another farm, she answered…..

What scares me is also that the mostly western environmental activists have become so one-eyed. The argument goes that we shall not accuse the Africans for having too many children because their emission per capita is so small. But the environmental problems in the world are more than emissions of CO2. More people means more consumption, more pollution, more of the land will be covered by asphalt and concrete that will reduce the reflexion of heat from the earth and it will be less land to grow food for the increasing population. Educated Africans acknowledge the problem. They are worried and I have heard it many times. This is my deepest worry; that the environmentalists and climate activists are obsessed by blame game and accusations rather than solutions. The best things I feel I can do is to concentrate on observing the world as I experience it with all its diversity, wonderful people and complexity and try to convey reason rather than one-sighted passions.

From Bungoma I cycled 65 km southeast to Kakamega. The area has Kenyas only preserved rainforest which once was a part of the great Congo rainforest stretching from Kenya in the east to Gabon in West Africa.