According to Abaluhya (Luhya) culture, when a young man wants to venture into adulthood, his parents support him in several ways. Primarily they allow him to build his first (usually temporary) home within the safe confines of the family compound. This small house is built with mud walls and either a straw or iron sheet roof. Later, when he has established himself well in life, his father will give him a portion of the family farm where he can build his permanent home and raise his crops and livestock if he so chooses.
My husband Ishmael and I are also following this tradition. Our three room house (two bedrooms and a sitting room) is made in the traditional mud-style. We have no kitchen, as all of our cooking is done outdoors over a charcoal jiko (or alternatively, over firewood.) Our toilet is a pit-latrine with a curtain for a door, and our shower is a lean-to behind the house, with walls made from banana leaves and no roof at all. Like most of our surrounding neighbors we have no access to electricity (there aren't even lines this way yet) and no running water. We fetch our water from the near-by well. (Many thanks to the beautiful American friends who helped us construct this well. You know who you are and may God bless you so much!) Prior the well, we had to hike 1/2 a mile to a dirty spring to fetch our water. The well water is clean and safe. Water is carried from the source in 20 liter jerrycans ON THE HEAD. (Not by me, obviously! I'd break my poor, American neck!) Right now, I guess you could say that life is something like a perpetual camping trip. We do have a solar-power system which allows me to charge my computer, the cellphones, and gives us lights at night. Thank God for that!
We have already begun farming Ishmael's portion of land, although for now the boundaries are approximate. We have not yet raised the funds needed to have the piece officially surveyed, and then to pay the one-time property tax so that we can get our own title deed to the piece. I am happy to report that my husband has DECLINED to sign another 6 year contract with the sugar company. (Someday I will write a separate blog about the evils of the sugar company and how they are misusing farmers!) He has chosen instead to plant his own crops: maize (corn), beans, sukuma wiki (collards), and tomatoes.
Ishmael and I have an on-going debate over organic vs. chemical farming. I'm pushing for a 100% organic farm. However, organic is almost unheard of here. Quite the opposite, the locals have been indoctrinated to believe that without chemical fertilisers, it is virtually impossible to harvest anything. There is some truth to that. The soil here has been completely depleted by decades and decades of chemically sustained mono-agriculture (namely sugar canes.) On top of that, the soil is acidic, clay heavy, and prone to erosion in the heavy rains. I contend however that the soil can be re-built so that chemical-free farming is possible. Ishmael is still sceptical, and he refuses to gamble on something that is completely foreign and unknown to him. He did however agree to allot me one very small plot to "experiment with."
My plot for my organic experiment is pretty pathetic. It is so barren at this point that even the weeds don't want to grow there. I've got a lot of work ahead of me if I'm ever going to convince anyone that organic is an economically viable option.
In addition to our vegetables, we also want to raise livestock. We have plans for pigs, cows and goats in the works. We had actually invested in a few goats, but recently we were forced to sell them due to a financial emergency. So, currently we have rabbits (4 adults and 6 babies), one duck and one hen. (We were with a bunch of chickens, but sadly, we ATE them faster than they reproduced!) The hen is currently sitting on a nest of fertile eggs (thanks to my mother-in-law's rooster.) The duck is also laying eggs, which should also be fertile thanks to a neighbor's drake... however there has been a great deal of confusion, and I'm not sure we'll actually get any ducklings from this batch. First we had a gender-confused rooster who tried to sit on the duck's eggs. Second, the duck and the hen decided that they both wanted to lay their eggs in the SAME nest. (That wont work, because they have different incubation periods!) The duck is still in the process of laying, while the hen is already sitting. So, every day we are lifting the hen, using a spoon to carefully remove the duck eggs to a separate nest. (never touch a duck's egg with your hand!) Third we had a problem with a puppy who dug a hole into the chicken coop and was stealing eggs. Fourth, rats have also discovered the eggs. But, we're still hoping maybe God will enlarge our flocks, despite it all!
Aside from that we also have two dogs, both of them local mutts. My big dog Josiah, and Ishmael's dog Rosie. Oh, and one crazy and mostly useless calico kitten named Callie.
My name is Maureen. I was born and raised on a horse farm in Vermont. I married young, gave birth to one son and adopted another, then divorced 10 years later. In 2011 I went to Kenya on a 6 month mission to build a school. In the process I met, fell in love with, and later married my Kenyan husband, Ishmael. Now, together with my two sons, we have moved to a rural village in Western Kenya to start our new life together. This blog is the story of our adventures.
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