The second quarter at the Mara Elephant Project Coexistence Farm started with a high level of rainfall and in April the Mara River running alongside the farm almost flooded four times so by the first of May when it breached its banks, the team was prepared. They had to evacuate the farm and despite the flooding there was minimal damage to equipment. Unfortunately, the rains caused a lot of crop damage, and the latter half of May was spent replanting and cleaning up.
The kitchen garden and subsequent community trainings continue to make an impact. The farm team trained a total of 79 women in two villages, Ormeoshi and Ntulele, in June, and for the first time two men joined the training. It was exciting because another woman who has previously received the training and kitchen garden kit attended and testified that today she is feeding her family and selling the surplus vegetables. She encouraged the other women to plant their gardens and how important the training is and how vital it would be to them and their families when they get home.
Given the success of the kitchen garden, the MEP Coexistence Farm team planted one at Emarti Primary School, one of the schools that participates in the coexistence education program, in the first quarter. Now flourishing, Department Manager Abigael Pertet and her team made frequent visits to the school to check in on the garden and provide additional seeds for a variety of crops. In the second quarter they established the second school kitchen garden at Enkipai Primary School and the kids were just delighted with the opportunity after seeing their peers at Emarti benefit from it.
In terms of the education activities in the second quarter, in April, the team held an Earth Day celebration at Enkipai Primary School, and they collected litter and discussed the impact of plastic on our planet. The students learned about the harmful effects of plastic pollution on our environment and explored ways to reduce their plastic footprint. In May, the team held a World Biodiversity Day education activity at Nabulu Grace Academy with 40 students. They partnered with Women in the Wild and planted 50 trees on school ground as a pledge to restore our biodiversity. These young change-makers now have the knowledge and motivation to make a difference, one step at a time., thanks to support from Kampur Travel Diaries.
The Coexistence Farm team is now undertaking the economic study to determine the marketability of the low predation crops they’ve identified. In June they interviewed 78 participants including 11 maize farmers from Transmara, 37 unpalatable crops farmers (tea tree, rosemary, chili, citriodora, and lavender), 16 processors, and 14 retail companies. The information gathered will help MEP understand the economic viability of the non-palatable crops compared to maize and help us educate the farmers and further promote coexistence.
