CONTEXT
During the February 2007 visits to the member groups of OWDF it was noticed that a high percentage of the farmland around Mundika had lateritic soils. Not only are these soils infertile, but the subsoil will set like concrete if exposed to the open air. It is a very difficult soil on which to farm. A further problem concerning soil fertility is that local farmers are too poor to be able to purchase chemical fertilizer: they have to use organic waste as the only readily available alternative. Cattle dung is already used, but most farms have insufficient to cover more than a small portion of their lands. Thus, there is a need to make much greater use of composts if many soils are to maintain their fertility.
The Appropriate Rural Development Agriculture Program [ARDAP] is a Kenyan agricultural research institute. They have converted a 1.2 acre plot with lateritic soils into a highly productive smallholding. One of the secrets of their success is the technique of vermicomposting. This has enabled them to produce annually 16 tons of compost from organic waste on their 1.2 acre plot. ARDAP are now at the stage of introducing this new technology to surrounding farmer groups.
AIM
To encourage farmer members of OWDF to adopt composting as a method of maintaining soil fertility. In particular, SGG wishes to promote the vermicomposting methods, which have been developed by ARDAP.
Macdonald Wesonga, the Director of ARDAP, proudly shows his vermicompost in the making.
The results of vermiculture on previously barren bush and laterites. Here Manea Masake, the Womens Coordinator for OWDF, stands within a plot of bananas and cassava.
PROGRESS
By the time of the 2007 SGG field visit ARDAP had already experimented with the use of vermiculture within their institute and were very pleased with the results. This project started with the introducing this method of compost production to farmer groups who were members of either ARDAP or OWDF. As Bunema Womens Group is a member of both NGOs it was decided to introduce vermicomposting to that group first in May 2007. Subsequently, as more funds were found, it was planned to introduce vermicomposting to all of OWDF’s farming groups by 2010. This would be the first bulk compost available on farm to cultivators in this area. In order to facilitate this initial plan SGG made a donation of £200 to ARDAP in March 2007 so that some OWDF groups could be trained in composting techniques, especially vermicomposting.
It was intended to evaluate the progress of the initial stage of this project during SGG’s annual visit, which was scheduled for January 2008. Political turmoil at that time resulted in SGG’s visit and evaluation being postponed until September 2008. However, by April 2008 communication has been received from OWDF indicating that in the first year of this programme 33 groups had been trained in composting techniques. By September there certainly seemed to be a much greater awareness of the importance of composting among OWDF member groups, although the farm groups visited were using the more traditional ‘pit composting’ method rather than practicing vermiculture. The difficulty here is that ARDAP is at present using local worms for vermicomposting, and the rate of decomposition seems similar to that achieved with techniques not involving worms. Both ARDAP and OWDF wish to acquire the tiger/brandling worms [Eisenia foetida & Lumbricus rubellus] which are used in Europe for vermicomposting, but these creature have proved difficult to purchase in Kenya. SGG has agreed to try and acquire such worms. While progress with vermiculture has halted for the present, composting has developed in two new ways.
One new development is that in November 2007 OWDF secured a grant of $25,000 from the Nile Transboundary Environmental Action Project [NTEAP] to fund the “Busia Waste Management and Environmental Conservation Project”. Part of this project involves the promotion of composting in response to the ever-increasing organic waste produced around Busia. Within the urban periphery of Busia OWDF has several member groups, and it is within these groups that much compost training has been done in 2008. By the time of SGG’s visit in September, these groups were beginning to see the benefits of composting reflected in their crop yields.
Women from an OWDF group who have recently started using composting techniques discuss with a representative from NTEAP.
On 17/9/2008 SGG joined OWDF on an inspection tour with the NTEAP project officer, Mr Martin Mandera. The women’s groups visited had the advantage of the nearby market of Busia town for commercial sales, but they were also well aware of the benefits of composting. The above group, for example, has established a small plot of pineapples for sale in Busia. From this they could harvest 4-500 pineapples, which will sell at Ksh.50/- each, to give a good income to the small group of women. They were aware that pineapple yields from this plot required both a moneymaker pump for irrigation and also a heavy application of compost.
All of OWDF groups lack capital for investment in their plots, so low-cost improvements based on organic gardening techniques are particularly important. The Agricultural Trainer working with these women’s groups for OWDF uses a series of booklets published in Kiswahili by the British NGO Garden Organic, and OWDF wishes to acknowledge the value of these booklets. The ‘pit composting’ technique used by the women above comes from the Garden Organic booklet ‘Composting in the Tropics 11′.
Another new development around Busia is the increased interest in compost toilets. Such toilets have the advantage of producing significant quantities of compost from what would otherwise be waste material. At present most ‘modern’ toilets in Busia District are pit latrines [official figures suggest that 1% have household access to a flush toilet & 84% to a pit latrine]. In rural areas there are few difficulties of location and spacing of pit latrines, but in the crowded townships of Busia they are proving increasingly unsatisfactory. At an SGG-OWDF planning meeting on 7/10/2008 there was great interest in the possibility of developing such compost toilet as an improvement on the well established pit latrine. Before the end of SGG’s field visit, a model compost toilet was constructed in the grounds of John Kwoba, the Director of OWDF. This toilet was designed to be constructed according to the principles & advice in the technical brief ‘Compost Toilets’ produced by the British NGO Practical Action, and it cost about £100.
October 2008- a compost toilet under construction in John Kwoba’s banana shamba.
Unfortunately, rains & modifications during building meant that this toilet was not quite complete at the end of my visit. Nevertheless, OWDF are now aware of the clear benefits of this particular design. The intention now is for SGG to find a European sponsor to fund the construction of a further 10 such toilets in 2009 and to train construction teams for such work.
PROSPECTS
There is clearly a strong demand among OWDF membership for all three composting developments. In order to support this work around Busia, SGG has agreed to:
- Acquire suitable worms to reinvigorate the vermicomposting extension programme,
- Secure a grant of approximately £1,000 for the construction of at least 10 model compost toilets in 2009, with the intention of scaling up the use of such toilets over a much wider area in 2010,
- Maintaining contact with Garden Organic so that OWDF can promote organic gardening methods, which are appropriate to the Humid Tropics.