How former BLAZE contestant Babra Chege is tackling climate change through organic farming

By William Osoro | 6yrs ago | 3 min read

Climate change is a global hot topic and Kenya has not been immune, bearing the brunt of years of bad environmental practices.

Among these include massive logging and poor farming practices. According to the United Nations 2015 report on Framework Convention on Climate Change, this issue needs to be addressed promptly.

In Kenya, a few farmers are getting a tad wiser and are now switching to sustainable forms of agriculture.

A young female agriprenuer Barbra Chege has adopted ecological farming to not only get a steady harvest in all types of weather, but also help mitigate climate change and global warming.

The Former BLAZE BYOB TV show contestant and third year student at Jaramogi University in Bondo does this through organic farming of chia seeds.

“I first got into chia seed farming after a studying a unit on food security and the challenges faced in growing all-weather crops,” said Barbra, who’s pursuing Bachelors of Science in Food Security.

“The reason why I chose chia seeds is because of the low-cost input required to grow the crop. Also, since it is grown organically, the crop has no negative impact on the environment. Plus, it is a hardy crop,” stated the first born in a family of six girls.

Barbra cultivates Chia seeds on a 4-acre piece of land and entirely relies on organic fertilizers and creative methods of water conservation.

According to Barbra, the heavy use of chemicals and fertilizers and other bad practices not only destroy the environment but also unsustainable in the long run. “My aim is to strike a balance with nature, and not to impact an undue pressure on it” she said.

Challenges

Any entrepreneurial venture is bound to have challenges and Barbara was no exception.

“At one time right after planting, there was a delay in rainfall. Given that the crop needs water during initial growth stages, we had to use alternative methods to water the seeds” she stated.

BLAZE BYOB mentorship

“The impact of the BLAZE BYOB experience in my business is remarkable. The knowledge I gained on marketing for instance was an eye-opener. I never knew the intensity involved in crafting a product aimed at specific consumer niche” stated Babra.

“Through BLAZE BYOB’s business support, we were able to register our company and Safaricom even hosted our website. We also got airtime which has facilitated communications with our clients” she added.

“The show enabled me grow my network and granted me access to the BLAZE mentors whose pool of knowledge is amazing. Also, being a contestant in the BYOB TV show exposed me to the entire nation, thrusting me onto a stage I have never been on my entire life,” she concluded.

Aside from farming, Babra buys milk to make yoghurt which she sells in school. The award-winning poet is also a singer, recently dropping a track titled The Letter with poet and fellow BLAZER Willie Oeba. The Letter was produced by Joseph Mugweru Wanja aka Safe Joe was the first runners up on Season 1 of the BLAZE BYOB TV show.