Bishop’s orphanage trains children to be ace farmers

If you ask somebody who runs a children’s home one of the biggest challenges they face, top on the list would be how to sustain the project.

Given that many a times the project depends on well-wishers to run smoothly, sometimes the donations may fail to come.

Large White pig variety on the farm that are sold after every six months of production in leading supermarkets in Nakuru and hotels in Nairobi. (PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/ STANDARD)

With that in mind, one bishop who runs a children’s home, embraced farming as a commercial venture to help sustain this charity.

 “When you are running a children’s home, you reach a point where you realise that waiting for Good Samaritans to bring food donations is like waiting for disaster to happen. The kids can sleep hungry. Sometimes the donors take too long to come or they just do not come. You run the risk of starving the children if you depend on donors 100 per cent,” says Bishop Samuel Muyia, founder Talents Mission Children’s Home.

The centre, which was started in 2007, hosts hundreds of orphans and poor children who have been abandoned in the streets. The bishop keeps dairy cows, rabbits, pigs and also grows vegetables on the three-acre parcel at Elburgon in Molo sub-county.

The inspiration

So what inspired the man of God to start the project?

“My life does not only revolve around feeding the faithful with the gospel. I believe it is the responsibility of the church to also take care of the less fortunate in the society. I realised there were so many orphans in the neighbouring community who were leading miserable lives. They had no shelter, food or clothing. That’s why I started this home,” Bishop Muyia explains.

To start the home, his friends contributed  Sh800,000 which was used to purchase the three acres where the centre now sits.

“During the first years, we depended on donations 100 per cent, but it reached a point I realised that was unsustainable. I bought seeds of various vegetables and a few animals during the roll out. There was a lot of groundwork to set the project on its feet, but with the help of volunteers and the older children, the project took off,” says the clergyman.

To help manage the farm, he has employed seven farmhands who were helped in their chores by some of the older children in the home.

“Other than using proceeds of the farm to feed and educate the children, I also use the farm as a platform to sharpen the children’s farming skills. So the ones who are eight years and above are taught various farming activities depending on their age. The younger ones are assigned minor tasks; they may help in cleaning the poultry house and feeding the animals while the older ones can milk cows, plant, weed and harvest crops,” Muyia says.

To ensure that these activities do not interfere with learning,  farms chores  have to be done after school.

When Smart Harvest team visited the farm, the children who were dressed in school uniforms could be spotted on the farm harvesting peas, sukuma wiki and onions.    Some of the farm produce is consumed by children at the home while the surplus is sold at the nearby market, retail stores and hotels.

Inter-cropping

The farmer practices inter-cropping to manage and control disease and pest infestation. 

Muia says inter-cropping also boosts soil fertility.

“Planting various crops also ensures a continuous income supply for a farmer,” he points out.

The farm is subdivided into various sections where sukuma wiki, peas, Irish potatoes, colobus, beans, carrots and courgettes are grown.

“I do not need a fence to subdivide the crop sections. To maximise land usage, I plant onions along the hedges,” shares Bishop Muyia.

To boost production and minimise crop losses, Muyia has established a greenhouse that provides conducive climatic conditions for growth of tomatoes and capsicum. With a greenhouse, it is easier to control pests and diseases.

Growing capsicum in a greenhouse, he explains, results in more yields with each plant expected to produce an average of 18 kilogrammes in four months. Each kilogramme  is sold at Sh70.

He continuously prunes his greenhouse tomato plants to control unnecessary branches. Occasionally, he also uses pesticides and chemicals to control pests and diseases. For farmers who want to venture into livestock production, he says the secret is proper feeding, deworming and dealing with professionals whenever the animals fall ill.

The challenges

Like all farming establishments, the bishop says he also faces some hurdles.

“Farming is rewarding, but it has its challenges,” he says adding, “like other ventures, farmers have good and bad days.”

For the mission farm, the number one headache is purchasing animal feeds.

“As you may be aware, animal feeds account for more than 60 per cent of the production costs. Dairy animals need to feed on nutritious meals to boost  milk production. To address that problem, we try our best to grow nappier grass for the animals,” he says.

Once in a while, his animals fall ill  and  a vet is often called in.

For the crops, especially the tomatoes, crop diseases are a constant headache. And to jump over that hurdle, crop rotation is critical.

Muyia like most farmers is troubled by fluctuating market prices, but opportunities abound.

“Value addition is the future. That is the direction we want to take this year. Raw produce is a raw deal and we want to start capitalising on the gains of finished products. I am talking yoghurt and jam,” he says.