A Murang’a businesswoman has offered tree seedlings to schools and churches to help beautify their environment.
Esther Nyambura, who is a mother of four owns several tree nurseries outlets in the county made the offer as sign of her gratitude and social responsibility to the society.
She said he gesture was part of her dream to turn the country green again and she has a wide variety of seedling to realize her vision including the Eucalyptus, Kiwi, Silver Oak, coffee, macadamia grevillea, and apple among others.
Nyambura added that she also grows indigenous trees which many residents prefer to plant in their farms.
She said her passion for trees and green environment dates back to more than 11 years when she first ventured into the business
Nyambura said she started donating seedlings to churches and schools in 2016 when she moved to Murang’a town from rural home to expand her business venture.
“I donate seedlings to local churches and schools because I have a passion for trees and a green environment. The trees are used for beautification of their compound and also makes the institution look good and have shades for people,” she states.
If that is not enough, Nyambura also offers her expertise in planting the seedlings at the institutions in order to ensure that planting is properly done to increase chances of the seedlings surviving
Kahuhia Girls, Mukango School and Kerugo Church are some of the institutions which have benefited from Nyambura’s seedling donation drive.
In addition, she has participated in a few local government tree planting projects. In 2017 in partnership with KEFRI, they planted seedlings at Kandara Sub County, a project spearheaded by the county aimed to reach a target of 10 million seedlings in a period of one year.
“I encourage the Murang’a County government to partner with us, local seedling business owners whenever they want to buy seedlings and plant within the county to assist the government reach the agenda of planting 10 million trees in Kenya,” says Nyambura.
Meanwhile, Nyambura’s seedling nursery business generates a profit of Sh 20,000 per month. The money that she makes has been able to sustain her and her four children and even educated her children through school.
Her nurseries are grown in the open field under the protection of Mother Nature meaning the seedlings are directly affected by the local environment.
Despite Nyambura facing challenges in her business like harsh weather conditions, lack of a ready market, cases of theft, seedlings overgrowing among others, she has managed to keep her spirit going by doing well to the local community by even donating seedlings to local residents since it’s something she is passionate about.
In terms of forest cover, information from the local Kenya Forest Service (KFS) office, Murang’a stands at 14.5 per cent with a target of attaining 17 per cent forest cover by the end of this year.
Nyambura challenges locals to take advantage of ongoing rains and plant trees in their farms citing many benefits of trees.
By Bernard Munyao and Anita Omwenga
