A group of women in Nkaisiraruai village in Lodokejkek area in Samburu Central Sub County have teamed up to establish kitchen gardens in order to fend for their families, amid the prevailing drought in the region.
Speaking to KNA in her garden, 45-year-old Doris Lekulal said they decided to start kitchen gardens after a 240-meter borehole was sunk near their homesteads by the national government through the Kerio Valley Development Agency (KVDA).
She said that they saw an opportunity to practice vegetable farming from a training they received from a local NGO, one year ago.
“After the training, our vegetables dried up because we relied on rainfall, which was not enough to sustain our small projects, but with the presence of drilled water we can feed our families with a balanced diet,” she said.
Lekulal said that she waters her kitchen garden twice a day, since her homestead is next to the borehole.
“I have planted a variety of vegetables such as kales, spinach, coriander, tomatoes, capsicum and kunde which I alternate to feed my family,” she said.
Nancy Nasieku who also practices farming said that the borehole has been of benefit to homesteads around it saying that she used to walk for 32 kilometers to buy vegetables to feed her family.
“The only trading center that sells green vegetables around here is Kisima center, which is 16 kilometers away, but we no longer have to walk that long to feed our families, because we sell the surplus to our neighbours who are far from the borehole,” she said.
At the same time, Nasieku thanked their husbands for supporting their projects saying that most men prefer their wives to look after goats and children.
By Robert Githu
