The Kibera Youth Reform Group transformed this garbage site
to this lush organic plot!!
105 days from start to harvest!!
Kiberas Youth Reform Organic Farm -Count down to first harvest!!!
The Kibera Youth Reform Organic Farm originally a 3 meter deep garbage dump, is finally only days away from harvest!! The transformation which started in April 2008 has taken a mere three and a half months, prooving anything is possible.
In April, Claire Niala came to me with a proposition. The Kibera Youth Reform Group, a group comprising 70 girls and guys in Kibera who had decided to change their ways of crime, requested assistance with an idea they had. They wished to transform a garbage site into a farm, growing crops for their own consumption as well as for sale if possible.
To begin with, I needed to see the area in question and my friend Wakio Seaforth went into Kibera with Mr Saidi one of the representatives of the group. She returned with the following pictures
From then until now the youth have worked at a terriffic pace to make their dreams come true. Assisted by Dominic Wanjihia who trained them in setting up their drip irrigation system, Johara who arranged the soil tests, Zak who assisted in the early days, Claire who made the connections, raised finance and guided the group with their finances and myself…mainly co-ordinating, planning and advising, the following pictures are a testimony to the youth groups hard work and success.
Appropriate Seeding-Easy Planting Tool?
Dominic always impresses me. No two things are done the same way if he has anything to do with it.
We are growing sunflowers between the veg as part of an experimental solution to cleaning the soil. Rather than the usual stoop and plant , Dom designed an easy planting tool, a plastic hallow pipe with recycled yoghurt pot tied to the top and a stick tied to the bottom. Without stooping all you have to do is jab the stick into the ground to make a hole, take a couple of seed from the pot and drop them down the pipe Done! No back ache farming!
The guys and gals in the youth group are almost fully fledged farmers.
Where there’s a will there’s a farm!
The youth are ecstatic!! The farm is almost fully kitted, the first of its kind in Africas largest slum Kibera,
Where there’s a will, there’s a farm!!
Dominic making sure the piping fits!!
First Scarecrow in Kibera!!
One morning the youth decided the farm was not a real farm without a scarecrow 
Very cute:)
Drip Irrigation in Kibera!
My brother Dominic is back from Somalia where he has been designing milk cooling plants for the rural camel farmers. He is an absolute wizz with anything technical and voluteered to install the final stages of the drip system. Naturally, as all brother do, he changed my design……….admittedly for the better…….:) Much thanks and respect his way!!!
He has been teaching the guys and girls how to connect pipes, thread metal pipes, etc as the pics will show. ……..When I get them up!!!Don’t know why the system is giving me grief…………
He tells me the system will be ready to switch on any time within the next few hours!!!! Can’t wait! 
A Farm is born!!!
First plantings!!!!
Not sure why the pics are lumping together and flowing into the last article………..but am happy they are up!! The guys are ecstatic!! I can’t wait for the next few weeks to go by to capture the transformation from seedling to a completely green covered landscape!
Too cool!!
Almost time to plant!!
The seedlings are almost ready. What a transformation!! The photos were taken on the 9th of June exactly two months from the date the Youth Reform boys and girls started to clear the dump site. We still have issues with the soil test and will try to intercrop plants that will extract the heavy metals, with food plants. When the crops and extraction plants are mature we will test them to see the effects. Hopefully the food crops will be ok? 
The greatest event of today !!!
A week ago we discussed the Kibera project with a business associate, Patrick. He was up from Uganda, touring projects and I remember asking him if he wanted to come to Kibera. I also remember how he stumbled and mumbled a mixed reply before agreeing,………a little apprehensively I felt.
Unfortunately the day ran out before we managed a site visit, and Patrick only had this blog to refer to.
Today he asked if we would take him and a friend to the project on the weekend. I asked if he finally had time to see it and he replied……….”We want to see it as we want to do the same in another slum near the industrial area.”
And that just made my day!!!
