As the debate on adaptation versus mitigation approaches to climate change goes on at the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, a village in Marsabit County is already experimenting with a bold idea.
Pastoralist communities are adopting climate-smart agricultural activities.
In Kamboe village, Laisamis sub-county, a group of farmers have embraced new climate change adaptation approaches, making drier neighbouring villages drool with anticipation.
The Nation.Africa visited the village with experts from World Vision and we saw pastoralists with a new mindset who no longer want to just coast through life but want to control their destiny with gratifying outcomes.
Samuel Kirianga’s homestead has lush indigenous trees, a striking contrast to the immediate vicinity marked by barren and degraded swathes of land.
“Since we started practising FMNR [farmer-managed natural regeneration], our hopes have been rekindled as the project has made livestock value chains more sustainable and diversified incomes through gums and resins, honey, fodder, timber and even fuelwood,” Mr Kirianga said.
Nkinapnap Women group members Catherine Letawa (left) and her colleague show gums harvested from the gum olibanum tree on November 10,2022.They have decried exploitation by cartels who reap big from their sweats.
Photo credit: Jacob Walter I Nation Media Group
They welcomed sustainable farming that works with nature through tree-based agriculture introduced to his group of 15 members by experts and the outcomes are already promising.
Mr Kirianga said they were introduced to FMNR by World Vision in 2020 and the dividends are already showing.
He explained that FMNR is an agroforestry practice that does not rely on tree planting.
It depends on the active management of bushlands, tree stumps, and seeds that have self-germinated from the soil, allowing them to grow into productive or useful trees.
Trees have the potential to improve livelihoods by providing additional nutrition through fruits and diversifying households’ incomes through firewood, charcoal and flowers for beekeeping.
They can also meet dietary needs by providing vegetables for humans and fodder for livestock.
World Vision Germany Spokesperson Silvia Holten (right) FMNR Pioneer Tony Rinaldo (second right), World Vision rep Kenya Lavender Ondere (third right) when they met the Nkinapnap Women group members on November 10, 2022. The members decried exploitation in their gums and resin project by cartels.
Photo credit: Jacob Walter I Nation Media Group
The initiatives seek to regenerate a community’s environment and provide sustainable laws, policies, planning and value chains.
To them, FMNR is a godsend, especially now as the drought ravages the region, making nearly 253,000 Marsabit residents food-insecure.
Their group, known as Naapo, comprises three men and seven women. It also undertakes beekeeping and poultry rearing in homesteads.
The group received a donation of 26 beehives, 10 of which are already colonised.
Each beehive produces about eight to 10 kilos of honey during rainy seasons, with a kilo selling for Sh3,000 and harvests done twice a year.
They signed a contractual agreement to save 20 percent of the proceeds of every harvest and divide the rest among themselves.
Naapo self-help group members Samuel Kirianga and Susan Kalaile show one of the lush indigenous trees they have been protecting in the dry Kamboe area on November 10, 2022.
Photo credit: Jacob Walter I Nation Media Group
Mr Kirianga also ventured into poultry farming, which he started with the proceeds from honey sales.
He started with only one chicken and today boasts 85.
Susan Kalaile, for her part, said their beekeeping and poultry-keeping initiatives echo the World Vision FMNR projects, which had turned a corner when their hopes were almost being dashed.
Things seem to be falling into place for them as they no longer rely on humanitarian agencies for relief aid. They can now put food on their tables and diversify their nutrition by buying the food varieties they need.
