PBF Diani Eco Project : Permanent Water Solution

The water problem we have had at the farm is finally solved. We are thankful for the funds we got at the end of last year to drill a permanent borehole that provides an unlimited amount of water for our farm use as well as domestic use for the local community bordering our farm. We are using the renewable solar-powered pump to feed our storage tanks with water that we use for irrigation using gravity. Our garden and the whole farm in general have an abundant variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We have planted more than 1000 trees of different species, both indigenous and exotic.

The trees include tropical fruity varieties like mangoes, avocados, lemons, passion fruit, and bananas. We also have planted local medicinal plants like Moringa and Aloe Vera, and also we have put up an Artemisia and Vanilla seed nursery to experiment.

We have added several coconut seedlings and continue to plant bamboo, both of which are very useful for various activities like building and furniture as well as nutrition.

Beekeeping:
We have installed 10 beehives, and several of them have been colonized by the African bee, which produces an aromatic and healthy honey that is used by local communities both as food and medicine. We have had a very good harvest, and now we would wish to increase the hives to maximize our honey and other related products.

Organic Manure:
The soil on our farm is coastal sandy soil. It does not retain water for long, so we need to have organic manure from animal waste to improve its fertility. For this reason, we would like to introduce layer chicken farming that would provide us with eggs for sale and also give us guano manure to improve the quality of our soil for better results in crop and plant production.

The farm currently supports several local families who work and grow crops on the farm and also transfer the knowledge to their respective families. The idea is to train the locals on sustainable agriculture through practical participation, which leads to a ripple effect on the general population.

Dan Amolo
For PBF