Excellent! - excellentdevelopment.com

Farmers working with Excellent Development in Kenya have now planted over half a million trees – a huge investment in their environment, and in their future.

In semi-arid Kenya trees are used for firewood, fruits, animal fodder, compost, building materials and even medicines. Increasing population pressure and financial needs mean that the overharvesting of trees is common. Many people like to cut wood down and make charcoal to sell, as it is a quick way to make money. However this is not sustainable in the long-term. Without any trees, the valuable top soil is easily dried out and blown away by the strong sun and wind, making the land less fertile. Sustainable management would instead allow income to be generated from non-timber products (e.g. leaves for medicines, or fruits). A regular income creates the breathing space needed for people to move away from an unsustainable, hand-to-mouth lifestyle.

To take that step towards income security requires an initial investment of time, to plant the trees and learn how to harvest them. Excellent Development works with community groups to build sand dams, terrace land and establish tree nurseries, three activities that work together to boost the environmental and economic productivity of the land.

Our field officers train community members in how to propagate and grow the trees in tree nurseries – which are always set up near a sand dam to ensure a stable water supply. Over 85 species of trees are planted, half of which are indigenous, the rest being long-term localised exotics such as Mango and Guava. We also grow a number of species that are leguminous – that is, they increase the soil fertility.

Saplings from the tree nurseries are distributed to those who want them: the only prerequisite being that you must collect manure and dig a hole for the tree first. However, this is harder than it might appear, as the holes in the hard ground must be 2x2x2 feet in size to protect the young trees and enable them to retain water.
Excellent Development also supports the farmers’ tree planting by providing chemicals to protect the young trees from termites. This small injection of cash and expertise can make the difference between success and failure for individual tree planting projects.

By providing appropriate, unintrusive support, people can take off in the direction they determine for themselves. This is far more sustainable and ensures that each person’s solution is right for them.

For example, Angelina Wambua is one of the farmers working with Excellent Development Kenya, in Mikasyu Self help group. Angelina has planted trees for fruits (mangoes and papayas), timber (Grevillea) and medicine (Neem and Senna Siemea). Neem is used for the treatment of Malaria, and is also used to spray crops against attack by pests.

Her interest in tree planting initiatives has lead her to start a small business. Due to the harsh climatic condition in Makueni, she has planted 50 grafted mangoes as a cash crop she has identified to provide her future income.

She is also planning to plant 200 pure mango trees and has already dug the 33 holes where they will be planted.

Angelina notes that she faces challenges in her work, such as termite destruction, water availability and destruction caused by straying animals. But she says she is very much encouraged by the farm visits made by the field officer, where she receives advice on tree planting, and the uses of trees.

By increasing the number of trees planted across the area where we work, farmers are improving the productivity of their farm, and the local environment. Using this simple integrated approach of sand dams and tree planting, we have achieved a survival rate of between 60-95% (species dependent), compared to an average of 2% for Kenya as a whole. Planting half a million trees is significant enough to impact on the environment of the whole region. And we are aiming to plant a million trees by the end of 2010.