|
'I never wanted to borrow water from anybody'
Dorothy Nyamai is an uncommonly strong woman. She is a member of Semba Mituki Self-Help Group, which was formed in the year 2008 by 13 women who wanted to address their problems of soil erosion, lack of water and need for improved farming methods.
"I settled here in 1977. The farm was bare and so I started digging terraces with the little knowledge I had. I also started blocking gulleys that were causing soil erosion on part of my farm. At that time, there were no trees around here so I started planting trees slowly by slowly. I’m digging terraces in my farm to conserve water in my farm so as to increase the crop production in my farm. "I want to plant Dolichos Lablab on the embankment soil. The group has given me morale to dig terraces. "I am harvesting pigeon peas because of the terraces I had dug in my farm. During the last rains, the terraces were filled with water. I’m applying all what I learned from my group, in my farm. Working as a team has increased my knowledge and skills. "I have planted oranges, guavas, custard apple and Jatropha in my farm and they are doing well. I have planted Jatropha in order to generate income. I’m preparing to dig more terraces on my farm and plant more trees. I’m planning to get some trees from the group tree nursery and plant them in my farm. "I fetch water from Thwake River around 4kms away. It takes me one hour to and from there. I don’t irrigate because I don’t have donkeys to carry water from the river. When it rains I harvest a lot of water around my homestead. "I dug a hole on a rock using a chisel which took me 3 days to dig because I wanted to catch drinking water when it rains. It took me 3 days to dig it because I never wanted to borrow water from anybody. "We are preparing to construct a sand dam which will increase our water supply so we can start planting vegetables and hence generate income. We will not be having any water problems around here when we build enough sand dams. "The big rock on my farm can be used as a foundation to build a house in the near future."
news summary... |
