Permaculture-Training for Smallfarming People in Kitale/Kenia

 

The Situation 
In Kenya, 75% of the population are small-scale farming people who often have to feed their families on just €2 a day - this is also the case in the Kitale region. To improve their lives sustainably and adapt to changing climatic conditions, the "Otepic Project" supports them with proven knowledge about permaculture methods like water management and food forests. 

The Project 
In the demonstration garden of the "Otepic Project," small-scale farmers are given the opportunity to learn permaculture methods. The interest of the farming people is constantly growing. Philip Munyasia and his team aim to further professionalize their services with a 6-week training program. 

For everyone to afford leaving their farms and families for several days a week to learn, your financial support is needed. This support provides a hot meal per day, transportation costs, teaching materials, and compensation for the participants. To ensure the new knowledge is adapted to the participants' conditions, a "home visit" at the beginning and end is planned to tailor what's learned to the local situation. A certificate confirms participation. 

What is Permaculture? 
...Permaculture offers promising solutions. The term is derived from the words "permanent" and "agriculture." It's a form of management that can strengthen ecosystems, increase soil fertility, simplify cultivation, and increase yield. The model is a closed natural cycle where all elements interact. Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren founded the basic ideas and the term permaculture in the 1970s. In Europe, it was further developed by permaculture pioneers like Austrian agrarian rebel and eco-visionary Sepp Holzer (Tamera/Portugal)... 

What does OTEPIC Project do? 
OTEPIC was founded in 2008 as a self-help project in the slums of Kitale, a city in NW Kenya. The founder, Philip Munyasia, mobilized people from the city's slums from the beginning, where he still lives to this day. He provides them with a perspective and shows them how to sustainably feed themselves. Today, OTEPIC offers training, runs permaculture gardens, takes care of 23 orphaned children, provides 3,000 people with free clean drinking water, organizes tree plantings, has operated five washing & info points against Covid19 on the streets of Mitume, and much more...