Camps International

Earth Day with the Lolarako Women…

Yes, it was Earth Day indeed the other day, but I would like to think that every day in Camp Kenya is earth day so wanted to use the opportunity to start featuring some more background on some of the small groups we are working with on a day to day basis. Last week, a group of gappers joined the Lolarako Women Group and planted just over 100 casuarina trees. We have been working with this group based near Camp Makongeni for the past six months and they have certainly reinforced what we already knew – GIRL POWER!

I have asked Gladys, our new Community Project Officer, to give a little background on the group…

Lolarako Women’s Group was formed in 2001 in Makongeni village on the south coast of Kenya.  Before the formation of the group, many women led extremely basic lives, often unable to provide for their families due to a lack of both income and knowledge. However, since the development of the group, not only are the women generating more income, but they are also being taught sustainable methods in which to support both themselves and their families.  This has resulted in a greater level of respect within the community and therefore it is clear the group has benefited these women to a great extent. Today there are 30 active members.

Since the formation of the group, various organizations have come to their aid. For instance, Kaya Kinondo, a local organization helped with its advancements, teaching the women how to make soap, which both increased the income of the women and the size of the group. Despite the financial advancement of the group, the women still lacked packaging material for the soap. However, another organization, CORDIO was able to supply the women with the necessary packaging materials along with more ideas for expanding the group. They suggested making shampoos, lotions and hair food to further increase the income of the women. Camp Kenya also offered support, supplying the women with aloe vera seedlings to continue their manufacturing of soaps and other such products. Makuti (local thatching from coconut leaves for roofs) making is a project that has recently been introduced into the group and has been very successful.  The women come together once a week to weave the makuti to sell for the construction of roofs. This is done in one of the member’s backyard due to an inadequate amount of space for the group on their existing plot.

volunteers help make makuti

Another project initially implemented within the group was the rearing of poultry and ducks. In order to accomplish this, each member provided one duck as well as 20ksh per week which was used to buy food for the ducks. This was a highly advantageous project for the group as it is very common for local families to buy duck, especially over holiday periods. Perhaps even more important was the revenue this generated from local hotels that regularly purchased poultry from the group.  Unfortunately, in 2005 after a year and a half of successful harvests, all of the poultry was affected by diseases and all revenue lost. This was the result of a lack of space for the ducks as well as a lack of education on the upkeep of poultry.  Thus the rearing of poultry, a vital source of income was eliminated from the group.

Consequently it became apparent that in order to advance and expand the success of the group, it was imperative that the women received a greater and more developed education. Once again,CORDIO supported the group, organizing an adult class for the basic education of the women in the group. This included basic reading, writing and calculations, taught by two of the group members who had a secondary school education.  This in turn allowed the women to be more involved in the business aspects of the group, whilst dramatically increasing their education.  Two members of the group were also trained in computer skills and provided with one computer to train the remaining members of the group.  In addition to this, the group also received assistance from the Kenyan Agricultural Society, educating the women about farming and providing products such as maize seeds, fertilizer, and cassava in order to further expand the income of the group.  Despite planting 8kg of maize, only one plot was available for the cultivation of crops which meant that due to the extreme lack of space, the maize that was cultivated was merely enough to feed the families of the group members.  This was the only season the women participated in this project because they no longer have the space to continue.

The Lolarako women’s group has clearly advanced greatly over the past ten years.  These women have gone from selling only soap to producing an income from soap, lotions, makuti, maize and duck farming.  They have also been very successful in increasing the education level of the women, which has allowed the group to further develop.  In the future the women hope they will be able to market their products better to further increase income and expand the projects that have been discontinued due to the lack of available space and capital.

Over the next twelve months, our aim will be to help the women access markets for their products and help them develop their communal land. We have also committed to helping them put up a small structure where they can meet and store their produce.

Thanks!

Gladys Cherono, Community Project Officer