In the end it was all about completing the work at the school to fulfil our goal of renovating the kitchen, together with improvements on the veggie garden. Our aim was to have the place looking tippy-top for start of term in 2012, the kitchen ready for the mamas to cook in, and the garden sprouting nicely with veggies for use there at the school and for sale to the local community.

As we finished our last couple of days and had a fond farewell from Luis & family, Aya and the Jambo team, the feeling was super positive. We’re so very grateful for all our fine experiences and hospitality we were shown by the wonderful people in Maasailand. Without doubt, there is so much more to do on projects in Kenya, and I know Mariano is keen on returning as soon as possible!

We both give big thanks to Laura and Emanuel of the Foundation for the Future for making possible all the great things that we’ve achieved in 2011. Hold on to your hats for more action and adventure in 2012!

Take a look at the photos from our final week or so in Kenya. Below this slideshow are some videos of the action.

Here are three short videos, giving a flavour of the action!

The photos were taken by Mike and Aya over the last couple of weeks. Sit back and enjoy. More words coming the next report.

Kimuka Primary School, Maasailand, Kenya – Sarah tells us what’s been happening with the veg garden:

Lettuce Look – early days and we’re checking out the garden:

Kids and crew in action with the tasks in hand at the school:

Planting Time – Mariano puts some goodies in the ground:

No need to get out the watering cans today…yes, maji!

A peek up and down our local town’s main drag:

Hiking glory at the weekend… in the Ngong foot hills!

More videos coming soon!

Monday 14^th November – after a “noche en vela” in Ibiza and rushed packing and farewells to the Casita Verde crew, I was on the move… and Kenya bound! Egypt Air delivered me safely Madrid-Cairo-Nairobi and the dawn light was breaking as I stepped onto Kenya soil – a damp one – to meet Luis and the Rav4 for transport to Maasailand! It was great to be back in Kenya and at Jambo HQ, meeting again Luis’s wife Mercy and little Luisito, plus new house staff Patrick and Joyce…and to see how the recent precipitation is making a most green and verdant rift valley. This is officially rainy season and it’ll last till April. Wellington boots are already on the shopping list!

On Wednesday Luis and I head for the town of Karen to meet Mercedes who will be assisting in the development and admin of Jambo Volunteers. Supplies and some trees for base are picked up on the way back before we stop at Ngong town, meeting up with our local Maasai Chief (Daniel), plus Jambo staff Julius and Tobiko. It’s super to see the guys again and catch up on news. We drop the chief off at his home, where the borehole generator, which supplies water to Jambo HQ, is housed. They hadn’t pumped water for a few days so we were not surprised to see that the generator was broken. The mechanic will come tomorrow to diagnose the problem.

We pay a visit to Kimuka primary school to meet the teachers and pupils and to check on the veggie garden (“shamba”) we created back in May. It’s a pleasure to be so warmly welcomed again…and there’s been much fine work by the “shamba stars” with new beds in place and transplants sprouting nicely in the nursery. There’s plenty to do, though, including maintenance of the fence (cows had been pushing over the posts), a clean up of the beds, mulching, compost tidying and grass cutting being the first tasks, beside tackling the renovation of the kitchen, our main objective. New tools are required plus a lot of wood and materials for the new constructions. It fabulous, therefore, that the Foundation for the Future have again provided funds for new materials, as well as backing this mission for Mariano and I.

The next day starts off sunny but with enormous clouds building and the rain is never far off. I potter around at base and check out the swales Patrick is busy digging. The whole area is so green and vibrant and Jambo HQ looks splendid with tall grasses, well-mulched trees, veggie gardens in good shape and the twenty-odd new trees bought yesterday have already been swiftly planted by a speedy Patrick. Heading out, Luis and I jump in the “matatu” (4wd shock-reinforced minibus) and cross the savannah on muddy, potholed roads to the borehole to check on the generator latest. We find a jovial mechanic and the genny in bits. The worst fears are confirmed – it’s buggered. This’ll mean our water will have to be delivered by truck (60 euro a journey), plus there’ll be the expense of new parts and fixing the genny – and a good few weeks till it’ll be done.

The weekend saw us getting in a swift hike, enjoying some sunshine mixed with rolling thunderstorms, dumping plenty of “maji”! We’re joined by Jambo partner, Borja, from ONG, The South Face, who works scouting Africa for bright young things to sponsor through higher education and university. A group of foreign visitors arrives at HQ and we all go to visit the girls’ Rescue House, an important Jambo Volunteers project where we’ll be focussing on making improvements. When we drop the group later at their base, the rain is really hammering down and rivers come out of nowhere, whilst the road becomes a slippery mud bath. An old truck is stuck and blocking the road. Luis and I resign ourselves to getting soaked and mud-coated and help the locals to eventually tug the pile of junk out of the mire. Mzungus to the rescue!

Week 2 – The team builds!

We collect Mariano at dawn the next Tuesday and our nen is shown the delights of Maasailand and welcomed to Jambo HQ. No time waster, Mariano rapidly gets to work on the shamba, composting, mulching the plots and getting some new seeds ready to plant. Luis is grinning widely. A new composting toilet is planned on site, and the plot is prepared. We pay a visit to the Rescue House where an eco-loo had been built earlier this year. The structure is good, but there’ll need to be some modifications and proper training in use for the girls there. Afterwards, making the most of a sunny afternoon, we drive over to the view point near the home of Julius. We spot baboons and delight in the immense vistas to the west, but all too soon another storm is building and we head for base to make plans for the next days’ tasks.

Back at Kimuka primary school, Mariano and I get busy in the shamba, cleaning and tidying up, making plans for the kitchen and checking what needs fixed. The pupils are shown some tips in the garden by Mariano and then we head for town to get material supplies and tools for the jobs – and a plate of chips!

The next day we spot giraffes nearby and rush out to get some snaps. Later we head for the school where it’s end of term with a gathering of parents, pupils, teachers… and mzungus (us)! We make a list of the kids who want to help us work on the shamba during the hols. Back at base before sunset and we’re out chasing wild turkeys with four dogs and two of the eleven puppies. The turkeys win the race and waddle off to hide in the distant bushes. Albert and Julius arrive back from the airport in the matatu with our new team member, Aya from Australia. The Jambo team is growing and is ready for action…

Another update soon in the next installment from the mighty Maasailand! Have a look at some photos below from the time here so far…

"Shamba star", Naomi, gets busy with the watering can.

Back on the words with a quick final post from our amazing Kenyan adventure.

Having to get back to the UK one day earlier than we had thought, we managed to leave the Biointensive garden at Kimuka primary school in the safe and capable hands of an inspirational team. “Shamba Stars” Benhard, Sarah, Ian, John, Solomon, Rahab, Mary, Lilian, Naomi, Stevie and so many others were outstanding in their hard work on the garden. To teacher Samson, Headmaster and all the other teachers, especially Faith, we give you our thanks for your words of encouragement and support.

Luis and family plus all the staff at Jambo Volunteers were amazing hosts and really made our time in Kenya a tremendous experience. We are so pleased the school garden is in capable hands, and Luis will be sending us photos as things progress and the veggies start to sprout!

I very much look forward to my forthcoming meeting in Ibiza with Laura and Emanuel from The Foundation for the Future, so as  to give our feedback and findings from our time in Kenya. We thank them enormously making the vision a reality! and big thanks also go to all Greenheart staff, friends and family for reading these words and keeping in touch.

Here’s nice shot of the kids getting down to planting in the garden, during our final day on site. Keep up the hard work…we will be back! Karibu!

The last seven days have been hectic as we struggled and strived to get things completed at Kimuka primary school, working on their biointensive garden project. Thanks to the Foundation for the Future, we have been able to buy the necessary materials for making essential repairs and improvements to the school’s water systems.

Amongst other tasks, our main aim this week was to lay a new water pipe to bring water to the kitchen and new garden we’ve created for the school. Simply buying the pipes, taps and parts required for the job was an exercise in patience, that took a whole day. Local hardware shops are filled with rubbish-quality materials (from China) which break on the first use. When you are able to find the parts that will actually work, the prices are much higher than even in Europe, so there was much frustration and cursing going on. We finally got it all sorted out and after the trials of actually fitting the pipe, connections and taps (more cursing), the pipe has now been laid, leaks fixed and is working!

We also prepared the shamba (vegetable garden) for the planting of the crops, made a nice rock garden with shrubs and medicinal plants, and we carried out the pipe work for the Mandala Garden. This involved laying a pipe underground which takes the used water from the kitchen to a rock-filled hole in the centre of the Mandala Garden. The recycled water will amply irrigate the garden and we were thrilled to see it working after all the digging and struggling to connect everything.

On Friday we had a school visit from our Ibiza-based friend Natalie, plus baby daughter, Shakti. It was great to show her what we’d been doing and to have a chat over chapatis and tea at the shop across from the school.

With just two days left, we’re exhausted but happy to have achieved as much as we could in the tricky conditions out here. Monday and Tuesday of next week will see us getting the school kids involved in finally planting the vegetables and crops in the 16 beds plus Mandala Garden.  Once again we will be assisted by staff from the inspirational biointensive farm, G-Biack, so we will have the necessary guidance and training to get this final stage right.

Take a look at the week’s photos below. A final post from our last days in Kenya will be online next week.

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So, Danny and I had a good week of progress at Kimuka primary school, working on the Biointensive garden project. A completely dry week of weather enabled us to get on with double-digging the beds, collecting grass for compost and further construction of the plant nursery. It also was dry as far as water was concerned at the school – all the deposits were empty, so we checked how the water gets supplied to the school.  As with other places in the area, getting water consists of taking a a container of diesel to a borehole where a generator pumps water for the duration of your fuel. Sadly this can mean sometimes there is no water at all at the school, and the kids working with us were thirsty and hungry. Lunch for them consists of a plate of corn that’s boiled up in the ramshackle kitchen, and if there’s no water, there’s no lunch. We aim to make some fixes and infrastructure improvements to sort out this situation. Luckily, the shop across the road from the school has plenty of packets of ginger nut biscuits for the hardworkers helping us on the shamba (vegetable garden).

We decided that the whole garden needed to be fenced in, to prevent goats and other marauders from getting to the veg beds. To save on time we arranged for some local workers to do the fencing and also to dig a trench for connecting a water pipe from one tank to the garden and kitchen.

Exhausted by the end of the week, nevertheless we were able to summon enough energy for a special celebration on Saturday, as it was the 30^th birthday of our host, Luis. This involved plenty of Tusker drinking, much good food and an amount of chicken and goat getting roasted up on the makeshift BBQ. Looking at the fatty, grisley bits of boney meat that the folks were devouring, I was glad to reamain a non-meat eater. My homemade dishes of guacamole and chickpea hummus went down well, and as the evening progressed we joined a circle of Maasai men, performing for us some traditional songs, complete with neck-swaying moves and much hilarity from the onlookers… It’s not often that Mzungus are seen trying to sing and dance along with the Maasai!

Next week is our last full week here in Maasailand, and much is still to get organised and functioning at the school. I’ve said it before, but things take so long to get done here… however, we’re confident we shall at least have a much improved infrastructure complete, and will be able to successfully hand over the garden project for the school to continue with.

Have a peep at the week’s photos below. Thanks to everyone for their mails and encouraging words! More news from the savannah and Maasailand soon. Hakuna matata!

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A third week has successfully be completed here in Maasailand, Kenya, for travelling Greenhearters Danny and Mike, working with Jambo Volunteers.

After a grey start and some muddy days, the weather this week has improved and allowed us to make some much-needed progress on the garden project at Kimuka primary school. We were able to get the plot ploughed by a local on his tinga-tinga (tractor), and get down to marking out and preparing the vegetable beds. The new plant nursery zone was prepped by pulling down the old storage shed. We worked with the kids making compost piles and cleaning the area for the new seed flats and seedlings. Thanks to the Foundation for the Future we were able to buy a stack of wood and essential materials plus tools for the job and plants. We got around 60 wooden posts cut, plus planks for the shelves and boxes we’ll build, and 90 metres of chicken wire to fence in the whole garden. We don’t want any unwanted guests nibbling at our tasty veggies! Indigenous shrubs and trees were bought at a fine plant nursery, located near the town of Karen.

Earlier in the week we were pleased to welcome the staff from biointensive agriculture outfit, G-Biack, to the school. There, they helped us to plan the vegetable plots, demonstrated biointensive methods of planting, and advised us on better chicken management. Afterwards they joined us at Jambo HQ where they were given a tour of the site and enjoyed a tasty lunch outside. It’s excellent that the connection has been made between the school and G-biack, thereby ensuring further assistance and communication for continuing the project once we’ve left.

This weekend there was an Eco Fair on at the lovely Waldorf School in the town of Karen. It was good to speak with folk involved in ecological businesses in the area, and to hand out some greenheart stickers to the attendees.

Jambo HQ, our home in Maasailand, has also seen a good few improvements this week. The tractor also came here and ploughed the vegetable garden plus a number of swales, where a variety of trees will be planted. Swales are a method of rainwater harvesting, where the dug trenches capture the water sending it deep into the land, helping nourish trees and reduce erosion.

So, with around two weeks to go, we’re happy with the momentum of things and are feeling positive about the progress made. Danny and I are in good health too, no mosquitoes to bother us here, and eating well with local veggies from Ngong Market, giving us plenty to get creative about in the kitchen. Next week we’ll visit a guy who has aloe vera plants for sale.

Have a look at the week’s photos in the gallery below, just click on a thumbnail to get started.

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Updating on progress made in the last seven days, and much has been achieved. Friday saw us at the Kimuka primary school where we worked on the garden project and presented the school with the first consignment of the garden tools and equipment donated by the Foundaion for the Future. The soil preparation technique of double-digging was presented to the kids and teachers, and we battled with the rock-hard soil, only managing a couple of metres before becoming exhausted. So, the plan is to source a tractor and plough to speed things along, which will save us several weeks of pick-axe and fork work…

Earlier in the week we visited the hospital in Ngong town, where we delivered the donated medicines that Elena brought over from Spain. We also were at the Jambo Volunteers office in Ngong, meeting the directors of other Jambo projects, and to present Luis with the a donated laptop, for the office, that Danny had brought with him.

On site in Maasailand at the home of Jambo Volunteers director, Luis, we have again been kept busy with the power system problems, but now at least we have the hot showers working again! We have also double-dug a plot in the veggie garden, and are trying out the Berkeley method of composting, which makes a rich natural fertiliser for the plot’s soil, using sandwiched layers of cut grass, chicken manure and soil. This gets turned and moved every three days, speeding up the composting process, and in around three weeks it will be ready. Furthermore, we’re constructing some basic rocket stoves, using recycled tin cans.  More details about this soon.

Other highlights of the week included the honor of being invited to a Maasai engagement gathering for Samson, a Jambo employee, at his nearby home. Quite an experience! and perhaps fortunately I arrived after the chewy meat dishes had been served. I did, however, enjoy a flour chapati and a cup of Maasai cow’s milk, which had a smoked cheese like taste to it.

After school on Friday, Luis took us to a immense view point, where we could see for miles across the natural hills and valleys of Maasailand. Today Danny and I took a long stroll across the savannah to the reservoir and back, hunting for aloe vera plants and enjoying the stunning settings, sights and sounds of a very green and spring-like Kenya.

Kind thanks for the extra support for materials and equipment at the school go to Laura and Emanuel from the Foundation for the Future, and many thanks also, familia y amigos, for your emails and words of support.

Have a look at the photos from week two, below.

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Danny and I have now completed one very busy week working with Jambo Volunteers. Our HQ is based in Maasailand, west of the Ngong Hills, in the Rift Valley of Kenya. It’s been a great start to our five weeks out here. As one might expect, we’ve also experienced many of the problems that occur being based in a remote location. Power and water shortages, dodgy equipment and lack of proper tools to carry out essential site maintenance tasks mean jobs take a lot longer to finish. Nevertheless, aside from the attempts to fix the power and water systems, so far we’ve made a composting bin, a system for checking roof-tank water levels, a shelter for the generator and we did a garage sort-out, beginning a new wall using recycled plastic containers. We’re working on a new vegetable garden using the bio-intensive method and are discussing many further farming improvements for the site.

On Friday we were joined by another volunteer from Spain, Elena, who delivered 100Kg of medicines for the Maasai people from the NGO Aviación Sin Fronteras. She will stay on site for twelve days to help us with the projects.

Earlier in the week we visited the inspirational G-Biack, an outstandng example of bio-intensive vegetable cultivation (and much more), near the town of Thika, north-west of Nairobi. In just two years of operation they have managed to create a perfect working model for sustainable farming, and are additionally assisting over five thousand farmers working in plant cultivation in Kenya. We are thrilled that the director at G-Biack will soon visit Kimuka primary school where we plan to make the vegetable garden. Journeying in the Jambo minibus, we experienced the pollution and traffic chaos that Nairobi is famous for! It was a great relief returning after nightfall to the fresh air and starlit beauty of our Maasailand home.

Today, Sunday, we walked around 1Km across the savannah to the borehole where our water is piped in from, checking the status of a couple of leaks in the pipes and to see how the water is pumped and distributed. The borehole’s location is at the home of Chief Daniel Sankak, who is in charge of the water installation and pumping of water, as well as being the chief in the area who deals with any disputes among six thousand Maasai people who reside in this part of Maasailand.

Next week we’ll return to Kimuka primary school to make progress on the bio-intensive garden. We’re still so inspired by what we saw at G-Biack, near Thika and excited that they will offer us advice and assistance at the school.  Also we’ll be continuing with the plan to put in a composting toilet at the school and will visit other projects being worked on by Jambo Volunteers.

There’ve been so many great moments already during our stay here.  Take a look at a photo slideshow below by clicking on a thumbnail image. Video is promised soon… Check out also Danny’s blog which has more great photos of the action.

Lala salama, goodnight from Maasailand!
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