Project Global Nomads Germany goes Kenia

June 24–27, 2022: Northern Kenya / Marsabit – 1st Training for Farmers

With Irene and Iris (approx. 30 participants, 5 of them women)

“The land will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds.”
– The Bible, Micah 7:13

Marsabit, in northern Kenya, has now been in its third year without rain. There is ongoing clan warfare among the Gabra, Burdgi, and Borana peoples—Muslims fighting each other. From the northeast, the Al-Shabaab militia is pressing in from Somalia, bringing unrest and fear. Violence is rampant; even children are being shot in front of their schools. The city of Marsabit is under police security, with a curfew imposed from 6:00 p.m. onward.

Marsabit County—Kenya’s largest county, the size of the German state of Hesse—lies in complete drought. Clean water is a rare and expensive commodity. Farmers are afraid to go to their fields to harvest for fear of being shot. Their animals can hardly find food; many die miserably. Some farmers buy cardboard just to feed their livestock something.

That people dared to come to our agricultural training at LINK (Leadership Institute of Northern Kenya) was a great honor. We as Christian women were especially grateful for the warm welcome of Marsabit County’s highest imam. A young sheikh closely connected to him became our translator and best co-worker, which was a great encouragement. Many young people, part of a farming initiative, also attended.

Initial skepticism and cynicism soon gave way to a good, joyful working atmosphere. Beautiful connections were made. Even DMM (Disciple-Making Movement) workers from Liveway Mission in other parts of Kenya took part in the training. They were highly committed, quickly took on group tasks, and assisted with translation.

Each participant shared their personal struggles, experiences, and knowledge. The first step toward forming a learning community was taken. I myself learned much about this climate zone. Yet questions remained, such as: “What do you do when an elephant comes into your garden and sits with his big bottom in your pond?”

Core Learning Content of Our Training in Regenerative Agriculture:

• Water management: Watering is not everything.
• Soil management: Is it possible to avoid pesticides and chemical fertilizers?
• Plant management: How was it originally intended? Where did we take a wrong turn?
• FMNR (Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration): Reviving forests using Tony Rinaudo’s method.
  
  
  

Highlight: Visit to FMNR work in Laisamis, southern Marsabit.

The situation there was far less dire thanks to the pioneering work of six indigenous women, mentored and monitored by Irene. Their project became a message of hope: even when reforestation is no longer possible, FMNR allows regeneration without planting new trees. Irene showed how, by allowing regrowth from the stumps of cut trees, a savanna could be reforested in 7 years, raising the water table.

Local women explained they planned to begin vegetable farming the following year without digging a well. Their vision was to inspire others in the region to also begin FMNR, so that the water table across the area would rise, making water more widely available.

During the forest’s regeneration period, income was generated through the sale of Arabic gum and frankincense (dried resin from acacia and Boswellia neglecta), as well as firewood. Goat fodder was preserved from acacia fruits. Unlike elsewhere—where animals were fed cardboard—there was always enough food here.

While further north herds perished and people and animals alike suffered from drought, the women farmers of Laisamis who practiced FMNR had enough to live on—a model for the whole region.

September 12–14, 2023: Northern Kenya / Marsabit – 2nd Training for Farmers

With Iris (approx. 30 participants, 5 of them women)

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
– The Bible, 2 Chronicles 7:13–14

A changed situation awaited me on arrival. Clan warfare had ceased, and the land was greener. Ponds and pools now held water. At the end of the previous year, government leaders, clan elders, Muslim leaders, and Christian pastors had come together to end the conflict.

They recognized that in light of devastating drought, there were more important matters than fighting. So they decided to rent a soccer stadium for a week at the start of 2023. Each day, a different ethnic or religious group would gather there to seek God and ask for help. This unusual step meant that former enemies would confess their sins and pray for forgiveness and rain.

And it happened. The stadium was full every day—sometimes with Muslims, sometimes with Christians. And they prayed. A few days later, the rain returned! Though the soil was so dry that flooding occurred, Marsabit was experiencing something like normal rainy-season weather when I arrived.

I told them: “God has proven faithful to you. And when you pray, He hears, because you are turning from your brutal ways and changing your lives and thinking.”

We can do much in agriculture. One thing we cannot do is control the weather. God is the One who hears us and helps when we turn to Him. I shared stories from Germany, how God had sent rain for our fields in direct answer to prayer.

An elderly sheikh named Adan testified how 10 of his 12 cows had perished, forced to eat only plastic. The two surviving cows nearly died in the floods. He pleaded with God to spare them, and they recovered. Adan publicly thanked God in the group. He became one of my strongest advocates.

This time, our group bonded far more quickly than during the first training. The DMM leaders and two sheikhs became my best co-workers and ambassadors. One sheikh testified that in his sermons and even during the morning call to prayer, he now exhorted people not to cut down trees but to plant them. He also urged them to practice FMNR and avoid pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Many confirmed that cancers were widespread in Marsabit—yet they were spraying Roundup (glyphosate) once a week without protective gear, whenever they could afford it. I was shocked.

Highlight: Compilation of a list of native plants, including their properties and benefits for humans, animals, and other plants.

August 20–22, 2024: Northern Kenya / Marsabit – 3rd Training for Farmers

With Iris (approx. 25 participants, 2 of them women)

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
– The Bible, Hosea 4:6

About half the participants had attended a previous training. They came to deepen their understanding and to enrich the group with their new experiences from the last growing season. They also came because they valued the learning community.

This time, city elders joined as new participants—Muslim clerics, experienced farmers with large estates who had practiced conventional agriculture. Others came as delegates of a farmers’ association. Again, my friends from Liveway Mission came to assist: missionaries, DMM leaders from across Kenya, and experienced farmers adapted to this climate zone.

Together we developed a mini-encyclopedia, building on last year’s plant list. Around 80 plants were identified, catalogued, and described—including the uses of roots, leaves, blossoms, and fruits.

We asked:

• Which tall and low-growing trees thrive here?
• What shrubs, herbs, vegetables, ground cover, and climbing plants exist?
• What are their benefits for humans, animals, other plants, and the soil?

Traditionally, such plant knowledge was only passed on within each ethnic group. Now, that intergenerational transfer has been lost. The goal of our mini-encyclopedia is to preserve this knowledge, encourage appreciation, and promote cultivation. Their uses as food, medicine, natural fertilizer, and pesticide should not be lost.

Highlight – Moringa: From Dirty Water to Drinking Water

The seeds of the local moringa tree have the rare ability to bind both fine particles (salts, metals) and harmful microbes (E. coli, viruses). Using these seeds, dirty water can be purified into drinking water. We tested this together: a thick brown liquid was prepared. Though it took longer than two hours, by the next day the decanted water was clear and drinkable.

By the end of the training, nearly all DMM leaders were ready to start training groups in their own areas, with some already underway. The most significant outcome, however, was that participants from Marsabit themselves committed to sharing FMNR, water, soil, and plant management principles with the local government.

They decided to meet monthly to exchange ideas, invite each other to field visits, plan, adapt practices, practice FMNR, and try out new approaches. One sheikh said: “Iris, I have understood: our land would not be dry if the drought were not first in our minds.”

Another sheikh promised me: “When you come back next year, you will find a changed Marsabit. We have learned and understood much. And we know now that change is only possible together. But we will do it. You can count on that.”

That very evening, the new Marsabit team was formed from this year’s participants—determined to change themselves and their community. And I … I look forward with anticipation to next year.

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” – Isaiah 58:11