3rd Agricultural Training for Farmers, Northern Kenya, Marsabit

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

Approximately half of the participants had attended a previous training. They returned in order to deepen their understanding and to enrich the group with insights gained during the most recent growing season. Many also participated because they valued the learning community that had developed.

This time, several city elders joined as new participants, including Muslim clerics and experienced farmers managing large estates who had previously practiced conventional agriculture. Others attended as representatives of a farmers’ association. Once again, my friends from Liveway Mission joined me as a support team: missionaries and DMM leaders from different parts of Kenya, all experienced farmers in their climate zones.

Together, we developed a mini-encyclopedia, building on the plant list compiled the previous year. Approximately 80 plant species were identified, documented, and described, including the uses of their roots, leaves, blossoms, and fruits.

We explored the following questions:

• Which tall and low-growing trees thrive in this region?

• What shrubs, herbs, vegetables, ground cover, and climbing plants are present?

• What benefits do these plants offer for humans, animals, other plants, and the soil?

Traditionally, such plant knowledge was passed down within individual ethnic groups. Today, much of this intergenerational transfer has been lost. The aim of the mini-encyclopedia is to preserve this knowledge, foster appreciation, and encourage cultivation. The use of native plants as food, medicine, natural fertilizer, and pest control should not be lost.

Highlight: Moringa – From Dirty Water to Drinking Water

The seeds of the local moringa tree have the remarkable ability to bind fine particles such as salts and metals, as well as harmful microorganisms including E. coli and viruses. Through this process, contaminated water can be purified into drinking water. We tested this method together by preparing a thick brown mixture. Although the process took more than two hours, by the following day the decanted water was clear and safe to drink.

By the end of the training, nearly all DMM leaders expressed readiness to begin training groups in their own regions, with some initiatives already underway. The most significant outcome, however, was the commitment of participants from Marsabit itself to share FMNR principles, along with water, soil, and plant management practices, with local government authorities.

The group agreed to meet monthly to exchange ideas, invite one another to field visits, plan and adapt practices, implement FMNR, and test new approaches. One sheikh remarked, “I have understood: our land would not be dry if the drought were not first in our minds.”

Another sheikh assured me, “When you return next year, you will find a changed Marsabit. We have learned and understood much. We now know that change is only possible together—and we will act on this. You can rely on us.”

That very evening, a new Marsabit team was formed from this year’s participants—committed to personal transformation and to the renewal of their community. I look ahead to the coming year with great anticipation.

“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.”
The Bible — Isaiah 58:11