It has been about 6 months since my friend Felix and I acquired a neat piece of land. The location is a rough hillside and valley (6.75 acres) with an abundance of thorny bush. Moreover we have 1 acre on the roadside, where we put up a mudhouse with a mudcouch and a mudbed. On both pieces a good number of swales and ponds have been dug, and numerous trees (support species as well as fruit trees) are being planted. One pond captures vast amounts of water from the road, providing us with water permanently. As we speak this pond is being extended with a canal, bringing water up to halfway the 1-acre plot. The first domestic animals to arrive were the pigeons and chicken, but ducks and guinea fowls are now soon to follow. 

In the meantime we are sensitising the neighbours. In the first place we employed them whenever groundworks needed to be done. Moreover two neighbours have been employed full time to tend the nursery, plant the food forest and do the dozens of other things coming on our paths. More and more neighbours are showing their interest in our project, and occasionally we hand out trees as a teaser to join our approach.

Next week I'll be going to Kyrgyzstan to get inspired by permaculture projects there, before I implement some ideas back in Kenya.