“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
– Confucius –
Background
One of the main concerns of the NGO La Nostra Africa is to prevent the Maasai from migrating to the slums of Nairobi. For this reason, their existence in their tribal area must be secured. The well was a necessary first step in the right direction. The construction of kindergartens and schools is necessary in order to offer the children a better future. However, in order to secure a long-term location, it is necessary for the Maasai to be helped to help themselves, i.e. only when they have additional sources of income can they remain in their tribal area in the long term. This increases their independence and also the attractiveness of the site for future generations.
Massai Farm
The idea of a farm respects the cultural background of the Maasai, who are traditionally shepherds. They already have experience and know-how in handling animals. In addition to livestock farming, arable farming and dairy farming were also integrated into the project. A student from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Bologna supervised the project as part of his dissertation.
The Maasai have made 18 hectares of land available for the project.
Soil samples were taken in December 2016 and analyzed at the University of Bologna to determine the most suitable maize variety. Construction began in July 2017.
Work on the farm in Olpirikata, which is called “Acacia Camp” by the local population, began on July 20, 2017. A total of 10 workers were involved in clearing the 18-hectare piece of land.
A week later, a large excavator arrived to help the men with their monster job. Despite the Pole Pole mentality, the work progressed quite quickly.
On July 25, the men began fencing the terrain. The local male population showed great interest in the work: a total of 43 men turned up to work, although 33 of them had to be sent away again as only 10 men had a permanent job.
On August 1, 2017, Giorgio Girella made a bulk purchase of materials for the stable construction. Construction work then began on the barn, with the volunteers from La Nostra Africa lending a hand. At the same time, the hut for the night watchman was also built.
Planting began on August 20, 2017. A total of 500 aloe vera plants were planted first, as it is also a declared goal to use the soothing and nourishing properties of this plant for the production of creams.
On August 28, 2017, Giorgio went on another shopping spree, this time buying 20 dairy cows, two of which were pregnant. The cows come from Gogar Farm in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Gogar Farm was founded before 1915 by a group of British aristocrats and one of the first majority shareholders was Denys Finch Hatton, who became an international celebrity as Karen Blixen’s lover in the film “Out of Africa”, played by Robert Redford.
The dairy cows are representatives of the Holstein breed, one of the world’s most important dairy breeds, which has become synonymous with the high-performance dairy cow. With more than 1.6 million registered breeding animals, Germany has the world’s largest breeding population of this breed. But it is also perfectly suited to the challenging climatic conditions of the savannah.
On September 7, the dairy cows were loaded onto a truck and set off on their journey to Olpirikata.
On September 8, the dairy cows were milked for the first time in their new home and produced a total of 40 liters of milk, which was sold in the district capital of Kajiado at a price of just under 70 centimes per liter. The proceeds from the sale are also the salary of the 7 employees on the farm.
The following day, there was a big surprise: during the evening milking in the barn, a long queue of people gathered to buy milk directly from the farm.
In mid-September 2017, the cows were producing an average of 10 liters of milk per day. It took the cows and the farm staff just over a month to optimize feeding and, as a result, milk production. The initial milk production was not enough to satisfy the demand for milk – word had already spread that there was milk in Olpirikata and people from the surrounding communities of Karero, Ilailupa and Rruya also came to buy milk.
Lorenzo, a student at the Agricultural University of Milan, dedicated his thesis to the farm in Africa and spent a long time in Olpirikata to explain to the Maasai men on the farm how to properly handle and care for the animals. Together with the farm employees, he then drew up 14 rules for working on the farm.
The first seeds were sown in October and the first vegetables were expected in November. The first calf was born on November 8, 2017.
At the beginning of January 2018, we went shopping again: This time, 100 chickens were purchased. A chicken costs around CHF 5 and the sale of chickens recoups the costs within three months. Three young Maasai women were employed to look after the chicken coop, who earn KES 8,000 (just under CHF 80) a month. 50 chicks were then added on January 22, 2018.
The sale of eggs to the Maasai then began at the beginning of February.
The seeds were sown again at the end of January and Antonio from La Nostra Africa was actively supported by a young Maasai boy.
In addition, the four greenhouses for growing vegetables were built in mid-January.
What joy! On March 25, 2018, the second calf saw the light of day at Acacia Camp. The greenhouses were also busy growing vegetables: 250 tomato plants were planted, for example.
On April 5, 2018, there was another surprise: another calf was born!
Unfortunately, there were also three victims: one dairy cow was eaten by the hyenas and two other dairy cows died of an unidentified disease.
Today, the 17 cows produce an average of between 15 and 20 liters of milk per day and the sale of the milk now regularly pays 10 employees. The chicken coop provides regular work for three young women.
At the beginning of July 2018, we were able to see for ourselves the great success of the Acacia Camp. People queue up in the mornings and evenings with their plastic containers to buy fresh milk directly from the farm. They laugh and are happy that they always have fresh milk!
The costs for the Acacia Camps amounted to a total of CHF 92,904.
| date | Company | What? | CHF |
| 30.07.2017 | Dan & Josh Enterprises | Clearing 18 ha | 1’520 |
| 28.07.2017 | Dan & Josh Enterprises | Clearing 18 ha | 4’256 |
| 03.08.2017 | Dan & Josh Enterprises | Plowing 18 ha | 1’216 |
| 22.07.2017 | Yogi Swarmi Steel | Fencing | 4’304 |
| 30.07.2017 | Yogi Swarmi Steel | Stable | 1’169 |
| 30.07.2017 | Yogi Swarmi Steel | Stable | 1’188 |
| 15.07.2017 | Yogi Swarmi Steel | Stable | 2’461 |
| 02.08.2017 | New A & B Hardware | Material for stable | 8’740 |
| 11.08.2017 | New A & B Hardware | Material for stable | 5’263 |
| 14.08.2017 | New A & B Hardware | Materials for stable (sand, stones) plus transportation | 6’194 |
| 15.09.2017 | New A & B Hardware | Materials for greenhouse | 7’515 |
| 06.09.2017 | New A & B Hardware | Materials for greenhouse | 6’859 |
| 27.09.2017 | Farm Solution Agrovet. | Dairy cows (10) | 7’600 |
| 27.09.2017 | Farm Solution Agrovet. | Cows | 12’350 |
| 04.09.2017 | Farm Solution Agrovet. | Production feed trough with special coating | 6’080 |
| 04.09.2017 | Farm Solution Agrovet. | Production drinking trough for cows with special coating | 3’990 |
| 08.07.2017 | Kiriomy Ndungu Kitengela Ltd. | 800 bags of cement | 2’280 |
| 28.07.2017 | Kiriomy Ndungu Kitengela Ltd. | Building materials | 8’769 |
| 03.08.2017 | Kiriomy Ndungu Kitengela Ltd. | Building materials | 1’151 |
| Total | 92’904 |
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