Noticed Improvements

Sammy and one of his donkey carts

Our Client Relationship Manager Achintya Rai recently met with two time Zidisha borrower Sammy Kanja in Nakuru, Kenya. Sammy runs a donkey cart transportation business in Kenya. Since receiving his first loan, Achintya has noted that he can see a real difference in Sammy's quality of life. Check out what he said about meeting Sammy in his own words below:

Hello Lenders,

My name is Achintya RAI. I paid a visit to Sammy Kanja Nganga in Rongai area of Nakuru (Kenya) on the 28th of March 2012.

Sammy has donkeys and donkey carts which people rent from him to transport water and material. Sammy is repaying his second Zidisha loan right now. He used the first loan to buy new tyres for his cart and to repair it. With the second loan he bought another cart and donkeys. Now he has six donkeys and two carts. The names of the donkeys are- Toto, Jimmy, Tony, Kilo, John and Sammy. 
Kilo, John and Sammy are the new ones he bought with his second Zidisha loan. When I asked him if Sammy the donkey’s name was spelled the same as his, he said “like me” and added, “I do love it” as explanation. Sammy has four children (whose names I didn’t ask).

Sammy has a small shamba (farm) as well. His wife looks after it while he takes care of the donkey-cart business. He also now employs two persons to assist him in his business. He said that his life had improved because of Zidisha loans. This is something I have noticed in many cases. Second Zidisha loan onwards you start seeing a very noticeable and perhaps measurable difference in most people’s incomes, spending and lifestyles.

Sammy’s wife has studied till form-4 (secondary school) while Sammy himself has just finished primary school (Standard-8). With his enhanced income, Sammy now aspires to educate himself. He told me that he first wants to finish his form-4 and then go on to do a course in accounting so that he could take better care of finances for his business and possibly get a job in the field.

I met Sammy near the Railway Station of Rongai where he grazes his donkeys and parks his carts. I noticed that there were only three donkeys around. When I asked him he told me that the others must have got free and gone home. Apparently, whenever Sammy’s donkeys get free they go home. They reminded me of Homing Pigeons, only cuter. 

While Sammy’s Sammy was finding his way back on his own, I had to take a ride on Sammy’s bike to find mine. I wish Sammy and his family the best for their future.

Achintya
14th May 2012 

Computer Services in Kenya

Mr. Chege

Andrew Chege is a Zidisha borrower from Kiptangwanyi, Kenya. Andrew supports his family by running a computer services business. He is able to provide his clients with photocopying, typesetting, printing, lamination, and scanning services. While business is good, Andrew's area is still plagued by energy rationing (even though the electricity is expensive!). Andrew originally wanted to purchase a new camera and printer with his Zidisha loan. The additional equipment, he hoped, would allow him to keep up with the increasing demand for his services. 

Check out what Client Relationship Manager Achintya Rai had to say about meeting Andrew below: 

Mr. Chege's work station

Hello lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai

Yesterday I visited the business premises of Andrew Chege Mbugua.
Andrew runs the business of instant pictures. He has a desktop computer, a digital camera, a printer and also a small photocopying machine. Most of his clients come to him to get instant passport sized photographs, which they had to get from Nakuru earlier. Andrew’s printer cannot print beyond small sized photographs and he feels that there is a potential demand in Kiptangwanyi and nearby areas for larger photographs (family photographs for example)

He wants to invest the loan money in either buying a bigger printer, or replacing the old one before it breaks down (last time it broke down, it was three months before he could get a new one). He also wants to buy what he calls a “state of the art” camera. This would cost him 20,000 to 25,000 shillings. Always a businessman, Andrew offered to exchange his camera with mine (which has lesser megapixels than his, but is green and sits in a red cover which perhaps made him think it was better than his). I said “sure, as soon as you get your state of the art camera”. There was general laughter at this (there were many people who had collected to watch the discussion/interview)

Of all the people I have met here, Andrew is the first one who has been to college (even though I must add that the general level of education in rural Kenya is exceptionally good). His wife is a teacher. He wants his kids to study even further than him and do well in their lives. 

As a last note I’d like to add that it is hard to believe that Andrew is 35 and has 2 kids. He doesn’t look a day beyond 25 (when I told him this, he was quite delighted-I guess a little vanity finds us all some time or the other)

Achintya

Going to the Movies

Meet Peter Kamwaro from Kiptangwanyi, Kenya. Peter supports his family of three children by buying and selling cereals such as corn, beans, wheat, and rice. Because Mr. Kamwaro's goods are in high demand, they usually sell quickly. However, shoppers especially prefer his cereals because of their freshness and quality.

Mr. Kamwaro recently started a new business venture, thanks to his Zidisha loan. Learn more about his new venture below:


Hello Lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai 

Yesterday I visited Peter Kamwaro at his business premises in Kiptangwanyi. Peter runs a “Video Room” which he opens everyday, including the weekends. He has a beautiful business model- he buys CDs (for 50 shillings each) and DVDs (for 100 shillings each) from Nakuru (the town nearby) and shows them in his video room where he charges 10 shillings per head. He shows 5 (different) movies each day, and more on weekends. And once he has used a CD, he sells it for 60 shillings and he sells his used DVDs for 150 shillings each. So, he makes money from his video room (on week days he get 30-40 viewers per day), and he also makes a small profit out of the CDs/DVDs he purchases. That's like buying sugarcane and taking out the juice to make sugar to sell, while also selling the remaining husk at price higher than that of sugarcane.

Peter used his first Zidisha loan of 40,000 shillings to buy this plot with a video room where he runs his business. Earlier he used to rent the premises where he ran his business. He paid a rent of 5000 shillings a month, and his installment for the Zidisha loan is around 4300 shillings. Understandably, he is very happy with Zidisha.

Peter has 3 children, 2 of whom are in school. His wife runs a small boutique from the premises. 

Achintya

The Best Laid Plans....

Mr. Mwathi in his barbershop

Meet John Mwathi from Nairobi, Kenya. John started his transportation business in order to provide for his family. Because of the rough terrain in John's area, donkey carts are one of the only viable methods of transportation. John accredits his businesses success to his affordable prices, efficiently, and speed. John planned to use his Zidisha loan to purchase a motor bike, with some additional money from his personal savings. This would allow John to offer faster service to his customers. However, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

The sausage kiosk

Mr. Mwathi met with our Client Relationship Manager recently. Learn what our own Achintya Rai had to say about meeting Mr. Mwathi below:

Hello lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai and I am Zidisha’s current Kenya Client Relationship Intern. On 24th March I met John Mwathi at his shop in Utawala, Nairobi.

John used to live in Nakuru earlier. He took his loan to purchase a bike, which he intended to use as a taxi (boda-boda). The bike did not give him the returns he expected so he sold it and moved to Nairobi. Now he has a small barbershop. He uses the front of his shop to sell shoes and also has a small kiosk to sell steamed sausages and boiled eggs. 

John is just 23 and he has already experimented with a number of jobs. After finishing school he did a small course in IT. He then did a course in driving a lorry. He started work by buying a donkey and a cart, which he used to supply water. He also did manual labor to supplement his income. Later John bought his bike.

I found John to be a very pleasant person. And even though he seemed a little shy in my presence, he was constantly smiling. He told me the economics of the sausage and eggs business. John’s future plan is to open a snack shop where he can sell hamburgers, cakes, biscuits and chips. 

After hearing John talk about hamburgers and cakes I was obviously hungry so I decided to buy a sausage. John asked his friend, who was manning the cart at that moment, to move and prepared the sausage for me himself by slitting it and filing it with a salsa like preparation called kachumbari and sprinkling it with salt. It was delicious. 

John was having trouble making his Zidisha payments because of shifting to Nairobi and starting a whole new business. I helped him reschedule his loan. Having talked to him I feel sure he will be now able to meet his loan commitments.

Achintya
Nairobi
1st April 2012 

Looks good!

Borrower Posted Pictures!

Vitalis Opondo is one of our borrowers from Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Opondo supports his family of four children by working in metal fabrication. He originally requested his loan to buy some materials for a cart and a grinding machine. Check out his comment in his own words, plus some great pictures he uploaded!

I wish to thank my Zidisha sponsors.The loan i got has enhanced my business greatly.Now my hand cart is helping me to transport finished goods at a small fee.The stock i bought with 40,000/= has increased to kshs 60,000/=.
The attached photos are some of the goods we do fabricate at fox farm workshop.
I hope to contact you again in the near future,
Thanks.
Vitalis Opondo

Full House

Our Client Relationship Manager recently met with Eunice Ngetha in Embakasi, Kenya. Eunice runs a detergent business where she sells her products to the public and institutions. They are dangerous chemicals but Eunice is experienced. With three children of her own, and an additional 5 she and her husband adopted, you could say she has a full house!

Check our what Achintya had to say after meeting Eunice:


Dear lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai and I am Zidisha’s current Kenya Client Relationship Intern. On 7th March I met Eunice Ngetha in Embakasi area of Utawala in Nairobi.

Eunice was part of a Self Help Group that taught its members to make detergents and disinfectants. Eunice later started her own business of making these and selling at prices lower than the market. The detergents and disinfectants Eunice makes are used by hospitals and schools to wash floors, clothes, utensils and lavatories. 

The chemicals Eunice uses are dangerous to store so she buys them only after she has received an order. And she receives many of them. She said to me “Even if I go to America I’ll find an order!” I have no doubt she will because Eunice is one of the most confident persons I have met here. 

Eunice told me about an incident which confirmed to me that she is a great marketer. To transport drums of detergents to faraway places, she loads them in public buses and the customer unloads them at his location. She once lost 25,000 Kenyan Shillings worth of detergents when the customer told her he never received it. But she never complained. And now she has very good relations with this customer.

Eunice found Zidisha on her own. Her earlier loans were very costly so when she needed capital for her business she ‘googled’ it and found Zidisha. When I met her she had not yet received the disbursement of her loan but she planned to use it to buy chemicals for this big airport contract she had recently got.

Her husband is the principal of a school in Machakos where Eunice also used to work as a matron. She left that job and shifted to Nairobi when the business picked up.

Eunice has three children, two of whom are studying. She has also adopted five children. Three of these are orphans in her village and the other two are bright students from a school she went to sell her products to. The principal told her that these students couldn’t afford their school fee and Eunice readily decided to sponsor them. This is one trait I have found common in many Kenyans, this incredible desire to share their wealth.

Eunice’s dream is to build a school. She told me that she has already bought 3 acres of land in an area called Embu for this. I expect great things from Eunice. With her energy and her desire to help others, I wish she succeeds in whatever endeavors she undertakes.

Achintya
Nairobi
9th April 2012 

"There's No Business Like Show Business"

Achintya recently met up with Sidney in Kenya:
I recently met Sidney Lugohe Mungasia at his shop in Ongata Rongai near Nairobi recently. Sidney runs the business of typing, scanning and photocopying and a video/music library from his shop.

I have done an MBA. My class of about 50 had people from 20 nationalities. Sidney’s demeanor reminded me of some of the smartest people in my class. He is confident but not overly extrovert. He put me at my ease the moment I met him (and I thought that was part of MY job). He is positive about future and expresses his ideas with a self-assurance that somehow smells of humility and not cockiness.

Sydney lost both his parents in a car accident when he was in school, yet he finished his school and also went to college where he got a diploma in banking and finance. He also wanted to pursue a course in accounting but couldn’t because of financial constraints. After his diploma he worked for Barkley’s for a while but later left because he felt constricted in a 9 to 5 job and wanted to be independent. When I asked him why he chose this particular business he said, “There is no business like show business”. I guess you end up watching many of the movies you sell. But frankly, that didn’t sound dramatic at all coming from him.
Sydney used his Zidisha loan to upgrade his computer (he added three dvd writers, increased the speed and the RAM and bought a UPS). He also upgraded his printer- the new one has a scanner and a photocopier. He also spent on advertising. When I asked him if he could do all this with the amount he borrowed from Zidisha, he told me that he also invested all his savings. He was able to increase his income due to these improvements and is planning to move to a bigger shop soon. With the next loan Sidney wants to expand his business. His future plan is to have a sort of entertainment hub where people could come to meet friends, eat, play video games or watch movies.

Sidney is 28 and when I asked him if he was married, he smiled shyly and said that perhaps next year. As a gesture of my good wishes in this regard I asked him to pose for a photograph with this big poster of Kate Beckinsale outside his shop and he happily obliged.


A few days later, here is what Sidney posted on his page:

Hi lenders,

Its was with great pleasure that I met Zidisha’s ‘Kenya Client Relationship Manager’, Mr. Achintya Rai, at my shop a short time ago. We discussed at length some of the issues that affected my business including its future prospects and opportunities, which I have envisioned to achieve in the forthcoming future.

Rai has already posted most of the issues we talked about, and am happy to say that I have incorporated in my plans, to implement some of the creative ideas that he suggested to me. As he has said, my vision is to expand into an full-size amusement center, which will be more of a social meeting place for the young generation rather than an entertainment store, which is its current business model.

I’ll be glad to meet more of Zidisha’s representatives and lenders so that I can show them how much their support has helped my business. It’s with sincere gratitude that I would like thank you all, who have had faith in me. I look forward for future engagements.

Kindly
Sidney M. Lugohe

“Zidisha will start giving milk from next month”

More updates from our Client Relationship Manager, Achintya:

On 9th Feb 2012 I paid a visit to Serah Wanjiku Mukuriah at her home and Shamba (farm). Serah works at the Mugaa Secondary School as a secretary (many people affectionately call her ‘Madam Secretary’) and also takes care of her farm and animals.

I was a little startled when she said to me “Zidisha will start giving milk from next month”. I later found out that Zidisha is the name of her cow. With her first Zidisha loan Serah started a photocopying business. The business didn’t do too well so she sold the machine and bought Zidisha. With her current loan she has bought a plot near the highway. She intends to build on this plot and rent out the premises.

I am always curious about the ages of people here, because they never look their age, but I avoided asking Serah about hers because she’s a lady. Then she told me that she has only four years left to retire and that she will shift to her new plot after retirement. I couldn’t resist asking her age and was surprised to find that she is 52. Serah is a little bundle of energy. We walked from her home to the school together (it’s a 40 minute up and downhill walk) and she literally floated. She is also one of the pleasantest persons I have met here. She is always smiling (I think what helps is that she is not a teacher in the school and thus doesn’t need to scare the children) and comes across as very warm and generous (on the way back she kept asking me if she were walking too fast for me).

Two of Serah’s daughters stay with her with their children and Serah takes care of them and the children’s school fees. Serah has studied till form four but her daughters have only finished primary school due to certain constraints. Serah understands the importance of education and wants her grand children to finish their education.

It is a sort of tradition that Serah hosts all Zidisha interns at her home and I am happy that I could pay her a visit. I wish her all the luck and happiness. 

On Sunday (19th Feb 2012) I went to Rongai to meet Samuel Njoroge Njenga. Samuel runs a guesthouse in Rongai. He currently has 13 rentable rooms. He charges 300 to 400 Kenyan Shillings per night (depending on the day of the week and size of the room) for his rooms. He used his Zidisha loan to buy- a water tank, PVC flooring for the rooms, tables, bed sheets and mosquito nets. He also painted his rooms and bought plywood that he will use in the future to prepare more rooms to rent. 

Samuel feels that the better the facilities he provides, the more clients he will get. Business is good and he plans to pay off his loan in four months (instead of twelve) and apply for another one, which he will use to develop more rooms, improve the bathrooms and perhaps even develop some rooms with attached baths (the current setup has common bathrooms).

I found Samuel to be a very extrovert and charming person. When I met him he was dressed in loose jeans and a red sweatshirt. He is supremely confident and walks a little like a rapper. Samuel is 28 and is married. He’s the first person I have met in Kenya who is married and has just one kid, and I did not hide the fact that I was very happy to know this. His wife works for a private company and his two-year-old son will start going to school in a year or two. 

Samuel inherited the place from his father, who used to rent out the rooms. Samuel decided that the guesthouse business was better than giving out rooms for long term rent and improved the place and turned it into a guesthouse. He says that the returns from the property have doubled since he started this business. 

Samuel has a diploma in computer repairs and he does computer maintenance as a part time business. We talked about the importance of IT education in today’s world and Samuel told me he has a computer at home and intends to teach his son about computers from the very beginning. I feel very strongly that the level of education in Kenya is very good and there is a great potential for it to become an IT hub. I have great hopes for Shakur’s (Samuel’s son) future.

I also met Samuel’s 20-year-old brother who is studying Mass Communication and is a smart looking fellow with a great hairstyle. 

Photographs & Farmers

To keep interest rates low for borrowers, Zidisha eliminates the middleman and relies on hardworking volunteers and interns. To find out about opening positions, click here. Our Client Relationship Interns work diligently to connect with borrowers and bring lenders up-to-date about them. Here are more posts from Achintya in Kenya:

Andrew Mbugua 
I visited the business premises of Andrew Chege Mbugua.
Andrew runs the business of instant pictures. He has a desktop computer, a digital camera, a printer and also a small photocopying machine. Most of his clients come to him to get instant passport sized photographs, which they had to get from Nakuru earlier. Andrew’s printer cannot print beyond small sized photographs and he feels that there is a potential demand in Kiptangwanyi and nearby areas for larger photographs (family photographs for example)

He wants to invest the loan money in either buying a bigger printer, or replacing the old one before it breaks down (last time it broke down, it was three months before he could get a new one). He also wants to buy what he calls a “state of the art” camera. This would cost him 20,000 to 25,000 shillings. Always a businessman, Andrew offered to exchange his camera with mine (which has lesser megapixels than his, but is green and sits in a red cover which perhaps made him think it was better than his). I said “sure, as soon as you get your state of the art camera”. There was general laughter at this (there were many people who had collected to watch the discussion/interview)

Of all the people I have met here, Andrew is the first one who has been to college (even though I must add that the general level of education in rural Kenya is exceptionally good). His wife is a teacher. He wants his kids to study even further than him and do well in their lives.

As a last note I’d like to add that it is hard to believe that Andrew is 35 and has 2 kids. He doesn’t look a day beyond 25 (when I told him this, he was quite delighted-I guess a little vanity finds us all some time or the other) 

To read more about Andrew, check out his profile page!   

Paul Ngugi   

Two things I observed about Paul- first, Paul is truly ambitious (this seems true for many Zidisha clients). He wants to go places, and looking at his energy (he starts his day at 6 in the morning, working on his piece of land till noon, whereafter he takes care of his shop, while also finding time to graze his animals, visit Miti-Mingi or Nakuru to buy supplies and act as a de facto Zidisha coordinator), I have no doubt he will.

Second- Paul has practical, doable ideas about how he wants to go there. He used his Zidisha loans for his shop and to buy large quantities of grains from farmers, which he sells to traders from the towns. He was also able to buy a piece of land and construct rooms, which he now rents. 

His plan now is to make a cattle-shed where he can provide food to his animals in the enclosure, without the hassle of taking them grazing. He wants to use his next Zidisha loan to buy ‘high quality’ cows. Not speculating and trying to exploit season shifts in grain prices, he appears to have solid plans based on data. For example, he plans to sell the milk to the Milk Cooperatives who pay a better price (around 4 shillings more per liter) and also guarantee purchase.

I was able to meet his three sons, his mother (who is also a Zidisha client), his aunt and his two donkeys (Toto and Kijana). Everyone smiled for the camera (except the two donkeys, who turned their faces away in disdain at human frivolities) 

To read comments from Paul and older reports from interns, head over to his page!  

Trucks, Crates, & Cows

Here are three more updates from Achintya, our intern in Kenya:

Abraham Mwangi
I visited Abraham Mwangi at his shop in Kiptangwanyi on Thursday (2nd Feb, 2012). Abraham was the first person in Kiptangwanyi to receive a Zidisha loan and he claims that all the other Zidisha borrowers in this area came though his reference (“all” may be an exaggeration, but I’m sure most lenders there came either through his reference or as a result 

of his good experience with Zidisha).

Abraham runs a shop where he sells petrol, diesel, kerosene and motor spare parts. He also owns a (bright green) pickup truck, which he uses to transport oil from Nakuru and also rents to other people. Abraham is also an “expert mechanic” (though he doesn’t service vehicles other than his own any more) and a trained truck driver. He used his loan to add to his stock. He says the loan was really helpful because the fuel prices increased faster than he anticipated. Apart from having a spare parts shop, a fuel supply business and a transport business, Abraham also has a cereal shop, where he stores maze and beans and sells at the times of demand. This shop was closed in this season though. He wants to use the next loan to buy a cow, which costs around 60,000 Kenyan shillings and gives 20 liters of milk per day. Abraham told me that there is a company called Brookside that buys milk in bulk. 

Abraham has 2 boys and one girl. Even though he himself has studied only till form two, he wants his kids to study further and perhaps go to college.
I took many pictures of Abraham and his pickup truck, after which he had some really nice things to say about Zidisha.

To read more, check out Abraham's profile page here 
________________________________________________________________

Jackline Muthoni Waithaka
I went and met Jackline Muthoni Waithaka at her business premise on this Thursday (2nd Feb 2012). She has a small shop from where she sells packaged bread. She used the Zidisha loan to increase her stock (she offloaded around 860 packets of bread in front of me. When I asked her how long it’d take her to sell all these, she said “just one day”).

Jackline now wants to buy a motorbike so that she can supply to nearby areas. Right now she uses a bicycle to supply, but this limits her reach.

We reached Jackline’s place right before her supply truck arrived. It was impressive to see her offloading crates after crates of bread. Right now she is the only one supplying bread in the area so she has a comfy little monopoly going on. A bike would perhaps increase her sales manifolds. Apart from selling bread, she also supplies water to people’s home. She collects the water from public bore-wells and supplies it to people’s home for a small fee. Jackline has two little children, both in primary school.

My one regret after meeting Jackline was that in my pursuit for getting a picture of her working, I did not help her in offloading the crates. I should have. In fact I would have, had I not had the blessed camera in my hands.


To read more about this entrepreneur, see her page here 
________________________________________________________________

Jane Wambui
I visited Jane Wambui at her premises to see her at work and to talk to her. I found her at her shop where she sells vegetables and fruits that she grows mostly on her own Shamba (farm). She was dressed in smart slacks and a white t-shirt and greeted me with a firm handshake (this I found to be true for all women here- their hand-shakes are always full-bodied and firm- showing confidence and also warmth).

Jane appears to be quite enterprising. She, like most Kenyans, has a very strong desire to improve her lot and works really hard to make sure she and her family have the best that is possible.
She used the Zidisha loan and some of her own money to buy a good breed of cow. The cow cost her around 60,000 shillings (her loan was for 45,000 shillings), but gives around 20 liters of milk per day (at peak capacity), which translates to a revenue of around 15,000 shillings from the cow. She spends 5,000 on the cow and the remaining 10,000 shillings are her profit.

She has sent her two sons to boarding schools because she feels the quality of education is much better there. She told me that she paid the fee of 51,000 shillings for one of her sons and 28,000 shillings for the other. This appears quite steep to me, but she wants to make sure her children get the best education and will not compromise on this. She told me she wants one of the sons to be a lawyer and the other to be a doctor. I couldn't help feeling admiration for her.

With her next loan she wants to buy an even better cow. This would cost around 120,000 Kenyan Shillings but would give 40-50 liters of milk per day. When I said bye to her, she offered me a banana, which was very nice and sweet of her.

To read more about this produce seller, check out her page here 

From the Click of a Mouse to Three Greenhouses

Two years ago, we opened our lending platform to the public. Currently, Zidisha lenders have raised $140,599 in microloans for 253 businesses in Africa and Asia. So many great comments are being posted on Zidisha.org each day from borrowers, lenders, interns and volunteers. We have created this blog to easily share these great stories with the public as well as share Zidisha news, updates, and more. 

Rahab Wanjira was one of Zidisha's first borrowers in Kenya. With the help of her loan, her and her husband have constructed three greenhouses. Our Client Relationship Manager, Achintya, recently met with them:Hello lenders,

My name is Achintya Rai and I am Zidisha’s new Kenya Client Relationship Manager.

This Sunday (5th Feb 2012), I went to the village of Kianjoya to visit Rahab Wanjira. Rahab’s husband James Ngure is a teacher in Mugaa Secondary School, where I am putting up. When I visited their home I met James in his work clothes, tending to his farm. He was the one who explained the business and its functioning to me.

If I were to use one word to describe James, I’d call him no less than a ‘visionary’. There are certain people who have that spark that employment advertisements profess to look for. I feel very strongly that James has that spark of brilliance. The things he is doing with the resources he has at this remote location are remarkable.

James has been working in the school for around 8 years. 4 years ago he decided to settle near here and bought this piece of land in Kianjoya. He did not know what else to do with the land so he and Rahab farmed it like everyone else to grow crops typical to here. Rahab also bought a shop in Mitimingi, which she used to take care of. They took their first Zidisha loan to stock this shop.

A year ago, James and Rahab attended a seminar in Naivasha. That is where they got the idea of constructing a green house and using drip farming to irrigate the crops. A green house kit being sold at the seminar cost around 210,000 Kenyan Shillings. James investigated further after returning and was able to construct his first green house (15m x 8m) in around 50,000 shillings. They sold their shop in Mitimingi to arrange for this money.   

The returns from the first green house were so tremendous (James claims that a tomato crop inside the green house gives FIFTY TIMES more returns than a tomato crop the same size outside the green house) that they have now decided to gradually bring their whole farm under a green house. They used their second Zidisha loan to increase the acreage under greenhouse and to buy a drip irrigation kit. Now they have three green houses, all using drip irrigation and all made from local materials (polythene/plastic sheeting and local wood logs).

James has dug two tanks in the farm to collect rainwater. He directs water flowing on the road into his farm to collect it into these tanks, which he uses to drip-irrigate his crops for the whole year.

His future plans include lining his tanks with ‘dam liner’, which is a plastic sheet that prevents water from being absorbed by the soil.

When one is in the presence of wisdom, one tends to test his own (perhaps not everyone, just men)- so I asked him that why didn’t he try keeping fish in his tanks to supplement his income. He nodded solemnly and said it was a good idea (I am sure he was smiling in his heart, but is too big a man to smile on my face). 

I also met Rahab and James’ little daughter Gladys, who didn’t smile at me till the very end, when I pulled her cheeks.

Achintya

Mugaa Village, Kenya

7th Feb 2012

Read more of her story here