Dairy Farm and Warehouse Tours

In December 2013, One Acre Fund introduced a new program to help farmers maintain healthy cows and maximize the milk production.  Approximately 80% of farmers have a least one cow which are mostly used for personal use. One Acre is always looking for new ways to help the farmers generate additional revenue.

In order to determine the best source of nourishment for the cows, ten meter by ten meter plots are being piloted to determine which species of hay grows best and provides the healthiest, best milk producing cows. They haven't started to test milk production but you know it is the ultimate goal. 

Absolutely every step in the process is done manually including baling of the hay. The hay is baled using a wooden box, with one man stuffing the hay in the box and the second man stomping it down. A far cry the the tractors and balers used at home. 

The farm currently  has ten cows and two calves that our monitored daily. Each receives their own special type of hay and the results are starting to be analyzed. The entire site is very impressive. 

After the tour of the dairy farm we were off to see one of One Acres' seven warehouses.  The warehouse store the seeds, fertilizer, solar lights and other supplies a farmer gets when they purchase a package from the One Acre Fund Farmers First program.   The warehouse is a massive building usually stacked to the rafters where everything is moved on and off the trucks by hand.  

The labours get paid approximately 300 shillings or $3.75 Canadian a day. The actual payment is based on weight added on or off the trucks each day and split amongst the team.  So no one slacks off, their goal is to load or stack as much product as possible as quickly as possible.

 There is no question the health and safety standards in Kenya are very different than in Canada. Men carry anywhere from 75 to 100 kilos at a time on the back of their necks and shoulders and they are moving. There are no forklifts, no dollies, just pure muscle power and apparently little to no injuries. 

You should see the muscles on these guys - they are ripped.

Interview Day

The interview process for applying for a position with One Acre Fund has been quite a complex, interesting journey. Randy had completed 5 telephone interviews and 2 case studies prior to being invited to Bungoma for the last stage of the process. On Wednesday morning he was scheduled for another 3 hour interview where he would also be required to make a presentation. The entire process ensures the candidate is completely aware of what they are getting into and the company has the opportunity to ensure the candidate is the right fit for the role and the organization. While it seems a bit extensive having someone move 1/2 way or more around the world can be an expensive mistake if it isn't the right move for all concerned.

So while Randy was working through his interview, I decided to visit a Field Officer's meeting where the farmers would be receiving their first top delivery. The delivery includes solar lights, fertilizer , bags and seeds. While the group waited for the delivery truck to arrive, the field officer had members of the team who had already repaid a substantial amount of their loans share best practices with the entire group. 

One gentleman had paid his loan of ten thousand shillings in full. We learned that in order to repay as quickly as possible the family readjusted their budget and scrimped and saved where possible making the repayment a priority. One thing the family did was change their breakfast from including milk to having porridge with water.  As of today the family was back on their normal budget and the entire revenue from the crop will belong to them. 

It Turned out the truck got stuck somewhere along the way and was going to be quite late. However there was lots of training scheduled, including the proper method for applying the fertilizer. First a lecture was provided then we all walked down the road to one of the maize farmers for a demonstration and practice.  

Today I learned that the first application of fertilizer should happen when the maize is knee high and the second application at shoulder height. Now I am not sure if this is based on someone 5 foot 5 or 6 foot 6, and there was both in the audience.  The instructor was closer to 5'5, so let's go with that. The farmers have a stick approximately 4 feet long with two nails sticking out about  4 inches from the bottom. The stick is pushed into the ground beside the plant upto the nails and turned to make a small hole. Then a teaspoon of fertilizer is placed in the hole and covered up with dirt. They recommended it works best if three people work together in tandem. While it seemed straight forward there was a lot of questions. If the maize is planted on a hill the hole goes uphill from the plant. Don't get the fertilizer on the plant. Make sure to cover the fertilizer or the rains will wash it away. Don't hit the plant with the nails. 

Eventually the truck arrived and the farmers unloaded the supplies under the watchful eyes of several field officers, a field manager and an assistant district manager. Every bag is verified and accounted for as it is distributed to the farmers.

During the process I was invited by Esther to sit and visit as she watched over the unloading of the truck. Esther is a neighbouring field officer who was here to help oversee the process. Her groups delivery would happen next Wednesday.  Would I be able to come to her site too? 

Esther told me she has been working for One Acre for two years and loves her job.  She has four children, one boy and three girls between the ages of one and seven. Her husband, a minister stays home and looks after the children while she works. He is a good man. 

We didn't get to stay and see the entire process as it was well past 12:30 and we needed to head back to the compound.  I was anxious to hear how Randy made out in his interview and apparently the  interview process is still not over. 

Collecting Payments

Tuesday we headed out to a weekly Field Officer's meeting where the FO would collect the weekly payments from the Group Leaders and share all the information he learned at Monday's District meeting.

We headed out of Bungoma at 9am and travel into the countryside. The first portion of the journey was on the main road but once we turned off onto very narrow dirt roads we quickly saw our driver asking for directions all along the route. As you can guess there are no street signs and each set up directions sounded very much like " just up the path and then take a left". I think the driver spoke with at least four individuals before we reached the left. The road was getting narrower and narrower, until we reached a fork in the path at which time our guide phoned the Field Officer for further directions.  Take a left,  no no right he said and we all chuckled hoping we were headed in the right direction. A little while later a gentleman was waiting to guide us the rest of the way. He jumped in the car and we continued along the path taking a left turn here and a right turn there until we reached the community church.  A very large brick structure with a tin roof, a dirt floor and several movable benches. Inside we were met by the Field Officer for the site and his group leaders. Apparently the church is used for all group functions.

After a lot if handshaking and introductions, the meeting was ready to commence. Each of the group leaders introduced themselves, there area and the number of farmers they were responsible for. Group leaders are farmers who take on the mandate of collecting weekly payments from their group. The groups range in size from 6-17 farmers.

Some of the meeting was conducted in English but the majority in Swaheli so our guided translated for us. It is always interesting to me that the person speaking seems to talk for ever and the translation is "our top up delivery will be arriving next Wednesay". 

 I am thinking if Randy does get the position that Swaheli lessons would be a good investment,  I so envied Erin who was able to converse with the group leaders in their native tongue. Then I will know basic English, a little French and Spanish and hopefully conversational Swaheli. Probably nobody will be able to understand me at that point.

Once the short formal portion of the meeting was complete the group leaders handed in the funds they had collected for the week, presented the their passbooks which had a page for each farmer confirming the payment amount and total payments todate and received a receipt from the Field Officer for the total team payment. 

Once collected the Field Officer takes the cash to the local MPesa office where the funds are deposited and an e-transfer is made directly to the One Acre Fund account. This appears to be a pretty slick system where money transfers are completed through the phone system rather than the banking system. Eventually all farmers will be able to make their payments directly through the MPesa system, eliminating the need for large amounts of cash to be transport.

After the meeting we headed out to see a farmer's crop. Walking cross country we found our way to a crop of maize and beans. One row of maize, one row of beans, repeated through the plot. I learned that the crops are cross planted like that to balance the nutrients in the ground. One of the plants takes the nutrients from the ground (I think the maize, but might have this backwards) and the other replaces them. The typical crop is about 1/2 an acre. 

To see more we continued walking cross country, through people's fields and yards. We hoped they didn't mind the group of white visitors tramping through their space. Thank goodness someone knew where we were going as I was totally lost. We did see a variety of health in crops though. Some that appeared to be prospering quite well and other not so good. You could tell the farmers that were using the One Acre Fund methods versus those that weren't. 

The country side is gorgeous. Not at all what I expected for Kenya. Rolling hills covered with trees, lots of green grass, cows grazing and a variety of adobe brick homes. 

 Eventually we met back up with our ride and headed back to Bungoma.

Monday is Goal Setting Day

It is amazing to me that while things are so very different, they are also very much the same. 

On Monday morning we attended an One Acre Fund District weekly meeting.  Field Officers are mandate to collect weekly loan repayments from the farmers, hold a weekly meeting, and provide training for their team of farmers.   Each week they come together to meet with their Field Manager, who then shares with the whole district how each Field Officer has done and how the Field Manager's team has done as a whole. They are rated on the percentage of group leaders and farmers; attending weekly meeting and training sessions, making a repayment, and percentage of total loans repaid.  Results are captured on flip chart paper and posted for everyone to see.  During the meeting the agenda for the entire district team of field officers and field managers includes the sharing of best practices, discussion on challenges and training to be shared out in the field.  This very much sounds like goal setting and management meetings at home.  The saying same, same but different seems very appropriate. 

At the beginning of the session each field officer turns in the receipts for all the payments he has collected during the week to the bookkeepers. The bookkeepers then verify the receipts to the actual cash that was electronically transferred to the repayment accounts.  Considering in this specific district there are 7,292 active farmers that is a lot of receipts being verified each week.  

The second picture shows the Field Officers receiving the supplies they have personally ordered for their farms. The process of how items should be provided is demonstrated to them as tomorrow they will need to distribute supplies to their individual teams.  Roleplaying at its finest.

Sounds of the Night.

The sounds of Bungoma at night were pretty amazing starting with all the neighbourhood dogs breaking out in song. As the choir began more and more animals joined in. It sounded like a pack of coyotes, yet we knew it wasn't.  Then the resident donkey joined in honking out his tunes. Interestingly enough his part went on throughout the night, even though the rest had long since finished their part of the performance. Occasionally throughout the night his honking would ring clearly ensuring we all knew his part was not over. About 5 am we were awaken by the ritual of the morning prayers. I am not sure if the whole 44000 people of the town could hear the chants of the lone singer but it definitely sounded like it. Shortly before the sun began to rise the resident rooster began to crow. Awakening the town with his song. The only challenge is I think he lost his off button. And so the day begins....

Nairobi to Bungoma

We woke bright and early after a good nights sleep at the guest house, to the warm Kenyan air and birds chirping. If you want to shower there is a light switch to activate the flow of hot water. Unfortunately the switch had been left on for sometime and wasn't working.  Hence we started the day with cold showers. Warm climates or cold, I still don't like cold showers, but a quick rinse and I was ready for the new day.

Lenny was waiting for us at 7:30 and we headed to the airport. Interestingly due to uprisings at the airport last year, every car is totally searched by security before entering the premises. While the line-up initially looked long, our taxi driver played cat and mouse with the other vehicles, moving us to the front of the line fairly quickly. Checking in for our flight we learned that all laptops had to be placed in your carry on luggage. Of course, Randy had backed his safely in the middle of his backpack so there we were unpacking to pull it out. Once our bags were checked he sat down to rearrange his carry on bag only to find out that we had another security gate to clear in which your laptop needed to go through separately.  While it seemed like a bit of a hassle we now know the rules and can plan accordingly next time.  50 minutes from leaving Kese Center we were already for our flight to Kisumu. 

The flight to Kisumu was only 30 minutes and the stewardesses hardly had time to offer everyone a refreshment before we were landing.  In Nairobi it had been 28 degrees but still felt quite cool. Landing in Kisumu we were hit by the heat. It was probably about 32 degrees. This is what I had expected. 

Donald would be our driver as we travel the rest of the way  to Bungoma by car.  Leaving the airport the road was filled with potholes and often Donald would drive down the dirt path on the side of the road rather than staying on the blacktop. It was certainly smoothIt maybe a long two hour ride.  However after a short while the road conditions improved and we were off. 

Taking in all the sights along the way we went from Nairobi, which appeared to be fairly modern and developed with a very diverse population to the communities along our route of very poor to poor dwellings with absolutely no diversity. We saw rows of homes made from corregated tin, adobe huts, to brick homes and everything in between. As it was Sunday, it appeared to me that lots of people were walking up and down the highway.  I learned later that it was a quiet day for foot traffic.

 Along the highway there are lots of major speed bumps. Official ones before schools and illegal ones placed in front of stores by the merchants to force traffic to slowdown and hopefully stop and shop. The speedbumps were so big that Donad would almost come to a complete stop to maneuver over them carefully. 

Finally we arrived in Bungoma and my imagination was going wild on where we were actually going to stay. Up and down a few dirt roads we came to a stop at a small gated courtyard. The gates opened to reveal a well kept area with 8 apartments, outdoor eating area and lounging deck. 

We were escorted to the "Big Banda", a very impressive appartment, that would be our home for the next five days. The pictures don't do it justice. A completely self contained room, with kitchen, sitting area and bedroom section. 

. We could live here easily. At least from an accommodation perspective. Tonight we sleep under the mosquito need.  So cool. 

The rest of the day was spent lounging and napping as we relaxed from two days of travel.  Plus we weren't sure that we should be wandering around on our own or even where to go? 

Heading to Kenya

Promptly at 1 pm on Friday March 28th, 2014 I packed up my desk and headed home to pick up Randy. We were starting an adventure that could possibly change the rest of our lives. Randy has a job interview with One Acre Fund in Kenya.  As we entered the Calgary airport I suggested to Randy that it was the last time I should be cold for at least the next ten days. It has been a terrible winter/spring and I am so looking forward to seeing the sun and feeling the warm rays on my skin! 

The trip would consist of a short eight hour flight direct to Amsterdam followed by another short eight hour flight direct to Nairobi. Watching several movies and having a few naps the trips went smoothly and at 8:25pm Saturday night we arrived to the welcoming warm, humid air of Kenya. 

Debarking the plane we took a short bus ride to customs. While it was dark the bus route was lined by corregated tin fences topped with circles of barb wire. We wondered " was this to keep the passengers in or the residence out?". Purchasing our Visas and clearing customs was a relatively simple process. They took our picture, finger prints, (first the right hand and then the left) collected $50 US, stamped our passports and welcomed us to Kenya. Less than 20 minutes and we were ready to go.

Quickly collecting our bags, we found Lenny our taxi driver and were off to the the Kese Center where we would be spending the night. Kese Center is a gated community where One Acre Fund has a guest house. Clean and comfortable  appartment number six, is way bigger than our condo at home. 

A large common area living room, kitchen, and  4 bedrooms, each with its own washroom. We were pleasantly surprised.