The Rita Rose Garden & Sustainable Farm is the three hectare sustainability engine that powers the Children’s Rescue Center. Our goal is to grow enough food so that we can feed the children and as well as fund Rescue Center operations by selling at local markets. Additionally, we plan to embody the principles of permaculture, which includes teaching community members about sustainable farming practices.
On the Farm
Currently, we maintain both open field and greenhouse farming. In the open field, we grow mainly kales, capsicum, maize, beans, watermelon, cowpeas, onions, spinach, indigenous vegetables like african nigh shade and spiderplant, butternut squash, eggplant, bananas, sweet potatoes, and we have plans for more!
Several of these plants, for example the maize and beans, are intercropped for symbiotic benefits they can offer each other. This way, the Farm’s soil stays healthy and we have no need for agrochemicals. Leaves from certain plants we grow such as pawpaw are used to produce natural pesticides and fertilizer.
The Farm’s mission of sustainability dictates that we make use of as many natural plant byproducts as we can, and luckily, we have an abundance. Instead of commercially produced fertilizers, we also use manure and discarded sugarcane fibers to give our soil a boost.
We use our three greenhouses to grow crops that are sensitive to direct sunlight and too much water. We grow mainly tomatoes in the farm’s three greenhouses, but we also grow onions at intervals as a natural way to keep away common tomato diseases and pests.
Bee Farming: Bee farming is one the most environmentally and commercially viable farming enterprises that any serious farmer should consider embracing. We practice bee farming at two levels, i.e. at the farm and at the community. At the farm, we maintain 9 colonized bee hives. At the community level, we have trained 5 designated bee farmers and provided them with 2 bee hives each. we work together with them to maintain the hives,harvest, process and market honey and other products. This way, they get much needed income for their household needs. We buy honey from them and sell at a profit. We generate income from this and use it to meet some of the needs of the children at the Rescue Center.
Fish farming. With four functioning fishponds, the OLPS Sustainable Farm hosts one of the most successful fish farming projects in this region. We grow mainly two fish species, i.e. tilapia and catfish, i.e. in mono and polyculture systems. In two fishponds, we keep 2,100 tilapia in monoculture system; we have also designated one fish pond for 600 catfish in a monoculture system. We have one pond with a total population of 1,000 tilapia and catfish in a polyculture systems. Our future plans include breeding and selling fingerlings instead of mature table-size fish.
Fish is a delicacy in this region and a very popular dish among the local population. With the nearest bay of the largest fresh water lake, i.e. Lake Victoria, just about 20km away, there is continued comparison between fish from ponds and that from the lake, with most people preferring that from the lake. However, fish population from the lake is seriously declining and the government is promoting fish farming to ease pressure at the lake and encourage sustainable fishing. Well managed fish farms like the one we maintain therefore offers a perfect opportunity for environment lovers who would wish to enjoy their delicious dish of nutritious fish while remaining mindful about the future generation.
and four fish ponds featuring 1500 tilapia, and we are awaiting the imminent arrival of our dairy goats, along with the construction of a poultry house. Trees and shrubs around the property will provide fodder for the goats, who will in turn supply milk to the Rescue Center. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow milk, which is important since many of the children in the Rescue Center are ill and need simpler foods. The eggs and meat produced as a result of the poultry project will be an important piece in our plan to sustain the Rescue Center with the income it needs to grow and thrive! In line with our embodiment of permaculture principles, the used bedding from the poultry house will provide nutritious, nitrogen-rich fertilizer to our many plants!
Meet Erick!
The Farm’s Project Manager is Erick Aluru. Erick is trained in permaculture and agroforestry, and he plays a crucial role in coordinating sustainability efforts around the farm and reaching out to the community. When OLPS acquired the farmland in 2009, Erick inherited quite a challenge: soil destroyed by years of intense inorganic fertilizer and pesticide use, mined of its nutrients, and stressed to the point that growing anything green was near impossible. With the help of other members of the Rita Rosa Garden & Sustainable Farm team, he has set up intercropped beds, built a comprehensive drainage plan, and scheduled a seasonally sensitive planting schedule.
The Future
We are in the process of building a chicken coop and finding the dairy goats that will provide us with healthy, plentiful milk. We will also continue to integrate sustainable practices into our daily farm work. Whatever we learn, we will share with the community, in hopes that we can spread permaculture!
Kisumu Children's Rescue Center 