While in Uganda, we visited our Kenyan Farm, and this is what we found...
Sustainability at its best! A thriving Aquaponic Farm, five years running.
During her recent visit to East Africa, Alyson Wells, Fly Fishing Collaborative's Farm Director, visited a Farm we built back in 2017. Located in Kipkaren, Kenya, this Farm was designed and installed in partnership with Empowering Lives International (ELI).
What Alyson saw (joined by Rock of Ages facilities manager Abdu Wasswa and Rock of Ages future Aquaponic Farm manager Julius Ddungu) was the incredible impact ELI is making in the nearby town of Eldoret and surrounding villages.
A bit about Empowering Lives International:
ELI works to prevent poverty by introducing innovative concepts and topics to the residents of Eldoret, Kipkaren, and the surrounding communities. They specialize in helping people realize that the impossible is possible – currently working with 104 communities across East Africa.
They address four areas of life that, unmanaged, often lead to poverty: emotional, physical, social, and spiritual. Their intentional relationship-building approach focuses on awareness, training, coaching, and mentoring.
Through micro-business coaching, microloans, and detox programs, ELI is helping grow a generation of leaders and developing training programs for those who want to replicate their model for change in their communities.
About the FFC Farm at ELI:
The Aquaponic Farm at ELI features a 570ft aquaculture structure housing four 5000 liter fish tanks culturing tilapia. The nutrient-rich water circulates into a roughly 1400ft2 greenhouse where crops are grown in floating raft beds and media bed culture. The plants filter water for the fish, which then recirculates back to the fish tanks. The system is a closed loop and features one pump for both the aquaculture and hydroponic systems.
The Aquaponic system grows various edible crops including cowpea, amaranth, green onions, and local greens Nderama and Managu (a high-dollar crop similar to kale.) The food produced within this Farm is cleaned and processed by kitchen staff, then served to the 334 orphans living at the children's home on site.
ELI's aquaponic system provides food security for the children's home with edible crops that are not conventionally grown or consumed in this area. The aquaponic system also serves as a learning opportunity for visitors, teaching an alternative method of crop production to soil agriculture and animal husbandry.
Meet Kigan, ELI's Aquaponic Farm Manager
Kigan has a special connection with ELI. He grew up as an orphan at ELI's Children's Home in Eldoret. After attending university for biology, he returned to ELI's children's home in Kipkaren as the Aquaponic Farm Manager. His incredible attention to detail and consistent communication with Alyson has brought a new level of success to this phenomenal Farm.
Kigan has introduced vermiculture (worm production) and EM (Effective Microorganisms) technology into the Farm. EM is the fermentation of lactobacillus bacteria, which is then applied to soils, crops, and plant matter to enhance the biology and fertility of soils and the decomposition of organic wastes. He even got to teach the Rock of Ages team about these sustainable agriculture practices and share resources with them.
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