What the course offers you
Josphat Macharia offers a six-day course on sustainable agricultural practices, introduced to you through theoretical explanations and real life observation and practice of the methods he carries out. Course cost includes a six-day stay at his facilities, all included, private or shared bedroom and delicious organic meals prepared by him or his wife.
Josphat Macharia also offers a weekend trip to his farm, with the opportunity to take a look at his facilities and understand his practices. In this case, he will offer a reduced version of the course.
However, Josphat is willing to adjust the experience to the conditions and specific needs of his visitors, regarding the time of stay and topics of most interest.
A general overview of the topics he covers on the course is available below.
Water Management
Ndabibi Environmental Conservation Centre stands out for its resourceful use of water. All water utilized on the farm is obtained from the rain. Some of the methods practiced to manage water resources are rain water collection and storage; use of water purification techniques such as solar water disinfectant, bio-sand filter and moringa seeds, all techniques that remove 99% of water contaminatio to provide water for consumption; use of retention ditches and terraces to store surface water in the soil for long periods of time. Recycling of water such as utilizing water from the duck pond as soil fertilizer.
Green Belt Movement and Agroforestry
The green belt movement, initiated by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, is centered on planting trees in rural areas of Kenya to produce fruits, and hold the soil to avoid erosion; agroforestry is an emerging branch of agriculture which observes the benefits of introducing trees on farmed land.
NECC has understood the importance of both movements and has incorporated trees among the crops. In the course Josphat will cover tree planting, from growing a seedling to managing a tree nursery, and the cut-plant technique. In addition you will be able to observe the diversity of tree species he has introduced on his farmed land, and their specific functions, as well as their benefits to the functioning of the farm.
Soil Management, Natural Insecticides and Fertilizers
For Josphat Macharia it is clear that what we get from our farms depends on what we put into the soil. For this he applies numerous procedures which are all natural and work in accordance with the re-cycle process.
Natural fertilizers utilized include compost produced from dead plants and animal droppings, compost produced from human manure and the rays of the sun through sun dome toilets, manure tea made from fresh cow manure rich in trace minerals, biochar or charcoal used as a soil amendment agent, and worm urine from a specific species of worm.
Natural insecticides include utilization of a local weed, and use of garlic.
Crop Management
Crop management procedures Josphat implements on his farm include use of crop rotation as applied to plants traditionally grown in the region, planting nitrogen fixing rather than nitrogen absorbent plants, among other processes; construction of zai holes, highly fertilized ditches that facilitate more plentiful yields; construction of water retention ditches; composition of a vegetable garden, which crops to combine and/or to rotate, where to place specific species of plants in accordance with the amount of water the soil retains; and means to avoid soil erosion such as planting grass strips in water runoff paths.
Animal Care and Zero Grazing Units
Josphat raises cows, goats, sheep, rabbits and chickens on his farm. In the course Josphat will cover care requirements of these animals, including feeding systems, an approach to individualized feeding and space management, a methodology in case of disease, milking procedures, and care and nurturing of the infants.
He will also explain the structure of a Zero Grazing Unit, a unit that combines shelter, water, fodder, calf pen, and dairy storage for cattle in a reduced space. These are highly beneficial for farmers with small plots of land.
Josphat's personal Inventions
To say that Josphat’s ingenuity can go further is hard to believe. However, perhaps the reach of his creativity can be better understood by the vision of his own environmentally sustainable inventions.
Inventions include a machine that compresses a combination of re-cycled paper and other waste matter to produce a briquette that can be used to cook food on a specific, built-for-the-purpose cooker; a facility that transports the smoke from the house cooker to a room where smoked meat is produced, and where finally the smoke turns a turbine which produces electricity.
Josphat is open and willing to collaborate with Design Schools to take his inventions further.