With access to financial services, Kairiri Forest Users and Conservation Community Based organization (CBO) in the Timau area of Meru County can deal with crop success after many failures.
In the aftermath of this year’s crop failure, most of the members had considered quitting farming. CBO member productivity and profitability have been increased thanks to Sokopepe support. Sokopepe arranged credit for them through a microfinance institution this season. Sometimes, lack of financial services can be a major issue to many and this has been the story for Kairiri Forest Users and the Conservation Community Based Organization (CBO) in Timau. Sokopepe has been working with the CBO to increase the productivity and profitability of its members and during this season, Sokopepe linked them to a microfinance institution, Times U Sacco Society which enables them to receive credit. This has given its members the opportunity to become part of a few-banked farming society. The Sacco provides loans that are affordable and easy to understand because not forgetting the low-interest rates.
For the past five weeks, the Sacco has been building its members’ financial literacy and understanding, by showing them how to save as much as Kes 200 every week. Already 30 members of this group have paid Kes 200 for registration. Soon these farmers will be eligible for a Kilimo Bora Loan from their Sacco (which is up to 5 times the amount saved). The Kilimo Bora loan attracts a 7.5% interest rate and is paid back after four months. The 74-member CBO is now planning to cultivate a 30-acre farm together. Mr Bernard Mureithi, a Production Information Agent (PIA) at Sokopepe said that FARMIS helps financial institutions know whether farmers are capable of managing risks. He added that farmers would now be able to track all their agribusiness enterprises and expenses for effective use of the Kilimo Bora Loans.
Mr. David Kabuari, a Kairiri Forest user and the Chairman of the Conservation CBO, says that access to credit has always been a challenge. Financial institutions refuse their loans because they lack proper farm records. “Most financial institutions are unwilling to lend to us,” he said. “We’re glad that Sokopepe linked us to a microfinance institution. Now we can access and manage credit.” Sokopepe has been training the CBO on record keeping, best agricultural practices, market information and linkages and conservation agriculture. The training has allowed members to track their agribusiness enterprises and expenses. This will help them when they are able to use Kilimo Bora Loan funds soon.
Mr Mureithi has been visiting the group every week to check on the progress of their crops. He has also been assisting individual members in filling out their farm books. He said that the Sokopepe has helped the CBO members plan their farm enterprises. They are able to know the enterprises that decrease profits. The CBO has been taking care of Timau Forest for 9 years and through this, they are working with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS). They were granted 1.5 acres of land for farming and through this, have helped restore healthy land-use systems. Moreover, the CBO integrated apiculture with other farming activities with their 19 beehives helping to pollinate all the local plants, trees, and crops. This has led to improved yields and environmental conservation.
When Mr Kabuari discussed apiculture, he noted that it also enables them to earn an income from honey and beeswax, pollen, propolis, bee colonies, queen bees, bee brood, and packages of bees. The CBO also owns a tree nursery that produces at least 4,000 indigenous tree seedlings and about 3,000 exotic species. The CBO has not only been planting trees all over Timau Forest, individual farms, educational facilities and government properties but has donated around 3,000 seedlings to Water Resource Users Association (WRUA), schools and hospitals alike. Not forgetting to mention, they are also selling seedlings to individuals whereby exotic trees retail for Kes 10-15 while the more practical indigenous trees sell for Kes 25-50. Difficulty with credit facilities has hampered the productivity of most smallholder farmers. Sokopepe is committed to financial inclusion since that would result in more income for farmers.
The integration of ICT in teaching, learning, assessment and management is on the rise in Kenya. To support this, ALIN in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), deployed and trained 20 teachers, facilitators and Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) representatives on Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning (RACHEL) at the Lariak Day Secondary School in Ol-Moran Ward, Laikipia County on December 2, 2021.
RACHEL is a portable plug-and-play server that stores educational websites and makes content available over any local (offline) wireless connection. Any device with a web browser can connect to RACHEL and it is specifically designed for offline teachers, students, and self-guided learners of all ages and those with no internet access due to remote location. During the training, ALIN deployed RACHEL in Lariak Day Secondary School, Mithuri Secondary School, Lariak Primary School, Sipili School for the Deaf and Ng’arua Maarifa Centre. The server is a combination of freely available software and content modules that make it easy to bring online education materials into places with limited or no internet access (virtual library). It has 500 GB of storage and allows up to 50 simultaneous users. The 4 schools and Ng’arua Maarifa Centre will each run on a RACHEL- Plus server which has an 8-hour + battery life and is pre-installed with educational content from KA Lite, Wikipedia for Schools, Moodle, GCF LearnFree.org, PhET, Blockly Games and other educational materials developed by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). The training also included a session on incorporating RACHEL technology and content into classrooms and how to create, access, reuse and redistribute offline digital content to learners through RACHEL.
Some of the challenges that ALIN is addressing through the project include low connectivity in rural areas which limits young learners’ ability to digitally connect offline; Insufficient awareness among teachers and learners on the importance of Open Educational Resources (OER); Low availability and accessibility of high-quality and openly licensed online educational content; and Underutilization of computer labs and schools’ laptops. ALIN is keen on supporting Open Educational Resources (OER) as this supports the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 which is on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Similarly, the promotion of OER supports the implementation of the Ministry of Education Session Paper no 1 of 2019, which among others advocates for the integration of ICT in Education, Training and Research.
In addition, one of the core competencies under the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) is digital literacy which calls for the use of digital devices to create and access information while the National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022 has called for capacity building of ICT champion teachers in the integration of ICT in teaching, learning, assessment and management. Open Educational Resources (OER) are learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under the copyright that have been released under an open license, that allows users to legally and freely use, copy, adapt, and re-share. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), OER can support quality education that is equitable, inclusive, open and participatory as well as enhance academic freedom and professional autonomy of teachers by widening the scope of materials available for teaching and learning. OER represent a crucial means to support the continuation of learning in both formal and informal settings. They can help meet the needs of individual learners and effectively promote gender equality and incentivize innovative pedagogical, didactical and methodological approaches.
ALIN with support from the Hivos Green and Inclusive Energy Programme implemented a Project dubbed “Increasing awareness of renewable energy technologies and their applications in Kajiado County.” The Project developed the Kajiado County Renewable Energy Atlas, which provides the Kajiado County Government and others stakeholders with high quality, publicly available data on renewable energy resources and also acts as a catalyst to trigger planning and policy development and help attract investors in the renewable energy markets in Kajiado County. The Atlas data is essential for the transition to a clean energy economy that prioritizes local resources, improves resilience and promotes energy independence.
Furthermore, the Atlas also supports the implementation of the Energy Act, 2019 which requires both the National and County Government to collect and maintain energy data, to undertake feasibility studies, and to avail data to developers of energy resources and infrastructure. The Atlas contains maps of borehole distribution in the county, existing and potential solar energy sites in the county, existing and potential wind energy sites (with data about the wind speeds in different parts of the county), existing and potential geothermal energy sites (with data about the geological makeup of different parts of the county), existing and potential hydropower sites, as well as existing and potential biomass sites.
The Atlas is designed as a resource for use by those interested in furthering the production of electricity, heat and fuels from solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass in the county. These include the public, policymakers, advocates, landowners, developers, utility companies and prospectors. Understanding the location and potential of renewable energy resources is, therefore, a crucial pre-requisite to their utilization, and the scale-up of clean and secure sources of electricity generation. A resource map is thus important to help county governments to better coordinate the development of different renewable energy resources. ALIN also organized 7 monthly Non-State Actors Learning and Consultative Forums in Kajiado County.
The monthly forums usually brought together 30 NSAs working on energy access and advocacy on renewable energy to share opportunities, best practices, and experiences and to identify opportunities for collaborative work. The forums helped to strengthen coordination, learning and experience sharing amongst NSAs working on energy access and advocacy on renewable energy. They also facilitated institutional learning, common problem solving, capacity building and networking in the NSA space to promote the adoption of renewable energy in Kajiado County.
Sokopepe, an ALIN initiative emerged the winner in the Agriculture category at the ICT Innovation Awards during the 2016 Connected Summit which began on March 20-23, 2016 at Leisure Lodge Beach and Golf Resort, Diani, Kwale County. The theme for 2016 Connected Summit “Bridging the Service Gap,” explores and identifies gaps that can help achieve universal access to public services and how information technology can improve efficiency in the delivery of government services, simplify compliance with government regulations, strengthen citizen participation and trust in government.
The Award was announced at an event held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 during the International Federation of Library Associations meeting at a ceremony presided over by Deborah Jacobs, Director of the Global Libraries initiative at the (BMGF). ALIN was recognised for taking advantage of the benefits of ICTs to empower arid lands communities by locating Maarifa (Knowledge) centres in remote arid lands across East Africa and providing free access to information resources, including the internet and library resources. Communities that receive information resources from ALIN have used them to initiate local social enterprises that have improved their livelihoods over the years. The ICT Innovation Awards recognizes innovative ideas that have since grown into some of the most recognizable tech start-ups in Kenya.
The awards highlight innovation that meets Kenya’s blueprint vision to build a vibrant middle-income economy by the year 2030. Since 2011, the award has recognized more than 45 new ICT products and solutions. While receiving the Award on behalf of Sokopepe, Mr. Martin Murangiri, Sokopepe Recruitment, and Training Officer said that the social enterprise set up by the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) would continue to support the agricultural sector in Kenya by offering market information and farm records management services . Sokopepe has been piloting two innovations in five sub counties in Meru namely Imenti Central; North Imenti; South Imenti; Buuri and Tigania West. The social enterprise has been using Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS-Kenya) to support small-scale farmers to develop and nurture a culture of record keeping, SOKO+, a digital commodity trading, and information system, linking small-scale farmers to end retailers/bulk purchasers of produce. Sokopepe has been working with more than 6,000 farmers in the five sub Counties of Meru. It has been expanding the services to all sub-counties in Meru, while working closely with the County Government and other stakeholders.
“Winning the award motivates us to continue working with small-scale farmers by helping them to use accurate primary date that can help empower them to improve their incomes, livelihoods and food security,” said Mr. Murangiri. Speaking at the summit, Joseph Mucheru Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology noted that start-up companies need to bring experience to the table. “Money is not a problem, the structure of companies in Kenya; start-ups and scale-ups cannot absorb big money. Do what you have to do, build value and the investors will come,” said Mucheru. The objectives of the 2016 Connected Summit include identify gaps in public sector service delivery that can be solved by innovative use of ICT; highlight efficiency gaps in public sector IT projects and consider policy recommendations; and share knowledge, best practice and lessons based on experience in implementing ICT projects. The Connected Summit is the brainchild of the ICT Authority in consultation with ICT industry players and key government decision makers. The Summit aims at establishing a platform for collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge sharing between government and the ICT sector with a view of linking and hastening implementation of government IT projects to world-class standards. The Connected Summit has enabled its participants to develop unique insights that allow them to successfully respond and design their engagements in Kenya’s vibrant ICT sector.
The Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV) is among the blogs nominated for the 2016 Kenyan Blogs Awards under Best County Blog category. The nomination follows a grueling exercise by judges who sifted through 4,899 blog submissions in 19 categories and selected five blogs per category. The judges included Mikul Shah, Director at EatOut, Ahmed Salim, General Manager at Qube Ltd, Terryanne Chebet, Senior Anchor and Associate Editor at Citizen TV and Muthoni Maingi, Digital Manager at Safaricom. Voting began on March 3, 2016 and will close on May 1, 2016.
The culmination of the 2016 BAKE Award will be a gala event on May 7, 2016. Some of the categories include best technology blog, photography, creative writing, business, food, environment/agriculture, politics, new blog, corporate, topical, sports, education, travel, health, County, religious/spirituality, and best Kenyan Blog of the Year. The Kenyan Blog Awards is an initiative of Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE). The award recognizes the efforts of exceptional bloggers by rewarding those who post on a regular basis, have great and useful content, are creative and innovation. The award represents BAKE’s effort in the promotion of quality content creation.
Started in 2011 by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), Laikipia Rural Voices aimed at promoting citizen journalism among young people by training and equipping them with basic journalism skills such as photojournalism, news writing, creative writing, feature writing, interviewing, media laws and ethics, and blogging. The blog has been instrumental in sharing information on agriculture, particularly on successes and issues faced by the youth engaged in agriculture, highlighting the role and importance of family farming as well as issues pertaining to climate change, environment conservation, and natural resource management.
As an organization committed to sustainable development, we recognize that reducing energy costs is paramount for those most vulnerable. The interest is providing a low-cost and high-quality energy service that the community can use as well. It was in 2011 that Nguruman and Isinya Maarifa centres in Kajiado County initiated a community green energy conservation project to help with cooking and lighting. They did this by developing biogas systems that work with cow dung and other biomass material through recycling. ALIN was involved in carrying out a rapid assessment among pastoral farmers to gauge interest in installing tubular biogas technology to help mitigate climate change and sustainable energy resources. To get the word out about biodigesters, which are high-quality yet low- cost products, we created a participatory process with pastoral farmers where they could try out technologies first-hand during an intensive four-day workshop on installation and maintenance techniques.
To install a tubular biogas system, you need a 10-meter-long heavy-duty silage plastic tube of 10metres, long by 3.2 meters, two PVC tubes and pipes, gate valves, sockets, nipples and flexible tube for connecting to the specially fabricated biogas burner. In addition, you will need 200 litres of both cow manure and water. Not only is the Kenyan bio-digester a low-cost system that farmers in Kenya can use to produce gas but also it costs 5,000 shillings, and each farmer needs fresh cow-dung mixed with water for it to begin producing gas in 5-7 days after installation. Tubular biogas technology is affordable and has many benefits including;
Mama Lucy Ndung’u of Nguruman runs a hotel at Endasopia Market in Kenya and she said,"After training at the Nguruman Maarifa Centre in March of 2011, my family's activities have changed. I have cut down on firewood consumption and I am able to save up money (USD 40 monthly) that would otherwise be spent on wood. I am saving to invest in my family. I cook clean food every day in a smoke-free environment. Before I began using biogas, I was having recurring chest congestion but this problem has ceased and I can attribute this to using biogas since it is smokeless! I have always been worried in times of changing rain patterns. Now I feel great to be part of the initiative mitigating climate change."
The tubular biogas technology is affordable and farmers have been trained to use it and are motivated to transfer the technology at a small fee therefore still earning daily bread. The abundant amount of cow dung, goat, and chicken droppings has enhanced the adoption of the technology among the community.
A project to create 100 Maarifa centres in northern Uganda.
Many agree to disagree yet as the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant in life”, is pragmatic to nearly everything but not limited to technology. It was time to adapt to the new normal. Day after day, technology plays a key role in robust services and solutions. On the grounds of that, Oxfam Novib has partnered with ALIN, Samsource and Inveneo to deliver technology infrastructure to 100 rural Maarifa centres in Northern Uganda as project Internet Now! set sail.
The goal of the Internet Now! The project is to create 100 telework centres throughout northern Uganda, in the districts of Adjumani, Amuru/Gulu and Moyo, offering outsourced ICT data services, wireless Internet access via a wireless café hotspot model, and services such as agricultural education and crop pricing information to generate increased income and employment over time. There are 100 centres in the network, covering 872,000 people with 10 workstations at each centre, two fully equipped. All centres will be stand-alone solar-powered and independent from a grid. The network is staffed with two Knowledge Facilitators who will provide training and support to visitors and a Field Officer who will specialize in identifying needs. ALIN led the team in the project which established a Micro Telco in Northern Uganda. This initiative included 22 ‘service & employment centres’ that were all connected to the Internet via solar and wireless technology.
