On 15 June 2010 REAP completed the purchase of a plot of land in Kajulu, just outside Kisumu in western Kenya. The final payment was made and the title deed is in the name of REAP. The land will be used as a place where we can give practical teaching, showing practically many aspects of what we teach, as well as developing new ideas and as a source of planting materials.
The plot extends from just left of the big tree – the border is the sugar cane which is in the next plot – to the line that goes from the building on the right just in front of the bananas.
The back boundary is a path/dirt road that passes behind the house on the right and in front of the hedge in front of the house in the middle. The front boundary is a stream which passes just beyond the maize field in the foreground.
This land is sloping so has proved ideal for demonstrating the use of vetiver grass on the contours. It has a stream along the bottom and a pool just beside the tree so has good water for agricultural use. We have dug a fish pond which is stocked with Tilapia fish, but otherwise we are focusing on plants. It was cleared land when we took it over but we have converted it with hedges and other trees to become a very different sustainable piece of land.
The Vetiver hedges across the land have meant that the soil is protected from erosion. In the first 18 months since the hedges were planted up to 2 feet of soil has been caught by the hedges leading to terraces developing. Most of the plants we encourage and the ideas we teach have been incorporated into the farm, and we have established seed trees and planting material so that visitors can go home with not only new ideas but relevant planting materials.