Funding our work

We are not very good at getting people to donate funds to us. Yes, OK, when we have a specific need, like buying shoes for all the kids at the Mercy Gate Home, we managed it by collecting old mobile phones in the UK and selling them in Kenya. It was very successful and surpassed our best expectations.

But, raising funds to build River Cottage Kenya is a different matter. So, assuming that we are not going to get external funding, I have sunk some capital into starting up a business in Kenya, an Internet café to be precise. Vincent, Mercy Gate's director will manage it and draw a weekly or monthly salary. The rest (assuming there is any) will be put in the bank, and I will use it to start the River Cottage project when I next go over, probably in September. The income will also support two of the kids at Mercy Gate, Jojo and Benta, as I have already said that I will pay for their upkeep.

The actual shamba project itself doesn't need a lot of funding. What I really need is a vehicle to cart the materials to the plot, as well as so get between our three main sites, Kisii, Nairobi and Malindi.

We did have a little Toyota which wasn't best suited to our needs, but it was better than nothing. Unfortunately, someone turned it into a bonfire in January and we haven't been able to replace it.

So, the café has got to work, so that I can get our projects off the ground.

I don't know what an old 4x4 would cost, but it is more than I have.

More Mercy Gate Kids

On the last day of my stay in Kisii, I was introduced to a family of five orphans who were temporarily being housed by Pastor Liston.

As we were going to the plot for a party, the four eldest came along too.

The oldest of the five is Dominic, a very serious-looking boy.

He is about 14 and appears to look out for his younger siblings.

Once at the plot, I made him team captain for one of the volleyball teams, which drew him out.


Next in line is Mary.

She seemed to have no problem in mixing with the girls both younger and older.








Osando and Getembe are the next two.

Osando stuck close to Dominic for a lot of the time, until he felt more comfortable and Getembe was honoured - he was the only child that was allowed to touch Jojo's ball!

Last but not least is baby Kemuma, who did not come to the plot as the weather was a little chilly (by Kenyan standards), so she stayed with Pastor Liston.

Oil on Still Waters

I have seen and read about pouring or spraying mineral oil onto standing water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, or more precisely, suffocating the larvae.

However, treating water holes with mineral oil sounds less than healthy for the cattle and goats that need to drink from these sources.

Has anyone tried using old cooking oil rather than mineral oil? I would think that animals would find it more palatable and less harmful.

River Cottage, Kenya

In the UK, we are plagued by "celebrity chefs", on the TV in particular.

For those of you who do not receive UK TV, the programmes started many years ago with Fanny Craddock, with her husband Johnny, knocking up braised pheasant with truffles and the like.

These days, the programmes are far more diverse, with a couple of chefs advocating healthy food, "back to basics", fair trade, etc. I have no problem with this. In fact, I passively support the ideals, if only they didn't cost so much more than factory-produced plastic food.

One celebrity in particular, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, started living at his weekend cottage, growing his own fruit and veg, and with the addition of animals, soon became self-sufficient.

He expanded and now has a farm in Devon, River Cottage HQ, as well as a city farm in Bristol.

So where is this blog going? Well, I reckon that what I want to do on my (as yet theoretical) model shamba is pretty much what HF-W is doing in England. So I am pinching the name River Cottage and calling my shamba "River Cottage, Kenya". There is a cottage on the plot, there is a river running past it and it is in Kenya, so why not?

Before HF-W became a celebrity chef, he worked in conservation in Africa, although I cannot find out more details. Maybe he will hear about River Cottage, Kenya. Then he can either ignore it, sue me, or help out. I would prefer the last - but any publicity is good publicity - so they say.