NATHAN WITINDU'S THRIVING FARM

Nathan Witundu joined our small farm-business training program Agriculture Livelihoods in 2014 and is now graduating as a leader and role model among his peers.

​We are impressed with his tireless efforts, and for reminding us that, with education and a small hand up, it is possible for one person’s sacrifice and hard work to transform the future of an entire family.

Nathan had to leave high school after his sophomore year for lack of fees and was out of school for a year before joining our program. In his first year in the program, he grew maize for both food and sale and reinvested his profits in the purchase of a young calf.

In his second year, he grew horticultural crops on his family’s ¾ acre farm plot, steadfast in his efforts to cultivate crops that could fetch a good price in local markets. Today he grows kale, cowpeas, nightshade, and other crops and earns enough from their sale to support his mother and three younger siblings in elementary school. 

Nathan eagerly applied his lessons in planning, marketing, and cost-effective, mostly organic soil fertility management. He worked hard to make compost for his farm and has demonstrated great foresight by rotating his crops and expanding his business. For example, his cow, now a year old, produces manure that fertilizes his horticulture crops and increases his yields even more. It is likely that his cow could bring more income every month than many of his neighbors can squeeze from their maize farms in an entire year.

​We commend Nathan for his hard work, sacrifices, and dedication to a farm endeavor that has great potential but requires a lot of hard, dirty, and exhausting work. While some of his similarly situated peers reject farm work and search for unavailable white-collar jobs, Nathan is hard at work each day improving the future for himself and his family.

---