our social impact

Our motivation to provide vocational training was a consequence of learning the importance of diversifying income for rural families relying on subsistence farming. With the pressures of human wildlife conflict and inconsistent rainfall due to climate change, this traditional way of living is threatened. 

With high levels of youth unemployment and lack of accessible job opportunities, especially for young women, the need to have a professional skill that enables employment or confidence to start their own business is vital. Learning to tailor offers this option and we are proud to say that of the seven women that have benefited from Kabisa’s vocational training support, three  form our backbone tailoring team.

Most families living in rural areas use firewood on a daily basis for their household, including boiling water for washing and all aspects of cooking. This is due to the lack of affordable alternative options.

Cutting firewood is mostly carried out by women, however, the late Kenyan Professor, Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and environmentalist, actively campaigned for women to plant trees and implement reforestation across Kenya in order to replace trees that are culled for firewood. We emphasise the importance of Maathai’s message by encouraging the communities we work in to plant trees when possible.

‘Zawadi’ means gift in KiSwahili and that is exactly what a donkey is to families living in rural areas, often far from running water. This donkey has been named Zawadi by Mwanjovu’s family after receiving her as a gift from friends of Kabisa.

Zawadi is a well loved member of the family and is considered a huge asset, especially when collecting water can take up to 3 hours each day. In addition, the local government will often ration the amount of time there is water available from a communal tap, without notice, therefore donkeys both speed up this daily task and enable families to travel further to unrestricted water pumps. 

When running water isn’t available within the home, families walk to communal taps where the government control the times they are accessible. Carrying water home in jerry cans is long and tiring, reliant on those who are fit and agile, and limits the quantity that can be collected in a day.

Having a cart enables the option to both travel further to collect water alongside carrying up to ten times more in one trip. A strong, study metal cart is a game changer for rural families and offers a variety of opportunities to generate extra income by transporting building materials, firewood and water for other families. 

In Sagala Hills, Southern Tsavo, Kenya, climate change has dramatically led to years of severe drought, which is exacerbated by deforestation. Living within a wildlife migration corridor, with a distinct lack of crops and vegetation, results in frequent conflict as humans and wildlife compete for resources. 

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Elephants especially roam onto farms searching for food and water. Farmers implement multiple strategies to protect their crops including staying up throughout the night, shining torches, banging pots and pans and guiding the elephants back to their path. By installing a barbed wire and Jatropha plant perimeter fence, alongside rags dipped in used engine oil and chilli, assists in creating a stronger barrier.

Historically, crops grown in Sagala Hills include staple foods such as: Maize, Watermelon, Beans, and Cassava. Research has shown that diversifying to crops such as sunflowers can potentially help with human-wildlife conflict as elephants especially do not like bees that are attracted to the sunflowers. They are not affected by pests and insects compared to other crops, grow quickly, require less rain and the seeds can be pressed to produce oil. 

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Alongside growing sunflowers, installing beehives around a perimeter fence is another proven method to successfully deter elephants however the cost is often prohibiting for many farmers. It is with hope we can gradually add beehives to the existing perimeter fence and consequently harvest honey from the bees.

Where rainfall is limited, keyhole gardens are a great small scale farming method as they retain moisture within their raised bed, consequently are effective during drought and can produce nutritious rich green vegetables, carrots and onions.

They are made using locally sourced materials and easily maintained with layers of manure, rocks for irrigation, vegetable peelings and waste water so with basic training, are accessible to many.

When rains arrive, storing maize in a safe location which cannot be accessed by wildlife and pests is often a challenge. Elephants can rip corrugated iron from the roof of traditionally built houses so as to access the sacks of maize inside. Due to this, most prefer to store their dried food in a secure store or kitchen. 

Jikoni means kitchen in KiSwahili, jiko means stove. The traditional method of cooking is by placing three stones on the floor and feeding firewood between them which generates significant smoke inhalation and also means heat is lost easily. Building a modern jiko reduces health hazards and the amount of fuel used by 70%.