t is a new year and a new planting season at the Inkuseron Women of Resilience Agriculture Program (WRAP). They have spent the last couple of days plowing the farm and getting the soil ready for the new seeds to be planted!
In 2021 we partnered with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement a sustainable agriculture program in Inkuseron, Kenya. The program built upon a THS clean water project that had been completed earlier that year and brought clean water to 12,000 people. With access to water, the community identified new opportunities to address two of their other pressing challenges: access to a sustainable food source and a sustainable income for the women.
The program provides economic empowerment to women and access to a reliable food source for more than 500 families. The program employs one to three full-time employees and two to four part-time employees. Our initial investment provided two acres of open drip irrigation and a 10x24 meter greenhouse. In August 2022, the women invested some of the profit and expanded the open drip irrigation system by 4,000 square meters. Every month the community is provided with fresh vegetables such as kale, spinach, onion, African nightshade, cabbage, carrot, and tomato. Historically, these food items have been imported into Kajiado County from other counties, driving up costs and weakening the local economy. The program sells produce on-site directly to Inkuseron community members and at Sajiloni, Impiro, Enkorika, and Olekaitorori markets which attract a combined average of 4,900 customers per market day. On average, produce is sold directly from the project site at 6% less per kg than at the markets outside of the community.
In addition to a new season at Inkuseron, we are exploring other investment opportunities that will expand the impact of our agriculture program into other communities as well!
