Deliver Wheat to Cereal Board
There was one final, critical, nail biting process outside the Cereal Board warehouses before a farmer could sigh relief and walk away with ease. Told you there was…
How Many Chapatis can You Eat?
On the day of chapatis, everybody finished their outdoor chores quickly and they were ready for dinner at 6.30pm promptly. Everybody got their stew served in a bowl.…
Picking Pyrethrum
Kikuyus from Nyeri called it Beniku. We called it Mahuwa, translation flowers, because that is what pyretherum is. It is a daisy like flower with white petals and…
Delivering Pyrethrum
The early morning start was also necessary to beat the deadline set by the Cooperative Society for receiving the pyrethrum. Their offices closed at 4pm on Saturdays, so…
End of Pyrethrum Farming
The above exploitation of pyrethrum farmers by the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya continued for decades since there was nobody else to buy their pyrethrum crop. The “Board” had…
End of Wheat Farming
The above is the same fate that befell the wheat in Nyandarua. The farmers worked so hard to farm the wheat but their single buyer, National Cereal and…
Wasted Produce
After phasing out cash crops from our massive farm, we concentrated on subsistence farming, growing only food crops for our family consumption. And consuming we did. Nothing from…
Clarion Call For Produce
I strongly feel if somebody opened up markets for Nyandarua farmers, they could grow more crops on their fertile extensive farms and even cash crops like wheat and…
Sheep Shearing
Nyandarua is famous for its sheep. They thrive in the cold Nyandarua temperatures because they have a thick white layer of wool that covers their bodies, keeping them…
Amazing Skill
The amazing thing was the speed and skill displayed by the Shearers. These were young men, probably in their 20s and 30s who traveled all over Nyandarua shearing…